Dalton Walker
ICT

SANTA FE, N.M — Award-winning actress Crystle Lightning dazzled. As did her husband Henry Andrade and the rest of the all-Indigenous cast of “Bear Grease.”

In short, the Indigenous twist of the 1950’s musical “Grease” delivered. So much so that extra shows were added by the Santa Fe Playhouse to meet the demand. The roughly 75-minute show ran from Wednesday, Aug. 16, through Sunday evening with nine performances over the five days.

The playhouse brought “Bear Grease” to town during the week that coincided with one of the busiest weeks of the year in New Mexico’s capital. The nearby Santa Fe Indian Market was taking place, and it routinely draws thousands of visitors to downtown.

On Thursday night, the cast celebrated its 100th performance of the show since it launched.

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“This was only supposed to be a weeklong show, one week of it and it sold out in less than 15 minutes and two years later, here we are performing for you,” Lightning told the crowd after Friday’s early show.

“As a child actor, I never saw anything like this when I was a child, a joyful Indigenous representation on stage,” she added.

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“Bear Grease” features 10 Indigenous actors in roles that would make actors John Travolta and Oliva Newton-John smile.

The show is simply Indigenous. It has Indigenous humor, Indigenous fashion, Indigenous dance, even Indigenous languages and beadwork. The crowd easily got into it with outloud laughs, clapping along in song and a standing ovation at the end. One would feel that If the show wasn’t in an intimate setting in theater seats, the crowd might have broken out in dance like at a fun concert.

Tammy Rae Lamouche performs in “Bear Grease.” Credit: Photo courtesy of David Stobbe
Credit: Artson, Rodney McLeod, Bryce Morin in "Bear Grease." (Courtesy photo by David Stobbe)

Tammy Lamouche, known as Tammy Rae, plays Rezzo and does an incredible rendition of “Stand by Me” in her Cree language as part of a solo. Another showstopper was Bryce Morin’s performance. He played Roger and brought the showmanship with his dance moves and voice as a lead singer in multiple songs.

The show had art market social media buzzing all week.

The show also brought out the Native stars. Actors Wes Studi, Zahn McClarnon and Kiowa Gordon were in Friday’s crowd. Lightning’s mother, Georgina Lightning, also an actor, was also there.

Rodney McLeod performs in “Bear Grease.” Credit: Photo courtesy of David Stobbe

Crystle gave her mom a shoutout after the show. “Mother, I love you so much for breaking down these doors.”

“We finally made a place where this is happening. There are 10 Indigenous actors on this stage with brown skin entertaining you guys.”

In January on the ICT newscast, Crystle Lightning talked about creating the show in her basement in Edmonton, Canada and once it grew in momentum, reaching New York City’s Broadway became the goal, as well as residencies in Las Vegas and Toronto.

Watch: Crystle Lightning was on the ICT newscast earlier this year.

Cast:
Crystle Lightning as Sandy
Henry Andrade as Danny
Teneil Whiskeyjack as Marty
Tammy Rae as Rezzo
Rodney McLeod as Canuckie
Nipíy Iskwew as Jan
Bryce Morin as Roger
Melody McArthur as Frenchie
Artson as Arty McFly
Justin Giehm as Sonny Boy.
Showrunner:
Omar “Panda” Ornelas
Website:
https://beargreaselive.com/

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