The climactic ending to the famous song “Greased Lightning”
Sara Fox | Bladen Journal
Moments before “Summer Nights” was performed.
Sara Fox | Bladen Journal
A few T-Birds performing Greased Lightning.
Sara Fox | Bladen Journal
Cain smiling alongside the Teen Angel as “Beauty School Dropout” is performed.
Sara Fox | Bladen Journal
Cain can be seen singing with a huge smile as she holds her “Patty for Vice President” sign.
Sara Fox | Bladen Journal
The cast performs “Those Magic Changes”.
Sara Fox | Bladen Journal
The entire cast and crew posing for a photo after the second and final show.
PEMBROKE — Grease was the word at Givens Performing Arts Center (GPAC) on the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP) campus this past weekend.
With over 300 people in attendance for each of the two performances, GPAC was filled with theatre lovers of all ages ready to enjoy the classic story.
If you’ve only seen the movie version of “Grease”, you may have been a little confused at points during the show. “Look at Me I’m Sandra Dee” wasn’t performed during the bedroom scene as I had come to expect it, and “Hopelessly Devoted To You” came in act two after the scene at the homecoming dance.
Although I was a bit flustered at first, moving some songs around definitely kept me on my toes during a story I’ve seen numerous times since my childhood. When you’ve seen “Grease” too many times to count as I have, it would be easy to zone out during the musical simply because you already know what’s going to happen. Trying to anticipate the creative changes, however, kept my attention the entire show.
Madison Cain, an actress, singer, and dancer from Bladen County, was cast as Patty Simcox, the overly peppy, seemingly innocent cheerleader who would love nothing more than if Danny Zuko chose her instead of Sandy.
Cain gave a riveting performance that perfectly captured Patty’s annoyingly perky personality and was the source of many comedic moments throughout the show. From the moment she stepped on stage each time, Cain was fully immersed in her character.
Cain is a graduate of West Bladen High School and currently attends UNCP where she majors in psychology and minors in theatre. She will be performing the role of Belle in the Carolina Civic Center Historic Theatre’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” from June 7-11 under the direction of Kendrix Singleterry.
Tickets to see Cain and other native Bladen thespians in “Beauty and the Beast” can be purchased on the Carolina Civic Center’s website.