He’s a real ‘Grease’-er

Niles native stars in touring production

By JOHN BENSON

entertainment@vindy.com

Niles native Nick Verina admits there’s something about his personality that perfectly fits the vulgar and foul-mouthed character of Sonny, which he’ll be performing on the Tony Award-nominated Broadway national tour of “Grease” when it comes to Cleveland on Tuesday through May 23 at the Palace Theater.

“Sonny is a jackass,” said Verina, 26, calling from Pennsylvania. “He’s lewd. I get all of those gestures in the show, which I love. They had to pull me back a few times. So it’s a fun role to play.”

Though “Grease” is a popular musical about ’50s greasers that seemingly is a rite of passage for most high school students, the 2001 Niles McKinley High School graduate, who studied with Second City in Chicago and has appeared in various New York shows (“Forbidden Broadway,” “That Time of the Year”), said his current role is the first time he’s been in the production. As for how he got the role, that’s a story right out of Hollywood (or Broadway).

Originally, Verina unsuccessfully tried out for the original 2007 Broadway production, which was born out of NBC’s talent competition TV series “Grease: You’re The One That I Want.”

The weekly talent competition allowed America to vote for its favorite contestants to play the lead roles of Sandy and Danny. It wasn’t until over a year later that, by pure happenstance, Verina found himself at a New York City audition. While he was there for another show, the “Grease” national tour audition also was taking place. Then a friend of his recommended him for the role of Sonny, which producers were having difficult filling.

“I went to the audition room, talked to the casting director, and it ended up being the final call,” Verina said. “Usually, when you go through the audition process, you have numerous auditions before you get it. I know people on the show that had five to eight auditions before they got a role. I went in, did some sides from the show, and they seemed to like me. I got a call from my agent 15 minutes later saying they wanted me to come in and dance for the show. I went in, danced, and then an hour later I got an offer. It all happened in a span of like five hours. It was really crazy. That rarely happens that way. I can’t really believe it worked out.”

For the past 18 months, the regional theater veteran (The Youngstown Playhouse, Trumbull New Theatre and Easy Street Productions) and 2005 Wright State University graduate has been hanging out onstage with Sandy Dumbrowski, Danny Zuk and the T-Birds from Rydell High. The current production is the first time a Broadway “Grease” has featured songs (“Sandy,” “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” “Grease” and “You’re the One That I Want”) that were added for the feature film. Also in the cast is platinum-selling recording artist and “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks (Teen Angel).

Verina, admits getting a “Grease” credit on his r sum has been worth the wait. More so, he’s really excited about the show.

“If you love the movie, you’ll love this production,” Verina said. “If you want to have a good time, come and see the show. It’s a lot of fun, and with the state of the economy, it’s a nice escape.”