Grease - School Edition

The 40 strong cast of P6-S2 youngsters (with the help of Joshua Horsfall and Jess Robertson from the Senior section as grown up Danny and Sandy) owned the stage with great confidence and energy from the opening company number “Grease Is The Word” right through to the rumbustious finale reprise of “We Go Together”. Chloe Coffey made a delightfully demure Sandy throughout the majority of the show making her stunning transformation into a rock chick in the finale (complete with leather jacket and trousers and red high heels) even more surprising! She had a lovely singing voice shown to its best in her solo “Hopelessly Devoted to You” and had a great rapport with Conrad MacLean’s Danny whose preening and strutting elicited much laughter. He too had a good singing voice as demonstrated in his rendition of “Sandy” in Act 2. The Burger Palace Boys - Roger (Matthew Hughes), Kenickie (Tanish Kirodian), Sonny (Jacob Knight) and Doody (Charlie Tole) – gelled well as a believable gang with Doody, Kenickie and Roger demonstrating their vocal talents in their respective solos “Those Magic Changes”, “Greased Lightning” and “Mooning”. The Pink Ladies – Rizzo (Elise Blaikie), Frenchy (Georgia Martin), Jan (Millie Hardie) and Marty (Lucy Martin) were more than a match for the boys in both acting and singing abilities – Marty’s solo in “Freddy My Love” and Frenchy’s in “Beauty School Drop Out” being fine examples. I was particularly impressed with Elise’s portrayal of the sarcastic Rizzo and her rendition of the taunting “Look at Me I’m Sandra Dee”. Strong support was given by Elle Hardie (cheerleader Patty), Katherine Coull (teacher Miss Lynch), Liya Reid (Cha Cha), Charlotte Cheyne (Jenny Casino), Erica Crichton (Head Teen Angel) and Alexander Denison (Radio Announcer/DJ Vince Fontaine). The chorus singing and movement in the company numbers was excellent throughout. Susan Begg’s multi level set was used well and made the transition between scenes seamless. The 5 piece band under Musical Director Rhonda Scott played with gusto but never overpowered the young voices. Congratulations to everyone for a delightful evening.

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