If you stopped by the Shapiro Campus Center at any point over the weekend, you would have seen 135 Brandeis students singing, hand-jiving and sleeping on any available surface.

Yes, this weekend was the 24-Hour Musical. For its 10th straight year, through sleep deprivation and understandably half-memorized lyrics, the 24-Hour Musical was a resounding success.

Every year, Hillel Theater Group and Tympanium Euphorium put on a musical unlike any other—on a Saturday night, the show is announced, and within 24 hours, the production team and cast learn lines, musical numbers and choreography and perform a full-length musical for a packed theater and an audience watching a live stream in the SCC Atrium.

This year, 24-Hour Musical was the hit 1950’s-style show Grease. Gabi Nail ’18 charmed audiences with her quiet, shy portrayal of Sandy Dumbrowski, while Jason Theoharis ’17 rotated between confident swagger and love-struck schoolboy as Danny Zuko. Nail and Theoharris acted out the awkward high school romance to a T, with Nail alternating between smiling and blushing at Theoharis’s words and brushing him off in only the way a girl with a crush can. In one memorable scene, after Sandy brushes Danny off, Theoharis perfectly transitioned to cocky laugh to hysterical fake cry.

Jessie Eichinger ’17, Isidora Filipovic ’18 and Jamie Semel ’17 excelled in their depictions of Pink Ladies Frenchie, Marty and Jan respectively. The team of Greasers starred Zain Walker ’18 as Doody, Jose Castellanos ’18 as Roger and Ben Steinberg ’18 as Sonny.

Nicole Wittels ’15 and David Getz ’15 rounded out the leading cast as Pink Lady Rizzo and greaser Kenickie. Merric Kaufman ’15, who is both the president and stage manager of the 24-Hour Musical, told the audience before the show began that five of the 10 leads were first-year Brandeisians, while seven of the leads were first-time 24-Hour Musical participants.

The most impressive part of this performance of Grease, a musical known for its intense choreography and popular songs, is that a production staff of just 22 college students and over 100 actors, many of whom have little or no experience on stage, were able to successfully transform an empty stage and little preparation into a vibrant and largely successful performance.

The numbers “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’” and “We Go Together (Reprise)” were the stand-outs of the show, largely because they featured most, if not all, of the cast. Even though there were times when I was afraid someone might fall off the stage, the excitement and energy made up for any heart-stopping moments.

That’s not to say that there weren’t hiccups in the production. At times, it was hard to hear some of the actors, especially Nail, because the microphones would drift in and out. Occasionally, props would fall apart on the stage. However, the actors were always able to work through those slightly awkward moments. During one scene, when Getz flubbed a line containing the word “moron,” he improvised, instead calling himself a moron while staying in character, earning a loud laugh from the audience. Later on, during “You’re The One That I Want,” Theoharis forgot a few words of one of his solo lines but ad-libbed his way through it.

Even though there were some slow parts to the show, especially during scene transitions in the second act, the audience was constantly applauding and cheering on friends and classmates. The actors artfully wove in references to Brandeis, including mentions of grabbing a snack at Einstein’s Bros. Bagels or winning a coupon to Louis’ Deli, much to the joy of the audience. As soon as the last note was belted out, everyone in the theater was up on their feet—screaming, cheering and clapping.

I can’t imagine that it’s easy to memorize music and dance and to produce a show in only one day. But the production staff and the cast of this year’s 24-Hour Musical pulled it off, giving Brandeis a performance that was, talent-wise, on par with some fully produced shows I’ve seen.