‘Vape! The Grease Parody’ Is A Cleverly Twisted Trip To Rydell High
A loving send-up of a beloved musical, Vape! The Grease Parody takes the familiar world of Rydell High and gleefully pulls apart its characters, songs, and questionable choices to make an entertaining tale of its own.
When it comes to Grease, I am among the people for whom the T-Birds and Pink Ladies are friends. I have seen the original Grease film dozens of times and the stage musical at three different venues. I know how silly it is, and yet, I keep coming back for more. It’s a nostalgic story, and although a lot of the themes are dated and the actors were old enough to have children of their own, the songs and the movie still work. But there is a lot of fodder for a parody here, so I was definitely looking forward to seeing what this play was going to bring.
Vape! The Grease Parody brings us to Los Angeles, where a blonde bombshell washes up on the beach. Danny discovers her and, with no name or backstory, but being found on the shore, they agree that they’ll call her Sandy. After a short summer together, the two part ways, saying that this is “just the beginning,” but are shocked to discover each other at Rydell High. Sandy is friends with Frenchie, who is a Pink Lady, and introduces her to the rest of the squad. Danny is the leader of the T-Birds, with Kenickie as his right-hand man. But Sandy is innocent and demure, and Danny is cool, so how can the two be together if they’re so different?
This is a very funny show that touches on so many of the Grease quirks that if you know, you know. If you aren’t familiar with the movie, I highly recommend watching it before seeing this show, as you will miss a lot of the references otherwise. That said, it does have many amusing moments of its own.
In the land of Vape!, Sandy has a tiny (and cute) backstory, Danny is unsure of his identity and also talks about Scientology (referencing the real life John Travolta, who is a Scientologist), Patty Simcox is a puppet who frequently spouts conspiracy theories, Marty (who, in the movie, has tons of male pen pals and flirts with the older Vince Fontaine at the dance) has an Only Fans, Crater Face wears a familiar mask and a cape, Tom (the cute and boring football player that Sandy dates) has reasons for behaving how he does, the T-Birds can’t seem to remember who Sonny is, Rizzo is constantly referenced as a Golden-ager (because actress Stockard Channing was 33 at the time of filming her 17-year-old character), and Cha-Cha DiGregorio (Crater Face’s girlfriend who has about 5 minutes of screen time) steals every scene she’s in. It’s great fun.
The action on stage begins before the musical, with a preshow the audience can be part of. With a nod to the carnival at the end of the movie, you can play Cornhole, throwing towards a T-Birds or Pink Lady landing, hang out by the lockers at the back of the stage, or take a picture in a Photo Stand-In Board where you can lend your face to being Danny or Sandy standing together in their final black costumes in the film. A few minutes before the show begins, the actors start interacting (with you and the other cast members) on the stage as well.
The songs, which are set to music from the movie, are clever and sometimes raunchy. I got a huge kick out of “Hopelessly Gaslighted By You,” “Green Lightning,” and “Summer Nights” (with all new lyrics), but they are all hugely entertaining. There are also a few fantastic moments where Kenickie and Danny fight over who is going to sing a specific song, referencing the fact that Kenickie sings it in the play, but because Danny was played by John Travolta in the movie, the scene was reconstructed so that he sings it instead.
Another thing I loved about this show is that it kept drawing attention to how unhealthy the dynamic between Danny and Sandy is. The message of Grease is that you should change yourself to become what your partner wants and ignore who you have always been. That’s not what we are teaching our children today (and why was this ever a good message?), so it’s hugely satisfying to hear Sandy hilariously calling out the red flags of their relationship.
Vape! The Grease Parody is the show that Grease fans have been waiting for. Everything seems to stem from a place of love for the movie, from lines like “We’re rebels, but for some reason we attend all school functions” to the little rainbow xylophone that Blanche plays when Miss McGee makes the announcements over the school’s loudspeaker. It is sassy and silly, and you’ll leave with a smile on your face.
Vape! The Grease Parody runs for approximately 90 minutes with no intermission. It is rated PG-13, but if you are sensitive to sexual content, I’d rate it at 15+.
Sketchworks Comedy Presents Vape! The Grease Parody Chicago Review – Vape! The Grease Parody is playing at Apollo Theater Chicago through 1/3/2027. Tickets can be purchased on their website. Apollo Theater Chicago is located at 2550 N Lincoln Ave in Chicago.