Apollo Theater: Vape! The Grease Parody
Jenna Smith and Will Leonard
Apollo Theater Presents VAPE! THE MUSICAL Review - Goodbye Exhaust Fumes, Hello Strawberry Flavored Smoke
TLDR: Taking the beloved characters from the original Grease musical and transporting them to modern day, Vape! The Grease Parody updates all the references and setting to today. Though the show picks up on all the inside jokes from the movie, most of the humor doesn’t quite hit the mark and might not be enjoyable for all.
Jenna Smith (center) and the cast of Vape!
Rydell High in the 21st Century
The Apollo Theater lobby is papered with posters for after school activities for Rydell High - $1 Pizza Wednesdays with antacids available in the nurses office, Mothers Against Drunk Driving is having a wine mixer next week, and the AV club is showing the 1978 classic film, Grease, in the school fieldhouse. But of course we’re not here for Grease, we’re here to make fun of it with a 2026 twist.
As we sit in the “bleachers” of the gym, a cloud of theatrical haze descends. Hazy figures start to emerge like they’re coming out of a dense fog adding to this air of mystery. They raise their arms and slowly come into focus. But this isn’t a horror film where a terrifying villain makes their appearance. It’s the greasers and pink ladies raising their vapes up to take a collective puff in Vape! The Grease Parody.
All of the beloved characters are here, but instead of a pack of cigarettes rolled up into a t-shirt sleeve, each has a vape tucked into their pockets. Instead of a Ford convertible roaring to life, the guys are fixing up an environmentally friendly Prius Hybrid. And instead of beauty school angels with curlers, they descend from the heavens with ring lights and selfie sticks in the internet themed version of “Beauty School Dropout.” Vape! takes the main plot of Grease and condenses it down to a 90 minute show transplanting our characters from the 50s to high school in the 21st century with all those modern updates.
Corey Barlow, Emma Dunlop, Will Leonard and Shea Hopkins
Making Fun of the Fantasy
When we watch Grease, we don’t watch it for the believability. We all know there are a lot of things we overlook for the sake of theatrical liberties. Do we know where Sandy came from or where her parents are? Definitely not important to the plot. Even though it's Kenickie’s car the T-Birds are fixing up, obviously Danny is the one who should sing “Greased Lightning”. And of course, we know everybody cast in the movie was waayyy older than eighteen. We made fun of these plotholes and rolled our eyes while smiling to ourselves because it became just part of the fun of watching Grease. In Vape! the time has come to exploit all those little inside jokes and unbelievable bits.
When a mysterious woman washes up on shore, Danny picks her up and helps brush her off because obviously she’s “sandy.” It feels like we have a better reason to bully Patty Simcox now that she’s a puppet and is a conspiracy theorist in the worst way. Similar to casting 30-year old Stockard Channing as Rizzo, they have also cast Suzanne Sole as the oldest member of the teen group. But also similar to Channing, Sole steals the spotlight with the jokes cast at her expense. And there’s always been some underlying sexual tension between all the guys in the T-Birds, don’t you think?
For those that know the movie and stage musical version, there are these inside references and more that will bring back those memories with a chuckle.
Sophia Brazda (top) and Mai Hartwich (center) and the cast
The After Party Thoughts
Vape! The Grease Parody is not one of the best parody musicals I’ve seen, but it’s also not the worst. It hits some marks - the cast is fun and energetic and it makes fun of all the tropes of the movie. Where it falls flat are a lot of the jokes and the delivery. Vape depends a lot on crude humor, like we’re doing the “Hand Job” instead of the “Hand Jive” which makes me cringe all over again while I’m writing this. And even some of the other quips and one liners were said so fast or we didn’t have a beat afterwards that by the time we register what was said, we just shrug and move on.
Vape! doesn’t quite hit the mark for a hilarious parody, but there were a few chuckles here and there. So for those that are lukewarm on Grease in general, you can probably sit this one out. But for those that remember all the absurdities from the movie and are looking to elbow their neighbor to see if they also get the reference, Vape! would be a good show for you.
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED
Shea Hopkins, Will Leonard, Corey Barlow and Emma Dunlop
When
Now through January 3, 2027
Where
Apollo Theater
2550 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614
Runtime: 90min, no intermission
Tickets
$45+
Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at (773) 935-6100 or through the Vape! The Musical website
Photos
Michael Brosilow
Find Allie and The After Party featured on Theatre in Chicago
Jenna Smith, Sophia Brazda, Mia Hartwich and Suzanne Sole
CAST
Will Leonard (Danny)
Jenna Smith (Sandy)
Shea Hopkins (Kenickie / Others)
Suzanne Sole (Rizzo / Others)
Corey Barlow (Sonny / Others)
Emma Dunlop (Jan / Others)
Sophia Brazda (Marty / Others)
Mai Hartwich (Frenchy / Others)
Melissa Crabtree (Swing)
Ben Harmon (Swing)
CREATIVE
Catie Hogan & Sketchworks Comedy (Writers)
Billy Recce (Lyrics / Additional Book)
Danny Salles (Lyrics / Additional Book)
Jack Plotnick (Director)
Ashley Marinelli (Choreographer)
Lena Gabrielle (Music Supervisor / Arranger)
Seth Rudetsky & James Wesley Jackson (Creative Consultants)
David Goldstein (Scenic Designer)
Matthew Solomon (Costume Designer)
Zach Pizza (Lighting Designer)
Daniel Lundberg (Sound Designer)
Brendan McCann (Props Designer)
Cindi Rush (Casting)
Visceral Entertainment (Executive Producer / General Manager)