“Grease” is not just for oil changes
Tom Dwyer Automotive has been a strong supporter of PHAME (Pacific Handicapped Artists, Musicians, and Entertainers) for several years now, sponsoring past productions of Secret Garden, Beauty and the Beast, and Once Upon a Mattress. This year’s production of Grease, which just wrapped up June 19, was truly something special.
Grease broke box office records to become the single best-selling production in PHAME’s 26-year history. It opened to a standing-room-only opening night house at the Mt. Hood Community College mainstage theatre, followed by a very full matinee crowd on Sunday. In total, just over 800 tickets were sold to the production. This amazing success was achieved in only the second year for Phame’s new creative team of Jessica Dart (director), Ben Landsverk (musical director), and Korie Chung (choreographer). Of course, they had the advantage of an experienced cast of nearly 50 PHAME student performers – all adults with developmental disabilities – some of whom had almost 25 years of experience with PHAME productions to fall back on.
PHAME Executive Director Stephen Marc Beaudoin said “We are thrilled that hundreds of PHAME friends and families came out to see our incredible production of ‘Grease’ this past weekend, and especially that so many of our audience members were first-time attendees to a PHAME production.” (We like to think that these first-timers were due in part to the radio spot we ran for Phame; radio advertising is something new for them this year.) Stephen continued “We’re continuing to grow and evolve, and PHAME performances are becoming must-see events in the Portland metro region!”
Although next year’s production has yet to be announced, you can be sure we’ll keep you posted when it is. In the meantime, if you’d like to support this one-of-a-kind organization you can visit their website at www.PhameAcademy.org. If this year’s production is any indication, you should start waiting in line for tickets now!
(Click any of the photos below for a larger version)
