Winthrop’s Moskal Will Understudy In ‘grease’

Winthrop resident Stephanie Moskal is rehearsing a lot of lines, songs, and dances for her next performance.

The supremely talented music theater performer, who is coming off a superb run as Babette in the national tour of “Beauty in the Beast,” will be understudying six roles in the cast of “Grease,” which opens Aug. 12 at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly.

A graduate of The Boston Conservatory, Moskal was recently seen as Altina in “The Little Mermaid” at NSMT. She has also performed at NSMT in “Singing in the Rain,” “Hello Dolly,” and “The Wizard of Oz.”

But next week, she has to be ready to step in and play six different roles: Rizzo, Jan, Marty, Cha-Cha, Ms. Lynch, and Patty.

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” said Moskal, who is New York City rehearsing for the show. “I’ve covered one role in the past so it’s definitely a lot more complicated and in this show there is no ensemble. There is a lot of dancing and pretty much everyone is in every number. So it’s a lot of tracking and making sure I remember where every person is at every single time.”

Moskal must not only learn each cast member’s lines, but she has to note each performer’s entrances and exits from circular stage at NSMT.

“I’ve drawn a diagram of every position on the stage at all times,” said Moskal.

If one of the six actors is injured or unable to perform, Moskal will get the call to the starting lineup, so to speak.

Mark Martino, director of Grease, said that he has the utmost confidence in Moskal being able to handle such a challenging position in the production.

“Understudying six people means learning every line, song, and dance step for six entirely different characters and being ready to jump in for any one of them at a moment’s notice,” said Martino. “It takes a very special artist to handle this challenge and we’re lucky to have her.”

Bill Hanney, owner/producer of North Shore Music Theatre, praised Moskal’s versatile skills as an actress, singer, and dancer.

“Stephanie is an extremely versatile actor. She was wonderful in our recent production of “The Little Mermaid” and we are thrilled to welcome her back in “Grease.” She is a triple threat – a terrific actor, singer and dancer. She’ll be putting all her skills to use in “Grease,” as she understudies six very different roles in the show. It’s a difficult task, but Stephanie is more than prepare to tackle the demands of this high energy production.

Moskal is excited about her multi-dimensional challenge.

“This is definitely something that will keep me on my toes because I’ve certainly never done anything like this before,” said Moskal.