Grease

“Grease” is an iconic musical first released in 1978. It has been performed many times over the last forty-seven years and it is without fail a show that will always please its audience. Durrington Theatrical Society’s production was the first time I had seen the bowdlerised adaptation of the original adult version. From the beginning to the finale fifty young persons entertained a full theatre with non-stop music, dialogue and choreography.

The opening number, “Grease is the Word”, introduced us to the whole cast and was extremely well sung and enacted to the highest standard. The trio of musicians complemented the singing on the stage in suitable mood and volume  throughout the unfolding story.

The Pink Ladies group joined by Sandy (Ellie Leaver) and the T-Birds led by Danny (Vinnie Ludlow) had plenty to sing for a lot of the hour and a half of the performance. They did it with aplomb. The dialogue in this version is very well and evenly spread out amongst the main characters and they are all given a chance for a solo spot. We heard Doody (James Riccus) with a cleverly sung “Those Magic Changes”, Marty (Lizzie O’Haire) with the ballad “Freddie My Love”, Kenikie (Oliver Black), who led  “Greased Lightning”, Teen Angel, who also played Vince Fontaine (Dominic Winton) with “Beauty School Dropout” together with a large group of girls in appropriate and innovative costumes - the wigs were marvellous. Rizzo (Maggie Newman) and Frenchy (Isabella Ross), the main force of the Pink Ladies played the roles with great belief and provided some humour throughout, especially in Rizzo’s “Look at me, I’m Sandra Dee”.    

A very creative set accommodated the ten different scenes with ease. The technical team enabled us to hear and see every word and all of the action. The large cast of approximately thirty ensemble, joined in all the main songs and the choreography produced on the stage area during these numbers was very well thought out and enacted efficiently.  What was also a delight to hear were the tuneful harmonies in the songs for the whole cast.

My congratulations to the whole team of Durrington Theatrical Society - the junior members  who delighted us, the backstage crew, the technical and production people. I have watched a lot of these youngsters now for several years and seen them go from ensemble to cameo roles and then on to the bigger roles. I am sure it will not be long before I start seeing them in the adult productions. Thank you for a most enjoyable evening of entertainment.  

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