Fellas, throw on the leather jacket. Slick back the hair.

Ladies, put on the poodle skirts, slip on the bobby socks and tie that hair up in a ponytail.

It's time to go back to 1959, to Rydell High School.

"Grease" is the word.

Or rather, "Grease" is this year's theme for the Lake City Skiers.

"This year, we went with the theme of 'Grease' because we thought it would be a fun-filled show for the spectators," said, show director Gary Hawblitzel. It's also a show every generation of a family can enjoy and the show is ski-friendly.

"It worked really well with tying it in with the acts on the water," Hawblitzel said.

Mike Wilson is Danny in LCS' version of "Grease."

"I think it will be a very good show," Wilson said. "We have to get some kinks out of it, but it will be a very extravagant show."

Other cast members include Kim Love as Sandy, Angela Wilson as Rizzo and Tracy Patrick as Frenchy.

LCS' first show of the season was Sunday and they will give a performance of the successful movie musical on water skis most Sundays and Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. on Hidden Lake, Ind. 15N, behind Smith Tire, Warsaw.

"We thought it would give us a better opportunity to prepare us for the tournaments," Hawblitzel said of why the ski team went to two shows this year instead of just one show a week as in previous years. Tournaments are July 12-13, Central Regionals, Rockford, Ill., and Aug. 2-3, Division II Nationals, Waterloo, Iowa. With two shows a week, he said, they also hope to give the community more opportunity to catch at least one of their shows.

While the show offers nonstop action and entertainment, one of the highlights of the show, Hawblitzel said, comes at the beginning with the 16-lady ballet line, along with the noise of the high-speeding barefooters and the aerial maneuvers of the jump team.

Mike Wilson said a highlight was the barefooting. "That's what gets the crowd going. The opening is good, too," he said.

One of the goals of the team this year, Hawblitzel said, is to have a final pyramid of 26 skiers by national competition time.

Hawblitzel said, "To get 26 people behind one boat requires a lot of skill and ability of everyone behind the boat and a lot of power coming from the boat to pull that many skiers off the dock."

Also an expectation for the team by the team, Hawblitzel said, is, "to give our best effort that we can give. We want to go to tourneys and put on a show we can be proud of."

Chris Wilson, a member of the LCS jump team and well-known barefooter, gives a rather blunt answer when asked what his goals for the team are this year: "Nationals. We have a really good team this year. One of the best teams and we have high expectations. We can do it together."

As the season progresses, the team will improve. And even though the team is putting on "Grease" this year, Hawblitzel promised that no two shows will ever be the same.

"We invite everyone to come out and enjoy the show," Hawblitzel said. [[In-content Ad]]