≈ 110 minutes · With intermission
Last updated: December 11, 2024
Director's Note
Tansi, and thank you for being here tonight!
You could have been anywhere else in the world, but you are here at the freakin’ world-famous National Arts Centre with us… right now.
Some of you had to get a babysitter tonight so you could come and see us. You took a shower, put on something that smells really nice… maybe you trimmed your whiskers… maybe you shaved your legs… but you did it because you’re gonna see the goddamned reservation sensation Bear Grease tonight, and I want you to know that we recognize that… and we won’t take it for granted. Ever.
That being said… prepare to have your freaking socks rocked!
Bear Grease follows a theatre company in Edmonton, Alberta, attempting to take their crazy, Indigenous rendition of Grease all the way to Broadway!
Witness First Nation rockabilly, tribal doo-wop, and Native hip-hop on this stage tonight! Celebrate our dance, our comedy (that’s right, Natives love to laugh), and fashion from our beautiful Indigenous cultures. All of this is fused with everything you already love about Grease!
It's not the Grease you expected to see; it's the Grease you needed to see!
A Note from Kevin Loring, Artistic Director, NAC Indigenous Theatre
This fun Indigenous twist on the beloved musical, filled with fashion, humour, and music will have you dancing, singing, and laughing in the aisles. Like cruising back in time in your uncle's '57 Chevy on a Saturday night — Bear Grease will have you grooving to this Indigenous take on the classic story of Grease. This production breathes new life into familiar characters while keeping their essence intact and adding an Indigenous cultural flair that is fun for the whole family.
So, miigwetch! Qwokstayup! Limlemt! A big thank you to all the incredibly talented artists who've poured their creativity into this production. I encourage you to savour every moment of this one-of-a-kind experience.
Enjoy the show!
Program Notes
Crystle Lightning and MC RedCloud, affectionately known as "Cloud" — the creative minds behind Bear Grease — share their inspirations, success, and the importance of Indigenous representation.
WHAT WAS THE INITIAL INTEREST THAT SPARKED THE DEVELOPMENT OF BEAR GREASE?
Crystle: Cloud and I were watching Grease on TV. As teenagers and young adults, we loved it—Cloud was even in Grease in high school! As adults, we noticed how VERY WHITE the film was. You had to squint to see anyone of colour. That led us to the idea of imagining a Native Grease.
“LOL, can you imagine a Native Grease?!” and Cloud IMMEDIATELY began singing “Summer Snaggin’, had me a blaaaast!” and we laughed so hard. Once the pandemic hit, we hunkered down and wrote a full 40-minute show, and it made its debut at the 2021 Edmonton Fringe Festival.
HOW HAVE INDIGENOUS AND NON-INDIGENOUS AUDIENCES RESPONDED TO THE INDIGENOUS HUMOUR IN THE SHOW?
Cloud: Our very first show sold out in under 15 minutes. Bear Grease was the fastest-selling show for the 2021 Edmonton Fringe Festival. The REASON it sold out so quickly is that before it went fully public, Fringe sent out an email blast to its theatre patrons, who happened to be almost fully white. None of our friends or family members could even get in.
We were a bit worried that they wouldn’t get our humour, but they rolled on the floor laughing and the response was phenomenal. So, we knew that with an Indigenous crowd, they would rip the roof off.
Crystle: We like to change the show a bit for different performances. For instance, if we're in Treaty 6 territory, in Cree territory, we'll infuse some Cree words to make it more meaningful for the audience.
WHY DO YOU THINK IT IS SIGNIFICANT TO HAVE AN ALL-INDIGENOUS CAST TO TELL THIS STORY?
Crystle: Although we live in a time where we can name 4 or 5 Indigenous shows on TV, we still make up less than 1% of the content out there. We believe representation is important, and Bear Grease takes pride in being an All-Indigenous cast. For far too long, we have been depicted only in period pieces — on horseback and in buckskin — and very rarely in a contemporary setting, almost insinuating that we were 'once upon a time'.
Artists
Crystle Lightning is an Indigenous actress from the Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta and a Canadian Screen Award winner for Best Actress in a Drama Series in 2021. She began her show business journey at nine years old when the Lightning family moved from Canada to Los Angeles. There, Crystle landed her first lead role in the feature film 3 Ninjas: Knuckle Up, and she has been working in the industry ever since.
Crystle's film and television appearances include Yellowstone (Paramount+), Outlander (Starz), Trickster (CW), The Good Doctor (ABC), Rutherford Falls (Peacock), Ghosts (CBS), and recently the #1 series on Amazon Prime TV, Three Pines (Prime TV). This year, you will see Crystle Lightning in 1883: Bass Reeves (Paramount+), Spirit Rangers (Netflix), George R. R. Martin's Mary Margaret Road Grader (directed by Steven Paul Judd), and Fancy Dance (directed by Erica Tremblay).
Crystle Lightning is also the co-creator and star of the all-native hit musical Bear Grease, which puts an Indigenous twist on the 1978 classic Grease. She also makes her directorial debut in this production.
When not in front of the camera, Crystle is a hip-hop recording artist. She is a member of the award-winning group LightningCloud, which won Power 106's "Who's Next?" and Hot 97's "Battle for the Best." She has recorded with artists like Cypress Hill and Timbaland and has toured with legends like Kendrick Lamar, ASAP Rocky, and Nicki Minaj. Crystle lives in Treaty 6, Alberta, with her husband, son, and three dogs.
