"Grease" to Perform at Wilmette Junior High: Local Favorite, Robert E. Bierie, Returns as Guest Director

Youth
Connection’s Theatre Experience at Wilmette Junior High School (WJHS) this year
will be GREASE with book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey.

There will
be three performances of the show including Friday, March 21, at 7:30pm, Saturday,
March 22, at 7:30pm, and Sunday, March 23 at 2:00pm.  The performances will take place at the WJHS
auditorium at 620 Locust Road in Wilmette, Illinois.  Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online
at www.youthconnectionwilmette.org
and at the door on the day of each performance.

GREASE is directed
by Robert E. Bierie, a popular veteran of North Shore theater. Bob recently
retired after 17 years with the Wilmette Park District where he was Artistic
Director for their theater programs.  Mr.
Bierie’s extensive credits of directing, producing, and lighting design for
both children and adult theater include Brigadoon, Sound of Music, Beauty and
the Beast, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Ragtime, Annie Get Your Gun, Chicago, The
Music Man, plus many more productions.  Mary
Kay Dreyfus, Youth Connection Program Director, says, “We are so happy that Bob
came out of retirement to work with us on GREASE.  The students involved in the show are
receiving a truly professional experience and learning lifelong skills with Bob
as their director.”

This classic
musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School, follows ten working-class
teenagers, the Burger Palace Boys and the Pink Ladies, as they navigate the
complexities of high school love and life. 
The story is centered around sweet Sandy and tough greaser Danny, their
summer romance and their unexpected reunion once school resumes the following
fall.  The rollicking score, by Jim
Jacobs and Warren Casey, recreates the sounds of early rock ‘n roll and
includes such memorable hit numbers as “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightning,”
“Beauty School Dropout,” and “We Go Together.”

Filled with
the hit songs everyone recognizes from the original musical and its movie
adaptation, this show promises to be a delight for everyone.

GREASE is
one act and runs approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. There is a cast of 26
students and crew of 8 students made up of 7th and 8th
graders from WJHS.

Youth
Connection is producing the musical with the help of board members, parents,
and corporate sponsors. Corporate sponsors of GREASE include North Shore
Community Bank of Wilmette, the Rotary Club of Wilmette, and the Woman’s Club
of Wilmette.

Youth
Connection is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that provides social,
service, and educational opportunities to Wilmette-area 5th-8th graders. Fifth
through eighth grade is a critical time in the lives of our pre-teens and
teens, especially during the transition period between 3:00 to 6:00pm. Youth
Connection makes sure that children who are not signed up for structured
activities have a safe, secure, positive place to go.

For more
information about this production of GREASE or about Youth Connection, go to www.youthconnectionwilmette.org.

Addendum

GREASE Cast:

Zak Belahmira, Kathryn Braeseke, Ben
Braganca, Jack Brereton, KC David, Caroline Davis, Jonathen De Geyndt, Liesel
Dolce, Veronica Fishe, Kelly Foy, Katarina Glueck, Haley Hoover, Jack Hubbard,
Chris Huguelet, Katie Maatman, Carly Martin, Maddie Michiels, Ellen Miller, Ella
Nierman, Piper Phillips, Anson Sauer, Isis Seppelfrick, Morgan Thoem, Ella
Torres, Grace Verhoog, Bethan Webb

 GREASE Crew:

Stella Boeckman, Owen Cannon, Jacob
Dalton, Danny Frank, Tatum Johnston, Carolynn Klingsporn, Graham Rodes, Olivia
Roth

 GREASE Student Director:

Sarah Buchmann

This production of “Grease: School Version” is presented through special
arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.  Book,
music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey.