Almost fifty years ago, the movie Grease was adapted from the original stage play and became a critical and commercial success. With Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta playing the parts of romantics Sandy and Danny, the 1978 movie has been embedded in Western culture. Meanwhile, the stage production has provided entertainment in various theatres around the world.
In this production of Grease the Musical at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide, director Luke Joslin has captured all of the essence and feeling of teenager rebellion With a nod to the drive-in movie theatres of the day, as the audience takes their seats, vintage style advertisements for the candy bar are projected onto the screen. Many in the audience are dressed in 50s style and the air is filled with excitement and expectation.
The show opens with the “Overture”, with a movie screen feeling, before the stage bursts open with sound, lights and colour. It’s the first day of high school, and we’re introduced to Australian girl “Sandy” played with perfect innocent charm by Annelise Hall. She meets the “pink ladies” and tells of a perfect summer romance. Meanwhile, the womanizing greaser Danny Zuko (Fabian Andres) tells the Burger Palace Boys (Kenickie, Roger, Doody and Sonny) the story of his own summer fling. Of course, the two meet up, but Danny pretends that she means nothing to him in front of his crew. The Pink Ladies invite Sandy for a sleepover, where they try to break her goody two shoes image.
While the main story is boy meets girl, boy loses girl, love overcomes all, there are many more subplots and funny moments. At the girls’ sleepover, they convince Sandy to smoke a cigarette – “It won’t kill you.” Kenickie’s car plays a central part in the teen’s lives. Keanu Gonzalez has incredible charisma and charm as the teen hero. As with the movie, you need to suspend belief that these are actual teenagers, but that’s a minor niggle. Rizzo, played by Mackenzie Dunn is both the swaggering leader of the pink ladies and the vulnerable loner when she suspects that she is pregnant. She also shows her singing prowess in the song “There Are Worse Things I Could Do.” In fact, one of the notable things about this performance is the overall solid level of dance and singing skills. With almost twenty dancers on stage at any one time, their ability to keep a tight formation is commendable.
The guest stars also add a certain spice to the overall performance. Patty Newton, as the head teacher Miss Lynch is a joy to behold. She plays the sternness of the part with the right amount of self-deprecating humour that the role deserves. Similarly, Jay Laga’aia as the DJ Vince Fontaine, is deliciously smooth and improper in equal amounts. When Frenchy (played by Catty Hamilton) leaves high school to attend beauty school and subsequently drops out, Teen Angel, played beautifully by Paulini arrives in a dreamlike sequence to guide her path with “Beauty School Dropout.” Moments like this are magnificent to watch. The whole cast joins in, with a flawless orchestra and first-rate lighting, costumes and set design. In fact, it is hard to single out performers as they are all so tight.
The energy, the pacing, the angst alongside the highs, the vibrancy and the high standard of professionalism all combine to make this a wonderfully energetic “feel-good” show. An enthusiastic standing ovation morphs into an impromptu medley of dance hits from the show, with the whole audience joining in. This is a wonderfully uplifting show that will be talked about for a long time.
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Grease the Musical plays at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide until 26th October before moving onto Brisbane
Tickets at greasemusical.com.au
Featured image of the Adelaide cast taken by Naomi Jellicoe
The reviewer attended opening night on 3rd October
