Grease

Uplifting, energetic, fun, slick, joyous, just some of the words I can use to describe Newcastle Musical Theatre Company’s production of Grease!

With a capacity audience ready to enjoy a firm favourite cemented on the success of the 1978 movie, the whole company gave their all.

The opening which starts as a reunion of the ”Class of ‘59”was well portrayed with more senior members of the cast taking on the aged personas of the main characters, nicely done.

Our first taste of the ensemble performance, which set the standard for the night, was the rendition of “Grease” which almost lifted the roof. The choreography and vocal performances throughout the production were strong, the energy in numbers such as “We Go Together”, “Greased Lightning”, “Shaking at the High School Hop” and “Born to Hand Jive” was immense and somehow the cast had energy to perform a mega mix finale! The lighting complimented the mood and set appropriately, scene changes were slick and the sound quality was good throughout.

Jonny Larman as Danny, in his first show with NMTC, maintained the necessary swagger and style associated with this character as well as giving a solid vocal performance and having excellent dancing skills. Lauren Gordon played the role of Sandy at the performance I attended (Logan Kennedy on alternative performances), her vocals especially in “Hopelessly Devoted to You” were excellent as was her ability to portray the transformation from naïve girl to sassy siren. Baden Burn gave us a perfect Kenickie and “Greased Lightning” was a standout number; together with his onstage partner Rizzo, played by Georgina Faed (alternate performances Sophie Begg), they made a formidable pair. Georgina gave us a cold hearted, cynical Rizzo who also showed her vulnerable side when neccessary. Jamie Douglas as Roger was hilarious, he showed he had amazing vocal skills in “Mooning” as well as showing us much more! As the T-Bird with boyish charm, Jack Thomas-Boddy gave a super performance as Doody, I thought “Those Magic Changes” was well performed both vocally and with imaginative choreography. Filling the last T-Bird role was Christian Hogan as Sonny the “wanna-be” ladies’ man, again great characterisation. The loud and bubbly Jan was well played by Emma Cockburn and the pink haired beautician Frenchy played by Nicole Eastwood maintained a fabulous accent throughout, both girls gave super performances. Last in the Pink Lady line up was Laura Wood as Marty the boy loving beauty who gave an excellent rendition of “Freddy my Love”. Complimenting all of the principal cast were exceptional supporting characters: James Forster as Teen Angel literally flew in and stole the hearts of the audience: Shannon Thompson as Cha Cha was feisty and had exceptional dance skills; the slick, egotistical Vince Fontaine was in the safe hands of Stephen Mason; Claire Blake gave us a no nonsense Miss Lynch and Ben Reed showed off his vocal ability as the band leader Jonny Casino. My final mention goes to the dynamic duo of Patsy and Eugene played by Laura Fulgenzi and James Archer, scene stealers the both of them!

Well done to everyone in the production team, performers and behind the scenes support for a superb production, the amount of hard work was evident in the final product and perfectly rewarded by your audience’s response.

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