Grease The Musical has opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre, bringing buckets of nostalgia, fun and high-energy choreography and vocals. Adelaide audiences are loving this fresh look at the much loved musical, with tickets flying out the door for the remainder of the season.
Grease The Musical features a brilliant cast, including Paulini, Patti Newton, Jay Laga’aia and Mackenzie Dunn as Rizzo. Adelaide audiences fell in love with Mackenzie when she played Penny Pingleton in the most recent touring production of Hairspray The Musical.
Mackenzie recently spoke to Glam Adelaide about Grease The Musical, her solo song writing career and what it is about musical theatre and performing that she loves.
“There’s nothing quite like it. I think on stage, the feeling I get as an artist, it’s honestly indescribable. The energy exchange between an audience and a performer is unlike anything else in the creative realm, which keeps drawing me back to the theatre time and time again.”
In addition to her work in musical theatre, Mackenzie has recently released some original songs.
“I love writing music and writing songs from other people’s perspectives about situations that I may not necessarily know all the details about. I put myself in their shoes and I go, ‘What do I think they would say if they were going to write a song about this?’ Obviously, I have written songs from my perspective as well as well, but I get more of a creative enjoyment out of making up things from other people’s perspectives.
“I discovered my love for writing during COVID lockdowns because I had so much time on my hands. I like and enjoy all forms of music. I’ve co-written one of my friends’ pop EPs, which is completely outside of my comfort zone, but I had so much fun doing that. I do prefer and lean into the singer/songwriter area of music.”
Mackenzie is currently in Adelaide with the touring production of Grease The Musical. We asked her what it is about the show that drew her to it.
“Honestly, the character of Rizzo was a big part of why I wanted to be a part of the production. I remember as a kid watching Stockard Channing’s performance in the film and being, ‘Oh she’s so cool! She’s so tough!’ That character and that screen performance really stuck with me as a kid. But also the music is just wonderful. It’s timeless music and has such a good vibe.”
This production of Grease The Musical has been given a wonderful fresh aesthetic. Mackenzie shared how fortunate the cast was during rehearsals to have the ability to approach the show through a new vision.
“I was actually so blessed through the rehearsal process. When I walked in on day one of rehearsals, I noticed the designs by our designer, James Browne, for Rizzo wasn’t what I had in my head – we all think of it like Rizzo is the little black curly bob. When I saw the design and she had this massive red ponytail I knew that this fresh version of her was going to give me so much freedom in the interpretation of her rather than just replicating someone else’s performance.”
Grease The Musical is playing at Her Majesty’s theatre until October 26.
“I don’t think I’ve seen audience responses like this before as a performer. Everyone is up on their feet dancing at the end of the show – it is like nothing I’ve ever experienced and it’s so beautiful. You can hear twinkles of people singing along or something will happen on stage and you’ll hear a sigh or a laugh. It’s a room full of nostalgia and full of joy. It’s been amazing.”
GREASE – The Musical
From 28 September, 2024
Her Majesty’s Theatre
https://greasemusical.com.au
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