"Grease" - currently on stage at the Auditorium Theatre - is a curious cultural phenomenon. First written in the 1970's but based firmly in the 1950's, it has been a teenage touchstone for four decades. That's in spite of the fact that modern teenagers have very little in common with the teens of the mid-20th century. The kids in "Grease" are legitimately rebelling against something. Today's teenagers seem to be rebelling against rebellion. Who needs free thinking or self expression when you can get a spray tan and hair extensions that make you look just like everybody else on MTV?

And yet, teenagers still love "Grease," and so do nostalgia-seeking Baby Boomers, who made up a majority of the crowd at opening night of Rochester Broadway Theatre League's production. I had never seen the show on stage; I was familiar (very familiar) only with the 1978 movie version starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. I assumed that any version of the play would have a hard time living up to such an iconic film adaptation. But the stage show is substantially different in several key areas, and it offers up charms of its own.

For the two people in the universe who don't know, "Grease" tells the story of the Rydell High class of 1959, specifically the T-Birds - a gang of slacker, smart-ass, tough guys - and their corresponding bad-girl group, the Pink Ladies. Their finely tuned little universe of cars, pranks, and skirt-chasing gets upset when a new student transfers into school. Sandy Dumbrowski is the quintessential goody two-shoes who also happens to be the summer squeeze of the T-Birds' Danny Zucco, who is reluctant to lose his street cred in front of his friends. The two of them spend most of the play attracting and repulsing one another while the rest of the gang falls in or fights out of love.

While the broad strokes of the play are reproduced in the movie, there are some significant changes in the plot. There's no big car race. The threat from the rival gang is merely alluded to, never really explored. Certain set pieces are completely different. But most important, while the movie focused almost exclusively on Sandy and Danny, and a bit on Rizzo and Kenickie (here played by David Ruffin and Laura D'Andre, ably filling some very big shoes), the play really fleshes out the rest of the secondary cast. Little more than chorus members in the film, Doody, Marty, Jan, and Roger are distinct characters here. Perhaps because of their unfamiliarity, their scenes are some of the best in the show.

All of the above-mentioned characters get their own songs in the stage version, and they're all terrific. Doody's "Those Magic Changes" and Marty's "Freddy, My Love" are superb examples of 1950's pop and doo-wop, and Jan and Roger's "Mooning" is a sweet, funny love song. They were probably cut from the movie due to time constraints, but that's a shame. They're a bit more old-fashioned, but just as catchy as some of the more identifiable songs from the film.

The actors playing the various secondary roles make the most of their stage time, and at times even eclipse the leads. As Doody, Jesse JP Johnson was so riveting in his Act I number that I paid special attention to him throughout the rest of the show. Kelly Felthous's purring bimbo Marty was so pitch-perfect that I wished she had more songs to sing. Kate Morgan Chadwick's oddball Frenchy kills it during "Beauty School Dropout": she nearly made excellent Teen Angel Preston Ellis blow his composure at one point, forcing him to stifle a laugh.

As for Sandy and Danny, Josh Franklin and Lauren Ashley Zakrin have the vocal chops. They don't miss a note in their demanding solo songs. But the two have surprisingly little chemistry between them, especially when compared to the electricity between Rizzo and Kenickie, or even the sweetness exhibited between Roger and Jan. Sandy and Danny's big celebratory number, "You're the One That I Want," had all the moves down, but it lacked any sense of joy or abandonment. It felt almost mechanical.

But that is the exception for the show, not the rule, as many of the other numbers were full of life. The guys were obviously having a blast during "Greased Lightnin,'" and the whole cast let loose during the sizzling "Born to Hand-Jive" dance sequence.

"Grease"

Through March 21

Rochester Broadway Theatre League

Auditorium Theatre, 875 E Main St.

Wed-Thu 7:30 p.m., Fri 8 p.m., Sat 2 & 8 p.m., Sun 2 & 7 p.m.

$30-$57 | 232-1900, rbtl.org.