PORT TOWNSEND — Maybe you think you’re too cool for this high school.
You will not be caught singing along with Sandy, Danny and the “Grease” gang.
But then the music starts. John Travolta in his leather-jacketed glory, the Pink Ladies in their bobbing sunglasses and Olivia Newton-John in her swingy skirt come sashaying onto the screen.
Next thing you know, you’re belting it out.
Summer lovin’
had me a blast . . .
Summer lovin’
happened so fast . . .
Tell me more, tell me more, tell me more!
You can tell them more this Saturday as the Port Townsend Film Institute brings the sing-along “Grease” to town for two benefit screenings. The 1978 comedy, replete with song lyrics superimposed onto the film footage, will be shown at the Rose Theatre, 235 Taylor St.; tickets are on sale at the box office and at www.RoseTheatre.com.
Last January, when the institute hosted an interactive screening of “The Sound of Music,” it sold out — and “we learned some things,” noted Executive Director Janette Force.
For one: Two shows are needed, so “Grease” will light the screen at 12:30 p.m. and at 10 p.m. Saturday.
“We need a kids’ price,” added Force, so children 12 and younger will get in for $7, while general admission is $15. Proceeds will benefit the institute, which puts on the Port Townsend Film Festival every September, along with other cinematic events through the year.
“The Sound of Music” sing-along also made something else clear.
“Folks love to dress up,” Force said.
So she and her staff and volunteers have rustled up prizes from Paramount Pictures, for awarding to the best-dressed Travoltas, Newton-Johns and other “Grease” characters.
T-shirts, stuffed animals inspired by Paramount’s movies and the pièce de résistance, an $85 pass to the 2012 Port Townsend Film Festival, are among the goods to go to wearers of the hottest outfits and hairdos.
The 10 p.m. “Grease” sing-along also boasts cocktail service thanks to Bainbridge Organic Distillers, Force added. A cash bar will be set up before the show.
Cherel Lopez of the Port Townsend Film Institute remembers “The Sound of Music” from last year, and how she didn’t particularly need to see that movie again — but had a fabulous time watching the people who came to sing.
“This is another opportunity to experience the joy of watching a film together with other people,” Lopez said of the “Grease” sing-alongs. Going out to the theater, seeing your fellow patrons dressed up like the movie’s heroes and heroines — “it’s just joyful,” she said.
And you may well feel a flood of memories. Lopez got that from hearing “Beauty School Dropout” with Frankie Avalon singing to Didi Conn.
If you’d like to rehearse a few of the “Grease” songs, and see Danny, Sandy and their classmates frolicking, of course there’s a website all ready for you: www.GreaseMovie.com. It provides opportunities to sing along with “Greased Lightning” complete with arm-pumping, and “You’re the One that I Want,” the last-day-of-classes climax. There is also a mash-up of the movie’s songs, plus three trailers to watch.
To find out more about Saturday’s pair of “Grease” sing-alongs and other Port Townsend Film Institute events, visit www.PTFilmFest.com or phone the institute office at 360-379-1333.
