Bishop Cotton School, Shimla (BCS) celebrated magic on stage this week with performances of the iconic 1970s musical ‘Grease’ performed as part of a joint production with Auckland House School.
A stream of guests, including Bollywood stars, were treated to a joyful moonlit outdoor production which showcased the magnificent acting, musical and dance talent of the two schools.
Guests attending this week’s Grease performances
· Actress Nimrat Kaur (of Lunchbox fame) and new release Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video (Oct 27) (*pic attached)
· Actor and Producer, Old Cottonian Faisal Rashid also visiting from Mumbai (*The Broken News)
· The Director General of Police, Mr Sanjay Kundu, H.P
· The Bishop, The Most Revd Pradeep Samantaroy, Chairman of the Board of Governors for both Shimla school Auckland House and Bishop Cotton School.
Actress Nimrat Kaur had travelled especially from Mumbai for the event and said she was delighted to visit a school she had heard so much about and will treasure the memories of seeing the children perform so well. Nimrat also held a special audience with senior BCS boys showing the trailer of her new film and talking about her career. She acts a cop in the movie and met with HP DGP Sanjay Kundu to pick up tips from an expert.
The heritage schools used to hold socials together, but nobody can remember a joint production on such a large scale between the two schools before. The Auckyites played the ‘Pink Ladies’ and the Cottonians the ‘T-Birds’ gang – setting the stage alight for a joyful production. (*See photos)
Bishop Samantaroy, Chairman of the Board of Governors of both schools, congratulated all involved for such ‘a wonderful event’ saying these children will remember their experience for the rest of their lives.
The musical ‘Grease‘, made famous by the film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, ran from 18th – 20th October 2023 in the heart of BCS where a stage was been especially built on the first flat for the occasion. On 25th October ’23 there will also be a one-off special highlights show at the Gothic Gaiety Theatre, in Shimla.
The event showcased the talents of students from Bishop Cotton School and Auckland House with actors, dancers and musicians from both Shimla schools as they recreated the famous 1950s musical ‘Grease’.
The rehearsals have been intense over the past few months with all the music production and direction being done by the hardworking teachers and students involved. The BCS Art Department, school carpenters and boys have specially made and designed the stage along with a 1950s red car and many props that include a 50s Diner café and jukebox amongst others. The BCS school band, (led by Mr. Reuben John) Choir, Music, Band are performing all the tracks live supported by choirs from each school, there was no backing track.
There will be another performance of the show at the Gaiety Theatre on 25th October.
Grease has a fun storyline set in an American high school in the 1950s, largely based around teenage angst and first love, the tunes are very catchy and are performed with iconic dance routines.
Grease Background
Grease is a musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Named after the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as ‘greasers’, the musical is set in 1959 at the fictional Rydell High School in Northwest Chicago
Although Grease was a Tony-nominated Broadway musical hit that opened in February 1972, starring Richard Gere, the film in 1978 went onto be a huge Movie sensation that launched the careers of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
