Fringe hit musical Bear Grease to play Festival Hall

When it came to sassy 1970's musicals imagining the 1950's, Grease used to be the word.

Now in 2022, it's Bear Grease.

That’s the name the hip hop duo LightningCloud have given their Indigenous take on the iconic musical, a sold-out hit at the Edmonton Fringe Festival that will be performed in Calgary March 18-20 at Festival Hall.

Featuring rapper Crystle Lightning, who won Best Actress at the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards for her role in the CBC series Trickster and MC Red Cloud, Bear Grease incorporates hip-hop, parody, improve comedy and freestyle to create an Indigenous take on the tale of teens gone rogue in the 1950's.

“Representation matters,” explains RedCloud. “Grease is a classic, but during the ‘50s and ‘60s, we weren’t able to run around the streets like Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. We were getting shuffled into some nonsense and boarding school.

"It's (Bear Grease) a decolonized version of Grease, you know, the classic we all grew up watching on TV."

The Calgary production is being presented by Making Treaty 7, which produces transformational programming for people of all ages and backgrounds, and the Calgary Folk Music Festival. Go to their websites for ticket information.

With files from CTV Edmonton