Musical extravaganza 'Grease' will hit Karachi again on March 18

The T-Birds and Pink Ladies are about to hit the stage again in Karachi in another production of the timeless musical Grease.

Some of us have grown up watching (more like swooning over) John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in the 1978 film adaptation, so the chance to doowop shebop along to this Broadway masterpiece at the Karachi Arts Council is very welcome.

The play, which is a Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey production, has been directed, choreographed and produced by theatre guru Nida Butt, co-directed by Faraz Lodhi, while Hamza Jafri has helmed the music production.

This is also a special production for Made For Stage Productions, who celebrate their ten year anniversary with this second run of Grease. Grease was first staged in Pakistan in 2014 when Made for Stage Productions acquired the license for the production – which was a first for Pakistan – but this time it has a few changes in the cast and music direction.

Like last time, this production also includes a band in each show to add the element of live music. “It’s an upgrade on the previous run of Grease,” said Hamza Jafri in a press statement.

The cast features Ahmed Ali as Danny Zuko, Seerat Peerzadi as Sandy, Natasha Ejaz as Rizzo, Zarnab Rashad as Kenickie – to name a few.

We got a little teaser of what the play looks like at MAD school on Saturday where the cast performed a scene, sang and danced to ‘Summer Nights’ and ‘We Go Together’. Suffice it to say we loved the electrifying energy and are looking forward to the actual performance as our entertainment fix for this month.

After the mini-performance, we got hold of Ahmed Ali, who performed in the previous staging of Grease as well, to ask him about his experience. “It’s very extensive [and] physically demanding. It’s exactly what I was looking for all my life because I used to sing and I kind of know a little bit of dancing and I love acting – so this is a marriage of all these things.”

“I don’t think Pakistan has seen a production as big as this one so people should come out and watch it. If they enjoy it – this production and others – we’ll want to put up more shows.” Ahmed added that these productions provide jobs for a lot of people as well as highlight talent from all over the country. This may open more doors for them and help the industry thrive.

The show will run from March 18 to April 11 and passes are available at MAD school, McDonald’s and Agha’s Super Store. The passes can also be bought at the gate before each show.