‘Grease'

It's opening night for the musical "Grease" at the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus. The major fall production, which runs through Sunday at the Bedell Performance Hall, is a significant undertaking by students and faculty in the university's Department of Theatre and Dance.

According to Kenneth Stilson, professor in the department, the musical will use the original 1971 script and the 1993 orchestration, as well as songs from the movie. There will also be a cameo appearance by Judith Farris, an opera singer, vocal teacher and artist in residence at Southeast.

Note: The musical does contain some material that may not be suitable for all audiences. In a story that recently appeared in the Southeast Missourian, Stilson said: "This musical has smoking, teenage pregnancy, language, drinking, lots of sexual innuendo. We don't censor. We don't want people to come in and think it's been sanitized."

The department has experienced significant growth over the years, and this week representatives of the National Association of Schools of Theatre are in Cape Girardeau to evaluate classes and the musical productions for accreditation purposes.

Performances start at 7:30 tonight through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are available for purchase through the River Campus box office or rivercampusevents.com.