Grease

On the 16 June 1978 John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John danced their way to success when the opening of one of the greatest songfests and energetic musicals ever to grace the inside of a movie cinema opened. Forty years later the film and now a musical is still the best ever production as voted by the general public to grace both the screen and theatre, I can recall queuing at my local cinema to see this formidable film only to rejoin the queue again to watch the antics of the pupils of Rydale High senior year unfold with its awesome characters and great songs. Therefore to celebrate Dryburn Theatre Workshop’s own 40th anniversary this musical most have been the most obvious choice for them to perform. Director Michelle Coulson used all her skills and talents to ensure that her cast captured all the memorable moments that generations of people have become familiar with.  Grease is a difficult show to direct, for me it all hinges on striking the right balance between injecting just the right amount of originality at the same time staying true to the film and I believe that Michelle achieved this and from the reaction of the audience and the faces of the cast during the performance I attended I could see that both had a great time and clearly enjoyed the production. Helen Wilson as choreographer once again created some fantastic movements and dance l loved the ensemble and principal numbers which were well rehearsed and performed and you could see that she had worked the cast hard to achieve the overall presentation. Music was in the capable hands of John Hudson and his six piece band which resulted in a well balanced sound which never overwhelmed the voices. The staging was good as was the set which added to the ambiance of each scene, even down to Kenickie’s car which made the whole production believable. Lighting was good and the costumes were authentic and true to the characters especially in the dream scene and I loved the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies costumes. The principal line up was very strong playing the part of Danny Zuko was Joseph Coulson, this iconic role must have been a challenge but Joseph carried off the character well there were some great interactions with his fellow T-Birds and musically he delivered his solo numbers confidently especially “Sandy” which is probably one of my favourite numbers in the show, playing opposite Danny was Lucy McCabe as Sandy, Lucy delivered this role with confidence and I loved the transformation between the old and new Sandy, she delivered her character with confidence and her musical numbers were notable especially “Hopelessly Devoted to You”. All the T Bird Ladies delivered their characters with confidence and clearly worked well together I loved the interpretation of Frances Wood as Jan, impressive comic timing and great stage presence and her duet “Mooning” with Roger was well delivered. Playing the part of Rizzo was Emma Scott, this is a fantastic role to play and Emma created and made this character her own, she never came out of character throughout the show and her musical numbers were delivered with confidence and style I particularly enjoyed “Look at Me I’m Sandra Dee” and “There are Worst Thing I Could Do” which for me was the musical number of the show. Isha Dubre delivered a lovely performance as Marty she captured the character well and delivered her musical number “”Freddy My Love” with the Pink Ladies confidently, Libby Martin excelled as Frenchy she was one of the central characters of the Pink Ladies and I enjoyed her interpretation of the character. The T-Birds were equally played, Stephen Shield delivered a strong performance as Doody, good stage presence and interpretation of the character great hair piece and his musical number with the cast ”Those Magic Changes” was well received. Roger was equally played by Phil Martin, who always has a natural stage presence he delivered his character with confidence and brought out the mischievous character in the role, good duet with Doody “Rock N Roll Party Queen”, Adam Donald played the second in command Kenickie, again a strong performance and lead the T-Birds in the musical number “Greased Lighting” great performance, concluding the T-Birds was Gary Eglington who played Sonny great character actor who always throws himself into any role he performs great performance as this wannabe lady’s man which he delivered very well.

Lucy Pedley gave a good interpretation of Patty Simcox the do-good cheerleader good stage presence and interacted well with the rest of the cast as did Marcus Cain who played the school nerd Eugene Florczyk. Annette Morris delivered a great performance as Miss Lynch, the Rydal High school Head Mistress, great comic moments and delivered her character confidently. Vince Fontaine was played by Bill Taylor who sounder very much the radio announcer, Hannah Cutherberson excelled as Cha- Cha Digregorio, strong performance and a beautiful dancer I loved her interpretation of the Hand Jive. Finally, Lee Passmoor who played both Teen Angel and Johnny Casino (Clarence) Lee has an impressive stage presence and these characters certainly suited his personality and style delivering both characters with ease, I loved his musical numbers “Born to Hand Jive” and “Beauty School Dropout” which was a lovely scene excellent costumes and well delivered. Well done to everyone in the big chorus numbers the opening number “Grease is the World” and the finale were well presented and confidently sang, everyone on stage worked hard and gave their all to this production, the cast appeared comfortable and relaxed and the American accents and diction was well maintained throughout and the scene changes were well prepared. Congratulations to the dancers the ensemble and the children’s ensemble all of whom did a great job and added to the success of the production.

Grease is a show full of energy and one that Dryburn Theatrical workshop should be proud of, the finished production was lively and captivating and was well presented and certainly enjoyed by the audience. My congratulations must go to the cast, crew, musicians and production team who all played a part in ensuring that this production went like grease lighting and look forward in supporting and enjoying your future production in celebration of your 40th anniversary.

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