Nida Butt’s much-celebrated musical adaptation of Grease is all set to return to stage on March 18 but if you think you’re in for déjà vu, then we’d love to burst your bubble.
The cast, including Ahmed Ali, Seerat Jaffri and Natasha Humera Ejaz, seems well-prepared for the back-to-back shows coming their way. Their accents are in place and dance moves are in sync but only time will tell their real potential.
The Pink Ladies: Singer Natasha Humera Ejaz plays the feisty Rizzo while debutant Seerat Jaffri is all set to vow audiences as Sandy.
Nida Butt’s much-celebrated musical adaptation of Grease is all set to return to stage on March 18 but if you think you’re in for déjà vu, then we’d love to burst your bubble. While some of the cast members, including leading man Ahmed Ali, Zubair Tariq and Osama Sami, are reprising their roles, others are fresh inductions promising to offer a unique twist to the larger than life and exuberant pop culture icons – the T-birds and Pink Ladies
Those who found Ayesha Omar to be the weakest link in the earlier version may find solace in knowing that the role of Sandy has been taken over by newbie Seerat Jaffri Peerzadi, who is a part-time theatre actress and an elementary school teacher, and who flew in from Lahore just for this particular role. From the play’s first glimpse that media and bloggers got on Saturday afternoon at the MAD School, she sure appears to be one to watch out for.
“I have been part of television and have also done a number of TVCs. In fact, I just did a film called Reham which is an Urdu adaptation of a Shakespearean play and also stars Sanam Saeed. It will be out on Eid,” Seerat filled us in. “I also have a band in Lahore and have performed at lots of private parties. We were a cover band basically.”
That’s quite a box full of talent Seerat owns but even then Grease was no easy journey for the fresher. “This is a lot different because right now I am dancing while singing and I am in costume and in character. It’s not like holding a mic and singing, this is tougher,” Seerat shared. “The journey has been intense. It’s been colourful, fruitful, exciting, painful, happy and sad, all at the same time. But I’ve learned a lot and I have a newfound respect for Ayesha (Omar) after seeing how physically and mentally challenging this is.”
Another fresh face is that of singer Natasha Humera Ejaz, who will be essaying the risqué Rizzo, and she seems to fit the part like a glove by the looks of it. Bold, snappy and sharp in her portrayal, Natasha is on her way to prove that she is not just a vocal treasure but also a great actress and dancer. Natasha has also been working as a vocal coach for the cast, simultaneously.
The first snippets of the play that came in form of dance performances on ‘Summer Nights’ and ‘We Go Together’, along with a couple of scenes from Act 1, were testament to the hard work the cast and the crew have put in to make this 10-year anniversary special of Made for Stage Productions all the more special. Music director Hamza Jaffri has also added a spin to the revised version by putting a live band in place for each and every show.
A ’70s American phenomenon, Grease has been adapted into stage versions world over and for it to make it to Pakistan, at a time when theatre was the last of all entertainment alternatives, was quite a feat. But the question thrown at director Nida Butt since then still hasn’t found an answer – why not do an original play instead of an adaptation? While it makes perfect sense to celebrate a decade of achievements with a re-run of one’s most popular stage show, it’d be interesting to see someone as dedicated as Nida Butt to bring something original to the table, which she has successfully directed in the past.
Also, even though Grease attracted a lot of positive reviews, it was meant for a niche audience. We ask Nida if she would ever want to adapt it to Urdu to perhaps make it more relevant to the masses, Nida clarified that she has no intention whatsoever to do so. “Grease is so quintessentially 1950s America that to transpose it would mean to change the whole essence of the play. It’s such a classic that I wouldn’t want to tamper with it,” she said.
– The play kicks off on March 18 at the Arts Council and will run till April 11.
