A Wop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom - Grease is certainly the word!
Presented by: John Frost for Crossroads Live Australia
Reviewed: 3 October, 2024
Slick back your hair and put on your pink lady jackets Adelaide, as Grease The Musical has arrived in town. After tonight’s opening night performance, Grease will certainly be the word. This fresh, reimagined production is packed full of energy, nostalgia and light-hearted fun that had the entirety of Her Majesty’s Theatre on their feet dancing during the curtain calls.
With music, lyrics and book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey (and additional songs by Barry Gibbons, Jon Farrar, Louis St. Louis and Scott Simon), Grease The Musical first opened as a stage show in 1971 before going on to be a hugely successful film in 1978 starring John Travolta and Oliver Newton-John. Set at fictional Rydell High School, it follows the lives of a group of teenagers as they navigate peer pressure, personal values, love and friendship. The main focus is on the relationship between Danny Zuko and Sandra (Sandy) Dombrowski. The story of Grease The Musical is a product of its time. If you look past some of the more questionable moments in the show, at its heart, it is a show packed full of love, joy and a celebration of life and music in the 1950s.
There are several key factors that make this production of Grease The Musical work. The first being the fresh, new and innovative staging and set. Director Luke Joslin and Set Designer James Browne have created a space that allows the actors to play and kept the set simple and uncluttered. The lighting design by Trudy Dalgleish is simply stunning. It was unobtrusive during some of the more tender moments of the show, but then elevated the show to rock concert level when needed. James Browne’s stunning costume design needs to also be commended. He kept elements of the original costumes, but has given each character a fresh, new feel. Boy does it work.
Grease The Musical is a brilliant ensemble piece of theatre. It moves at a fast pace and the cast’s energy explodes off the stage. Vocally, the ensemble singing is exceptional. The choreography in this production by Eric Giancola is brilliant. At times, it tips its hat to the original choreography, and is tightly performed by the cast.
As Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski, Fabian Andrés and Annalise Hall have captured the characteristics we all know and love. Andrés plays the line between jock and romantic love interest well and has found some wonderful moments of humour in the role. His voice, especially his upper register, is stunning. Hall has the innocence of Sandy down pat. In a cast full of American characters, Hall holds her Australian accent well, although there were a few times in her singing where a few Americanisms did slip through. Vocally, Hall’s voice is exceptional. Her vocal control, especially in Hopelessly Devoted To You was brilliant.
Mackenzie Dunn has made Rizzo her own. Her performance is one of the strongest out of this cast. As an audience, you are drawn to her and all the little moments that she has created. Her performance of There Are Worse Things I Could Do found a deep level of vulnerability that allowed the audience to see a much deeper side to Rizzo. Keanu Gonzalez’s portrayal of Kenickie was excellent. Like the other leads, he has found some brilliant moments throughout the show that have brought a fresh new take on the role.
The cameo roles of Teen Angel, Miss Lynch and Vince Fontaine are all expertly cast. Paulini as Teen Angel brings a smooth, cool vibe to the role. There is no denying that Paulini can sing as she riffs her way through Beauty School Dropout. There was a lot of love in the room for Patti Newton as Miss Lynch. She is a joy to watch perform and she brought out some wonderful comedy moments throughout the show. Jay Laga’aia’s voice was the perfect match for the role of Vince Fontaine. His showman persona gave the role a different spin to how I’ve seen the role portrayed before and it worked perfectly.
It was surprising for a touring production to have such a patchy audio mix on opening night. The constancy in the mix was rather poor and lacked finesse. Either the cast getting lost by the band, or the ensemble vocals were dominating the leads. There were also several missed lines due to mics not being on. It was also a rather strange choice to have crew members visible during scenes moving set as this distracted from the show. If they were dressed in similar clothing to the cast, or even had the cast move the set themselves, it would have been less distracting and kept the focus on the show.
Musical director Kohan Van Sambeeck has worked with the cast to produce a great, tight sound with the cast. He has also assembled a mighty fine band in the pit, featuring some of Adelaide’s finest session musicians.
Grease, whether it be the film or the stage show, is such a multigenerational musical. From those who grew up with it as part of their childhood through to those being introduced to it for the first time, this show is a whole greased-lightning bag of fun and toe tapping tunes. Tickets for the Adelaide season of Grease The Musical are selling fast — don’t miss out on seeing this fresh take on a much loved classic. Wop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom!
Reviewed by Ben Stefanoff
Photo credit: Naomi Jellicoe
Venue: Her Majesty’s Theatre
Season: Until 26 October, 2024
Duration: 2 hours and 15 minutes (includes one 20-minute interval)
Tickets: From $69.90
Bookings: https://greasemusical.com.au/