The Mt. Hope Masqueraders will be hand-jiving the night away when they present that most ubiquitous of high school dramas — "Grease."

The high school theatre group will stage the musical teen drama/comedy this weekend at Mt. Hope High School, 199 Chestnut St. The show opens Thursday, May 7 at 7 p.m., and continues Friday and Saturday, also at 7 p.m. Sunday's performance is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tickets are $15, $10 for students and seniors, and are available at the door.

"Grease" is a musical about teen life and love in the 1950s. High school students Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson have fallen in love over the summer. But when school starts at Rydell High, there's tension between greaser Danny and wholesome girl Sandy, and the two gangs they each hang out in. The story tells of the ups and downs of high school life as the T-Birds and Pink Ladies deal with love, sex and the pressures of school and their futures.

The musical is a bit of a departure for the Mt. Hope Masqueraders, who recently performed an original play about the Armenian genocide of 1915, which theatre teacher and director Carol Schlink wrote herself.

"The play in November was such a serious play, I told the students we would do a nice, fluffy dessert of a play," Ms. Schlink said. "There are a lot of new, freshman boys this year, so we needed a musical to utilize the girls who have been here and the new boys coming in."

Student C.J. Herhard plays Danny and Esther Watrous stars as Sandy. The rest of the cast includes RJ Lima, Genevieve Ferrara, Sara Slusarski, Liam Bullard, Trey DiGioia, Max Warden, Jessica Tella, Rachel Cloutier, Jacob Silva, Thomas Dugan, Lauren James, Alex Brassard, Skylar Kallman, Luke Massa, Lauren Borges, Samantha Mandoncaand Kat Felingiere. Ms. Schlink is directing and Foster-Glocester music teacher Kelsey Kopkins serves as voice coach. Student Bridget O'Hanley is stage manager.