Grease

My daughter and I made our way to Bristol, from Swindon, to watch the Phoenix Youth Theatre groups production of Grease, on a very warm Saturday evening.

The venue in Westbury-on-Trym {Redmaids’ High School, Bristol} was one we hoped might have air-conditioning. Well of course it didn’t. Not many schools do. So my first thought was for these young people who were performing such a high energy, leather jacketed [ for the young men] musical, which is so iconic in the realms of am dram theatre. Grease was written in1970 by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey.  We were greeted by the very friendly FOH Manager, Keith Glasspole, who promptly explained his lack of proper attire {waist coat, bow tie, etc} because of the heat. No explanation needed Keith. You were visibly starting to melt at 7pm before the production was underway. As were we all. You did a great job all round.

  The staging of this one was made to look very simple. It wasn’t. Props, furniture, and raised staging, with a large, splendid, lit Rydell sign emblazoned high at the back of the ‘stage’ were used to great effect. So all credit to the director, Kara Kennedy and design team, of whom there are so many, for an outstanding job. Well done all of you. The group  performed at floor level; giving the cast a large area to work in. The audience sat in raised seating giving a great view of proceedings and every member of the cast, in a very warm auditorium. The wafting of fans or programmes a must on this occasion. I loved the program by the way. The little doodles by the group were an inspired idea.

 I was impressed with the opening. We were treated to all members of the cast, including ensemble, littlies, newbies and the older and more seasoned performers who were giving it their all at the outset.

 It is notoriously difficult to light this kind of floor space. Not in this case. So well done to Andrew and Zac Jones for a great job.  Sound; David Walker-Cornes, was also very good. Mics were well placed and only once throughout the whole show was there a late entry on a mic. All the technical team, under the guidance of technical director Andrew Jones, did a great job with quite a difficult venue.

CHARACTERS

Danny:  This role cries out for swagger and style. It is probably one of the most iconic roles in film with John Tavolta being the man for the job at the time of the movie in 1978.You gave a very good account of the role. And I don’t mean you have to copy John Travolta. I have seen this show many times with some very good Danny’s who had their own take on the role. Your singing is  good to listen to. I wasn’t sure if perhaps you were a bit nervous on the night {Sat} as I felt you could have given even more ‘cool vibes’ to the role. That’s not to say you didn’t do a good job. You gave the dancing a good go too. So well done. I do hope you continue with theatre as I can see a lot of promise for leading roles in the future in your performance.

Sandy:   What a very well-cast young lady, you were a very good Sandy. At times I would have liked a little more naivety. However, that is just personal choice and does not detract from a very good performance throughout. I was impressed with your singing voice too.

Kenickie:  Well done . You made this role your own. I enjoyed your portrayal of the character. You made him very believable.

Roger: Another good characterisation of this role. Well done.

Sonny: You gave a good account of the character. Well done to you too.

Doody:  A lot of good work here too.

  I must just say that I felt so sorry for these lads in their leather jackets in the searing heat of the evening and under the lights. However, all of you including  Danny,  showed a true spirit in carrying on in what must have been quite difficult circumstances. So big well done to you all. You sang, danced and acted your socks off.

Rizzo: What can I say about this young lady. Such talent in one so young.This has always been my favourite role in Grease. You did it justice with your acting and singing ability. Your solo work was excellent. We will all have had our favourite performance of the night. You were quite outstanding. I hope that you take your Am Dram ability to an adult group and continue to entertain us. This was a stunning performance of what is actually a difficult role.

Marty, Jan, Frenchy: I am going to bunch all these lovely young ladies together. Why? Because each and every one were very well cast. I loved the pink hair and portrayal of Frenchyyou have a great stage presence. Jan had wonderful comedy timing and Marty showed a really good acting ability and lovely singing voice. So big well done ladies.

Suffice to say that there are lots of other roles in this production. I enjoyed everyone.  You all did a sterling job on the night I watched you.Your director should be very proud of you all. Miss Lynch Patty Simcox Eugene Florccyck Vince Fontaine Johnny Casino Cha-Cha Digregorio Voices Of

   A big well done to director/choreographer Kara Kennedy and  choreographer Natalie Emmott for producing such a talented group of young people. Musical Director, Kayley Prior did a sterling job with these young voices  As a director Kara, you are to be congratulated for some great ideas. I loved the exit of the cast before the interval. Very often Grease Lightning is done by just the leather clad boys. You used the whole cast. Beauty School Dropout, with Teen Angel,  was inspired with the full cast and wonderful costumes.

 I do find with a lot of young peoples groups that their voices are a little pushed with the belt or chest register. It is a thing these days, but actually not always necessary. This can have an effect on their young voices. I did notice a couple of times that the belt/chest register was used when it needn’t have been. This is just an observation and not a criticism as we had some very good singers in the principle roles. I want you to be singing well in the future too. So please be careful.

The transformation of Sandy, during the last scene, was excellent.

Costumes in general were very good. Well done Darcy Collins, Marie Senior, Laura Webb. Just a small note on footwear. Maybe Cha-Cha should have worn dance shoes rather than the Converse shoes the others were wearing. It all adds to the overall effect ‘as a dancer.’ This is a very small point, and probably only I would have commented on it.

 This was a well thought out production. All the young people gave 100 per cent to their task. Well done al of you.

So then, all I can say is a big thank you for inviting me and looking after me and my daughter on what was a hot, but most enjoyable evening, in the company of Phoenix Youth Theatre.

Not forgetting the many adults who make youth theatre possible. Without you, and there are a lot of you, here, and throughout the country,  our young people would not have these opportunities to shine.

Well done everyone on a very good production. I wish you well for the future.

Thank you again

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