Grease

This is a difficult show to perform, as the characters have very little plot to get their teeth into.  It is really more about the songs, with little vignettes in between. At times it can feel a little disjointed, and a rather low-key opening at the Class of '59 reunion doesn't help.  In this production things really got going with the crowd-pleasing 'Summer Nights', and 'These Magic Changes' in which the busy staging really held our attention. Choreography was imaginative throughout, and performed with vigour and enthusiasm. It is not easy to strike the right balance between making these iconic numbers recognisable and creating something original, and this production managed to hit just the right balance.

Singing was good throughout with noticeable harmonies, and there were some outstanding solos, in particular 'Hopelessly Devoted to You' and 'There Are Worse Things I Could Do'. Chorus singing was enthusiastic and it was good to see smiling faces!

The dialogue scenes didn't always continue the pace set in the musical numbers, in particular the sleepover scene  and the 'rumble' scene, when I felt that cues were not being picked up as quickly as they might. Conversely, the dialogue in the High School dance scene moved along very briskly. The choreography and dancing in 'Born to Hand Jive' were excellent, but the narrative was lost at this point, as I didn't see anyone get tapped on the shoulder to leave the dance contest. The relationships between the characters was obviously something that had been worked on at length, and these were very believable, particularly that between Roger and Jan which was quite delightful. Their 'Mooning' number was a real highlight. The drive-in scene, with the kids screaming at the horror movie, was very funny. Ensemble work was disciplined and varied, with everyone appearing to stay in character at all times. Staging throughout was varied and interesting, with some nice groupings in the crowd scenes and numbers. Entrances and exits were performed at good speed.  There was excellent use of the stairs, not only to place performers on different levels, but also in the speed with which they were climbed/descended, which really aided the pace.

The two-level stage was used to good effect throughout, with a simple black background and pictures of 1950s icons on either side. The presence of so much black absorbed the light, and the result was that several scenes were rather too dark and did not create the correct atmosphere, eg. in 'Summer Nights' which should be a lunch time scene but appeared to be evening.  Spotlights were used to good effect to pick out performers when required.

The sound balance at times was not quite right, with the singing and dialogue being somewhat  overwhelmed by the backing music. Furniture and props were brought on efficiently by the cast when required, with either dialogue or music to hold the audience attention. Once or twice a scene started with a radio announcement, and possibly this could have been used to cover the scene change so that the scene started with dialogue, creating more pace. However, the radio announcements sounded very authentic.

The 'Greased Lightning' car was excellent, and I loved the imaginative transformation, and would have liked to have seen more of it; it seemed a pity that the building of the car was performed in low light, and masked by performers in front of it at the end of the number.

Costumes seemed most authentic and were worn well, with skirts used well in the dance routines. The men used their jackets well, turning up collars when required and generally looking very comfortable. Wigs and hair looked authentic and make up was suitably unobtrusive. The 'Beauty School Drop-out' costumes with lights on the head-dresses were especially eye-catching.

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