What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word “Grease”? Do you think of songs like “Hopelessly Devoted To You” or “You’re the One that I Want?” Maybe the first thing that comes to your mind is John Travolta or Olivia Newton-John. Or even the amazing hairstyles and the clothing.
Despite all of these captivating elements that make “Grease” into a renowned musical, rarely do audiences think about the crew members working overtime behind the scenes to make such extravagant musicals a reality, nor do they think about the fantastic symbols that make the show what it is. One of these symbols from the upcoming “Grease” musical includes Greased Lightning — the car, not the song.
Meet Derek Madsen and Ray Briggs, the two outstanding dads who each spent over a hundred hours volunteering their personal time to build Greased Lightning. Before the school year had even begun, they were hard at work on the car. This has extended into the school year with Madsen and Briggs spending five days a week working both during the school day and rehearsal time. They handcrafted the entire car, only excluding the base, which was generously donated by a local theater.
Briggs spent thirty-two years in the Air Force doing structural engineering on aircraft and aviation maintenance, while Madsen gained most of his experience from being a past marine and working extensively with tanks and other vehicles. As a result, technical director Dave Tuma knew the two men were perfect for the job.
“I helped Dave a couple of years ago with the “Wizard of Oz,” and he invited me to come back, so the timing was good for me to pick up a big project,” Briggs said. “To do something like this sounded fun and exciting, and I’ve never built a car before. He needed some very experienced builders, and by then, I had worked with him for two years.”
According to Madsen and Briggs, it was a difficult process to figure out where to even begin. The car began as what looked like a 1920s convertible which needed to be transformed into a 1950s hot rod. They had to painstakingly strip down the original base and make a template using a projector. Then, it was a matter of sizing the template on the wall to match the wheel base, tracing and cutting that template out on paper, and transferring it onto thin quarter inch plywood.
Luckily, Tuma found a shelf for the car that had a working drive and steering system, which was extremely helpful to have in the beginning of the process.
“You gotta be able to have multiple different things on different parts of the car partly planned,” Madsen said. “There’s a lot of time going into it. We had to rework our plan we had in our head to make sure we had enough support for the actors.”
One of the biggest decisions in the building process was widening the seating area by seven inches. This meant that they had to build a whole new subframe under the car. The good thing was that they were able to keep the old frame in place and build around the new frame.
After that was completed, Madsen cut most of the metal, Briggs welded it together, and they began working on the paneling to transform the car into the iconic red Greased Lightning.
“Ray did a really good job of putting lots of lights on it so things can be impressive on stage when the spotlights are dimmer and the headlights are going,” Madsen said. “There’s a lot of accessories. We took the car Dave got from the Children’s Theater, and we had to really rip it down to the bare frame and extend it out, so it would be better for actors jumping around on it.”
Despite the daunting task and hours of strenuous effort, Madsen and Briggs both feel fulfilled at the end of the building process and are satisfied with the finished product.
“It has just really been a fun project to get into, and I’ve just enjoyed working on it a lot more than I thought I would. It’s just so different than anything else I’ve done,” Briggs said. “Derek has just been excellent. It’s been a pleasure working with him.”
“Grease” truly wouldn’t be the same without its iconic car, and all members of the PLHS theater department are tremendously grateful for Madsen and Briggs’ hard work. In addition to building the car, the men even took the time to help struggling tech students and teach them safety lessons that will stick with them throughout their lives. Such generosity truly emphasizes what the PLHS high school theater department is all about: building a kind and supportive community.
“Never did I think I would be driving a car onstage. It’s completely unreal,” said Mason Baas, who plays the leading role of Danny Zuko. “Seriously the coolest thing I’ve ever been able to do thanks to the amazing opportunities that PLHS Theater offers.”
In order to see the finished car, tickets to “Grease” can be purchased by clicking this link or at the door on performance day. Tickets will be $8 for students and senior citizens and $11 for adults. The show will run November 16, 17, and 18 at 7pm and November 19 at 2pm.
