"Grease" is the word for these local performers
By: Bill Greenwood
The Crossroads South auditorium was rocking to the sounds of the ’50s last week.
As the instrumental track for "Summer Lovin’" from the musical "Grease" blasted from a CD player on the stage of the school’s auditorium, a collection of children ages 7 to 16 sang the song in unison as they danced around two singers portraying Danny and Sandy. As the song came to its close, the two teenagers stood back-to-back as the others gathered around and harmonized on the song’s grandiose final lyrics.
However, the show had just begun. Within seconds, the music switched to the backing track for "Wells Fargo Wagon" from "The Music Man," leaving Quentin Madia, a sixth-grader at Crossroads South, out front to sing a solo. The rest of the group quickly jumped back in, trading lyrics with him and fleshing out the chorus.
"We head into different songs," said Emily Ezzo, a sixth-grader at Crossroads South who performed in the medley. "It’s not like we have a break. After one song, it just heads into the next song."
The medley continued for 25 minutes, as the group took on other well-known Broadway tracks, like "Tomorrow" and "Hard Knock Life." As the performance went on, Phyllis Kristjanson, the group’s director, made comments and suggested changes, all without stopping the action once.
The scene came from a rehearsal for the New Jersey Repertory Theater troupe, which headed to Florida on Tuesday morning to participate in Disney’s Magic Music Days program at Disney World. The group will return on Sunday night, and will be performing its Broadway medley at Tomorrowland in the Disney Magic Kingdom theme park and at the Universal Studios City Walk.
"(The children) are so excited," Ms. Kristjanson said. "I mean, it takes a lot of work, and they are really working hard, but they’re having a great time. It’s going to be fun."
"We are all dedicated to this," Emily said. "We come to every rehearsal. We’re dedicated so this is the best show it can be."
After the performances, the troupe will be working with Disney choreographers for a two-and-a-half hour workshop during which the group members will learn a piece of an actual Disney performance, according to Ms. Kristjanson. She said participants do not know what dance they will learn until they get there.
"(They learn) something that’s really, really true, not just like a made-up thing for kids," she said. "It’s for real. It’s not easy either."
Ms. Kristjanson said this will be the fourth year that the group has participated in the event. She said auditions for the performance were held at the local level in December. At that point, an audition tape and application were sent to Disney, which told the troupe it was accepted in February.
"We have to abide by (Disney’s) high standards of performance," she said. "That’s why we have to send them a tape, our costumes have to be approved by Disney, our music needs to be approved by them. They’re very strict, but with reason," as a number of other groups will also be performing.
Ms. Kristjanson said she was proud of her group, which she said has improved tremendously. The segment from "Grease" was her personal favorite.
"Our ‘Grease’ segment is especially good, and I think that’s probably because that’s the show we did this past summer, and it’s still fresh in their minds," she said. "It’s so upbeat and familiar. It’s familiar music to everyone. So, they have a good time with that."
In addition to Ms. Kristjanson being impressed with the children’s performance, the children also have been impressed with her work.
"No matter how tired she is or how stressed out, she is always in a happy mood," said Jessica Stanislawczyk, a seventh-grader from Crossroads North who is a member of the group. "She can always make us smile."
"Phyllis makes everything fun," added Emily.
They said they were excited about not only performing, but also the recreational opportunities available to them in Florida.
"We’re going to perform on stage and do extra fun things, go on rides with all our friends, just being together and having parties," Jessica said. "It’s fun."
Quentin said he was looking forward to "all the rides, the fun, the excitement."
"Disney’s like a magical place," he said. "A great place to go."
As the rehearsal came to a close, the group made its way through a medley of two more "Grease" numbers: "Greased Lightnin’" and "We Go Together." During the latter, the children took a bow while singing in three groups before bowing a final time as a full group. Each member then splintered off and performed a semi-spontaneous dance to the song. Several children banded together to form a train that wound through all the other performers, who formed several dance circles or simply grabbed a partner.
Afterward, Ms. Kristjanson leaped up from her seat and began to correct a number of small issues she had noticed during the rehearsal, including the chaotic finale, which had not turned out quite as she had anticipated. After a few minor changes, the group ran through the number again, this time to her satisfaction.
"They’re all stars," she said.

