If you're headed out to enjoy 'Grease: The Musical' in the
hopes to watch a live retelling of your favourite musical movie, this won't be
it. But if you're looking for a fun night out full of summer romance, bright
neon lights and those classic bops we know and love, then settle in for an all
singing, all dancing evening that you can't help but wiggle along in your seat
to.
I myself was one of the former, and until my pre-show deep
dive into the programme I'd never even known that Grease was a Broadway hit before
it was ever adapted for screen, despite it being one of my favourite musicals
of all time. The catch here is that some of the key elements seem to differ
slightly; sometimes to the show's benefit, and sometimes not so much.
The set was striking from the moment I walked into the
auditorium – black and white projections with the classic neon strip lights of
the time brought you right into the scene. Coin Richmond really went all out
with the set design – simple but effective moveable elements that transformed
the stage without hesitation and really set the scene. A personal favourite was
Vince Fontaine’s recording studio up high at the back of the stage, putting
music front and centre of the show right where it’s supposed to be and serving
as a focal point for some beautiful transitions. And of course, the classic
Greased Lightening herself was a hit with the audience, bedazzled along the
sides and doors with bright lights yet still managing to look like a heart-warming hunk of junk.
Taking over the stage with boyish energy and rugged charm
from the moment they set foot on stage, the classic 'T-Birds' are reborn for
stage as the Burger Palace Boys, headed as always by bad boy head honcho Danny
Zuko (Dan Partridge). The key difference on stage is that while the film
version centres around Zuko, the Burger Palace Boys appear more as a
well-rounded group of pals – this means that we got to enjoy a little more of
each character's personality and storyline, which definitely brought something
a little more realistic and relatable to the production rather than leaving
them as background characters for Danny's love story. Laura-Jane Fenny played a
lovely Sandy – her ballads were beautiful and her quirky attitude brought
something new to a well known character, but it was the juxtaposed writing letting her down a little in the character development department.
The same went for the ever-recognizable Pink Ladies – each
girl larger than life and absolutely epitomising the archetypal 1950's teenage
girl. Marianna Neofitou as Frenchy was absolutely spot on – from the perfectly
coiffed pink hair to the high-pitched voice and quirky demeanour, she was her
character down to a tee. Maeve Byrne's Jan was a breath of fresh air in the
most bizarre way, providing the giggles for the evening with her over-the top everything, and her loveable
characterisation worked so beautifully opposite Josh Barnett's loveable
underdog, Roger. Paul French was also an absolute stand-out as Kenickie – he
managed to quietly steal the spotlight of almost every scene he was in with
just a look, and he definitely knew how to work an audience for a laugh or two.
The cream of the crop for me, though, absolutely had to be Jacob Fisher in his
dual role as Vince Fontaine/Teen Angel. I was initially a little disappointed
to not be seeing the top billed, full-page-to-himself-in-the-programme Peter
Andre, but from Vince Fontaine’s first line from his broadcasting
booth, I couldn’t see anyone else playing that role. Every line was dripping
with that classic Grease teenage irony, his comedy timing was impeccable and,
very fittingly, he had the voice of an angel. ‘Beauty School Dropout’ was one
of the highlights of the shows for me, along with ‘Born To Hand Jive', both
performed beautifully and bursting with character.
‘Born to Hand Jive’ was also possibly the strongest
performance in terms of choreography, put together by ballroom legend Arlene
Phillips. Her talents definitely weren’t wasted here as the ensemble numbers
really were something to behold; although as a huge fan of the film version, it
was rather disappointing to see that some of the more iconic dance moves that
everyone associates with Grease had been left out of a few key numbers.
Although the choreography for ‘Greased Lightening’ looked incredible, it was
notably missing the straight armed point and wave we all know and love – and
karaoke classic ‘You’re The One That I Want’ just wasn’t the same without its
famous shoulder shimmying.
My main qualm with the production was, quite simply, the storyline itself. It seemed from the offset that this production was going to bring us a new and improved Sandy – a stronger, more independent female lead who wasn’t a product of her time. So used to seeing the screen version of a timid, shy Sandy who spends the entire plot lusting after a bad boy only to overhaul herself completely to win the guy, this was kind of refreshing…to start with. Songs like ‘Sandra Dee’ don’t really work when Sandy is already an opinionated, headstrong woman who’s more than capable of standing up for herself and speaking her mind, and the ‘transformation’ at the end of the show becomes more of an undeserved costume change.
Other than this, the slight differences between the stage
and screen versions only serve to enhance the experience – we saw more of the
background characters, we got to enjoy a few more songs from the original stage
show (‘Freddy My Love’ was an absolute joy) but I do feel that if you’re going
to make such formulaic changes to something so well known and loved, it needs to
be continued throughout and hold its own a little more.
All in all, the show was a memorable one and a fun take on
an absolute classic - if one that was perhaps missing a little bit of pizzazz in
some elements, for example the final number which turned into final bows so
quickly I almost missed it – sort of an ‘oh, it’s over?’ moment. As a whole the
ensemble were incredible; they worked harmoniously together and all seemed to
be having a great time. This was most evident post-bows in the Grease Megamix,
when the cast had the audience up and dancing for a mashup of all the
favourites. An absolute highlight of the evening which was just the touch of
light-hearted fun every musical needs.
It’s certainly not the movie version – but it’s definitely
one to watch.
Reviewer - Hazel Kaye
on - 30.11.21
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