Bryce Morin (Enoch Cree Nation) hails from Treaty 6, Alberta, and is an actor, vocalist, cultural educator, traditional drummer/singer, and storyteller. Some of Bryce Morin's theatrical achievements consist of CIVIL BLOOD: A Treaty Story (Thou Art Here Theatre) and IN-COR-RI-GO-BLE: The Legend of Thundervoice (Blythe Festival, University of Alberta).
Melody McArthur (Big Stone Cree Nation) is a multi-award winning pop-inspired R&B singer, songwriter, and actress from Treaty 8, Alberta. McArthur received the 2022 Indigenous Hip Hop Award for R&B Single of the Year, 2022 Native American Music Award for Best Pop Recording, and the 2022 Indigenous Superstar Awards for Best Pop and Rising Star. Recently McArthur hit #1 on the National Indigenous Music Countdown for her single Fires All Over Town, and has charted over 10 singles on the national syndicated countdown program since 2014.
Tammy Rae (Whitefish Lake/Gift Lake Metis) is a recording artist and cultural educator with a degree in Native Studies from the University of Alberta. Tammy recently headlined Le Grand Ménage des Fêtes! with TV5Monde, broadcasted in over 200 countries. Some of Tammy's theatrical accomplishments consist of CIVIL BLOOD: A Treaty Story (Thou Art Here Theatre) and her dynamic performance in the smash-hit musical Bear Grease.
Rodney McLeod (Frog Lake Nation) is an actor known for his work in Tin Star and Lost Face. He is also a martial arts instructor in Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu. Rodney makes his theatre debut in Bear Grease.
Rodney McLeod is the 2024 Okimaw Awards Recipient for the Jimmy Herman Creative Arts Award.
Skylene Gladue aka Nipiy Iskwew (Beaver First Nation) is an actress (APTN's Merchants of the Wild, The Revenant), award-winning filmmaker (Be the Light), model/award-winning fashion designer (Western Canada Week, International Hip Hop Awards), motivational speaker (Magoo Crew, Edmonton Oilers PSA, Nipiy Iskwew Consulting) and creator of the From Rez to Runway workshop and fashion show building up the confidence of our youth through fashion while empowering them to chase their dreams.
Justin Giehm (Navajo/Dine’) is a New Mexican dancer, model and actor known for his work in JAMESTOWN (PBS) and RIDICULOUS 6 (Netflix). He became a member of Dancing Earth in 2014 under Rulan Tangen, which lead to him being casted in JAMESTOWN which filmed in Europe, and in Doctor Atomic with Director Peter Sellars at the Santa Fe Opera.
Justin has performed in Between Underground and Sky World at Presidio and Dance Mission Theatre in San Francisco, CA and the historic Asolo Theatre in Sarasota, FL.
Raven Bright (Navajo/Diné) is an Indigenous contemporary artist that resides in the occupied Tewa land of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Raven comes to us from Dancing Earth Creations under Rulan Tangen and has a background experience of 15 years with the art of Breaking and Hip-Hop culture.
Bright is claimed by the Dibéłizhiní (Black Sheep Clan) of the Diné people. Raven creates connection to land, culture, and its people through the movement he offers. “Every step you take on the dance floor is a deep heart beat of our people. The steps ahead are already imprinted and it’s your destiny to follow and build upon them”.
Kean Buffalo aka Winterhawk (Ermineskin Cree Nation) is an Indigenous hip-hop and freestyle dancer from Maskwacis, Alberta. Winterhawk comes to us from Superfan Magoo’s Magoo Crew, where he has performed and traveled for 10 years. Winter loves putting a smile on people's faces and is a big believer that laughter is the best medicine.
Kean has studied at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in Toronto and has performed on many stages, including Citadel Theatre, Toronto (Discovery).
Haley Robinson (Muskeg Lake Cree Nation/Filipinx) is a 2-Spirit actor, model, and content creator known for her work on ONLY YOU: An Animation Shorts Collection (HBO Max) and commercial work for Hyundai (YouTube). Haley speaks openly about their identity, their cultures, and the importance of representation in the media. They grew up loving musical theatre, dance, and singing. Their favourite musical is Wicked.
Henry "Cloud" Andrade (Wixárika) is an actor (Yellowstone, Hey Viktor), an Amazon #1 bestselling author and illustrator (Indigenous Legends, Moosebumpz), a multi-award-winning recording artist (LightningCloud), and a former world record holder for the longest freestyle rap (18 hours, 1 minute, 15 seconds). Cloud is also the co-creator, writer, and producer for Bear Grease.
Credits
Bear Grease
Director
Crystle Lightning
Stage Manager
Henry “Cloud” Andrade
Lighting Technician
Jeremy Echols
Featuring
Bryce Morin
Melody McArthur
Tammy Rae
Rodney McLeod
Skylene Gladue
Justin Giehm
Raven Bright
Kean Buffalo (Winterhawk)
Haley Robinson
NAC Indigenous Theatre Team
Managing Director
Lori Marchand
Artistic Director
Kevin Loring
Producer
Michelle Yagi
Associate Producer
Brit Johnston
Producing Resident
Jessica Campbell-Maracle
Associate Producer #ReconcileThis
Josh Languedoc
Technical Director, Theatre Department
Spike Lyne
Cultural Advocate
Mairi Brascoupé
Education Coordinator
Kerry Corbiere
Communications Strategist
Ian Hobson
Marketing Strategist
Marie-Pierre Chaumont
NAC Production Team
Head Carpenter
Charles Martin
Head Properties
Michel Sanscartier
Head Electrician
Eric Tessier
Head Audio
Doug Millar
Head Projection
David Milliard
Head Wardrobe
Linda Dufresne
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Season Partner
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Official Hotel Partner
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Presenting Partner #ReconcileThis
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees