Grease the Musical

Grease by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey is set in 1959 and follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of peer pressure, politics, personal core values, and love.  It was first performed in 1971 in the original Kingston Mines nightclub in Chicago before transferring to Broadway and at the time that it closed in 1980, Grease's 3,388-performance run was the longest yet in Broadway history.  It went on to become a West End hit, a successful feature film and had two Broadway revivals in 1994 and 2007.  But enough of Wikipedea, tonight Carlton’s production of Grease the Musical was, quite simply, a triumphant explosion of energy, fun and entertainment.  The 40 plus cast and orchestra were obviously having a great time and that enjoyment was shared by a suitably appreciative audience and deserved the standing ovation it earned at the end of the evening.

‘Grease’ centres on the friendships and relationships between the high school pupils as they approach the end of their High School days and tonight it was evident that Amanda had spent time and effort on developing characterisation and motivation giving every actor and role a distinct identity be they a T-Bird, Pink Lady, Gidget or Letterman.  This attention to detail resulted in a completely believable ensemble cast which took the production to the next level of professionalism.   This acting performance level was supported and vocally driven from the pit by Chris and his exceptionally tight 10-piece band.  The months of vocal coaching and Direction that Chris had spent with Principal and Chorus alike paid great dividends and the ‘a Capella’ opening of the evening still gives me goosebumps when I think about it – very brave – very original and well worth the ‘risk’.  There are too many vocal highlights to mention but Beauty School Dropout has to be praised for keeping the right side of cliché while being flat out brilliant.

Another triumph of the night was the choreography developed by Rachael Rees.  Grease is such a well known musical and the distinctive choreography from the film must have been very tempting to emulate, but Rachael managed to avoid plagiarism and cliché throughout the night and especially in ‘Grease Lightning’. The multi directional intermingling movement of the huge cast during ‘Born to Hand Jive’ was quite mesmeric and something to behold!

The cast were universally excellent. I am not going to single any one of them out for specific comment other than to say that this is one of the strongest ensemble performances I have seen in a musical.  Every cast member was obviously looking out for one another, reacting effortlessly as well as acting, never dropping out of character and avoiding any hint of overacting or scene stealing – except when it was their scene to steal !

Often when I come to the Theatre Royal, productions tend to have very literal set design – with ‘bought in’ sets that take significant time to strike and can interfere with the most important elements of the night – pacing, characterisation and energy.  It was great to see that this production had avoided those pitfalls and instead, the ‘simple’ multi-level build with key props ‘flown in’ or brought in quickly and efficiently by the stage crew provided exactly the right flow to the night.  Sound balance throughout the night was impeccable and lighting design and execution were simply epic.

This was a great evening’s entertainment by all at Carlton Operatic, and I am already looking forward to next year’s West Side Story.   

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