Grease

Thornton-Cleveleys Youth Theatre produced the old favourite Grease. This young and energetic cast did a fantastic job of producing this much loved story and fitting it onto space restricted stage. With some fantastic performances, both the “T Birds” and the Pink Ladies, as well as a truly supporting cast, Thornton-Cleveleys Youth Theatre should be very proud of the results of their hard work.

Jenny Daniel - Director, clearly loves the story and was able to bring the musical numbers to life with characters that were engaging and immersive.Jenny herself has performed on stage many times and it is this knowledge of both sides that meant her directing was clear and precise - good job. Lisa Carolan - Choral Director, has clearly worked hard with the cast on their vocals making sure the harmonies were in place, dynamics were plenty and the solo performances had just the right amount of star quality. Ably assisted by David Cookson - Asst Musical Director, they were able to take this classic musical and add some lovely vocal elements to bring it to life. Hats off to Joanna Hindle - Choreographer, for doing a great job with a very restricted space. This was a large cast and space was a premium on the large group numbers. The choreography suited most of the cast no matter their dance ability. There were clearly some more comfortable with dancing than others but it was great to see that everybody gave 100% effort.

I would like to mention Hannah Dickson in the role of Sandy. Hannah's vocals were outstanding, her acting was believable and drew the audience in. She was able to take the character is Sandy that has been done hundreds of thousands of times by many many societies all around the country and she was able to add a little bit of her own interpretation - very impressed. Playing opposite Hannah was Declan Wilkinson in the role of Danny Zuko, his characterisation had just the right amount John Travolta mixed with a little bit of Patrick Swayze. The supporting cast of the Pink Ladies was cast perfectly. Lily Wilkinson as Frenchy had the audience laughing on many occasions and how she managed to keep up that voice, I have no idea - well done. Abbie Gresty played the worldly, wanna-be-older Marty and her rendition of Freddie My Love was beautiful. Phoebe Hickling in the difficult role of Rizzo did very well to betray this is awkward, coming-of-age character dealing with lifes issues. Flow Maskery was one of the smallest Jan's Iʼve seem, but she certainly had a very big character! Flo was engaging from the first moment she stepped onstage and I found myself watching her in group numbers as her face lift up the room. Her rendition of Mooning with Freddie Howson playing Roger was fantastic. Declan (Zuko) was supported by his T Birds, namely Sam Halkett as Kenickie, a difficult and cocky role to play - he did great job. The aforementioned Freddie Howson as Roger, a lovable character and had most of the audience laughing in the right places. Adam Walker as Doody gave some great support for the lead roles and his comic timing was impeccable leaving just Leon Farey as Sonny, this comedic role is difficult to play ( I know as, I have played it before) to get it absolutely right but what a job this young actor did.

I would like to make special mention of Hollie Lenton who played the role of Patty Simcox. I have seen this show many times and without a good Patty the comedy element to the show is sometimes let down. Hollie certainly didnʼt let anybody down in this role, she gave a convincing performance with just the right amount of annoyance but ultimately the crowd were right behind her. Lovely cameo role from Roger Lloyd Jones as Teen Angel had a number of the older audience members swooning!

There was clearly a lot of work put into the design of the set, Greased Lightning itself and the costumes. Hats off to the stage team for making the scene changes slick and professional. Costumes were perfectly fitting to the role, right down to the iconic ladies jackets and T Birds leathers. The one thing that really stood out with this show was the fact that every member of the cast enjoyed their time on the stage and clearly loves performing. It's a testament to the rehearsal process that the lines were slick, nothing was forgotten and nobody missed anything. I know this show inside out and I was pleased that they were able to give it their own spin.

Unfortunately as previously mentioned with small societies the need for backing tracks unfortunately meant that some of the sound was slightly lacking. I am fully aware that producing a full scale musical is extremely time intensive and expensive. I would like to echo my remark from a previous review that if we all help each other with things like microphones sound systems and lighting etc we can help to reduce the cost and raise the quality of shows throughout our district. We were made very welcome on our entrance by Jenny and the team and I would like to say thank you so much for inviting us to your show. We can't wait to come to the next one.

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