Eilers Ends ‘Summer Nights’ At Wagon Wheel With ‘Grease’
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Kayla Eilers graduated from Indiana University Bloomington this past spring with a degree in musical theater and is headed to New York in the fall. In between, she’s been spending her summer on the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts stage. Originally from Louisville, Ky., Eilers’ roles at the Wagon Wheel have varied from one of the silly girls in “Beauty & The Beast,” to the ensemble in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” June Stanley in “The Man Who Came to Dinner” and Sister Mary Martin in “Sister Act.” She’s finishing up her first season in Warsaw as Sandy in “Grease,” which runs through Aug. 20. “It’s been such a great learning experience and really fast paced,” Eilers said Monday afternoon. “I kind of knew going in that we only had two weeks to put up a show, but it’s really been a lot of hard work and really a rewarding experience at the end of the day so I’m really thankful that I was able to be here this summer.” Eilers has never seen the theatrical production of “Grease,” though she grew up watching the movie version with Olivia Newton John and John Travolta. Her grandmother had a VHS copy of it at her house that Eilers always used to watch. “So ‘Grease’ has always been one of my favorite films, a classic,” she said. Growing up, Eilers always loved the classical musical films like “Singing in the Rain” and “Grease.” She said while a lead role might have more lines than some of the ensemble members, “Grease” is well-rounded and “a lot of ensemble people in ‘Grease’ have just as many lines and things to memorize and to do as Sandy does.?It’s really cool to work with everyone.” Of all the songs in “Grease,” Eilers said her favorite is “You’re the One That I Want.” “It’s at the very end of the show. It’s when Sandy finally is a part of the group and everyone is on stage dancing. It wraps up the show really well, I think,” Eilers said. On Jan. 31, Fox aired a live, televised version of the 1971 musical “Grease” that starred some of today’s young popular actors like Julianne Hough, Vanessa Hudgens and Aaron Tveit. Eilers said, “‘Grease’ is so very interesting because there’s so many different versions of the songs, and with the stage production there are things that are added that aren’t necessarily in the movie. So in the live production they actually tried to stick to the film, and they added a few extra things for some of the actors, but this production we actually brought in a lot of different styles of music. Like ‘Beauty School Dropout’ is a different kind of style than people are used to seeing in the film. It’s a fun little twist so I’m excited for people to see it.” Playing Sandy’s love interest Danny in Wagon Wheel’s “Grease” will be Sean Watkinson. “He is really, really great. Really talented. He’s been a lot of fun to work with,”?Eilers said. She said the company has put its own little twist on this show and it’s really fun. “I think the audiences will really enjoy it,” Eilers stated. To see the full interview with Eilers, visit the free video section on the Times-Union website at www.timesuniononline.com. Tickets are on sale at the box office, over the phone at 574-267-8041, and online at wagonwheelcenter.org. Prices range from $14 for children to $34 for adults.
