REVIEW: Grease the Musical at Mayflower Theatre

What’s the word again? Oh that’s right, GREASE! Mayflower Theatre has been transported back to 1959 this week as we take a trip to Rydell High for ‘Grease the Musical’. This is one of those classic musicals that I think needs no introduction. With basically the whole album being in any musical theatre playlist, it’s definitely well known and loved through all the ages. Most well known from the 1978 movie starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta, this musical is just as (if not more) impressive and energetic. Everything from the score, to the set, to the dance, and even the acting just screams classic and original musical theatre. Much like the movie, it follows practically an identical story line with the songs we all know and love, along with some new original songs sprinkled in there.

If you are a musical theatre fan and have never seen ‘Grease’ (firstly what have you been doing?), let me give you an extremely brief rundown. After some summer lovin’, bad-boy Danny and girl-next-door Sandy are unexpectedly reunited for their senior year of high school. They have to challenge through everything teenage life has to through their way, but will they become ‘Hopelessly Devoted’ to each other or just end up ‘Stranded at the Drive in’? Musical, to movie, to stage adaptations can always be a little bit shaky. When a movie holds so much space in popular culture, there is always a lot of pressure for the new stage adaptation to be just as loveable. I think that is exactly what has been done within this production. Director Nikolai Foster has done a great job at tying in the ‘new… and well, old new’, best bits of what made the movie work, and making that work on stage today.

The cast for this musical were phenomenal. There was a big ensemble and a big speaking cast who were all extremely strong. We have to start with ‘Danny’ and ‘Sandy’ who were played by Marley Fenton and Hope Dawe. These two were brilliant. I cannot stress enough how hard these songs are to sing (I’ve tried on karaoke, I know you have too), and these guys made it seem effortless. As for Hope, it was also her professional debut and let’s just say I don’t think she’s going to be struggling for work after this one, ‘Hopelessly Devoted’ left me and I’m sure the majority of that auditorium with goosebumps. All of the ‘Pink Ladies’ and ‘Burger Palace Boys’ (this musicals version of the T-Birds) were perfectly cast. They all were their characters to a tee. Rebecca Stenhouse and Ben Nicholas played ‘Rizzo’ and ‘Kenickie’ like they were in the movie themselves. Alicia Belgarde was incredible as ‘Frenchy’. From the acting to the dancing and singing, a true triple threat. Much the same can be said about Sario Solomon who played ‘Sonny’. He stole the scene every time he was on stage. His background acting was brilliant and this is usually something that is overlooked - but not when you can’t take your eyes off of him. Fantastic!

I’d also like to give a quick shoutout to Lewis Day as ‘Roger’ and Joe Gash as ‘Vince Fontaine/Teen Angel’. Both of these guys had incredible voices, but I think Lewis’ may have been one of the best out there tonight - ‘Mooning’ was incredible and I actually had to check if he had played Frankie Valli previously (he hadn’t but I can see it one day!). And as for Joe, from spending most of act 1 in his booth before coming out onto the stage for act 2 - his energy levels were sky high. I saw Joe in ‘Rock of Ages’ last time it toured and I remember him being exactly the same in that too. Overall this cast was really, really strong and a show like this needs 100% energy. These guys gave at least 150% out there tonight and you can’t be mad at that! Bravo!

When it comes to the set, I feel like I say it a lot but this is exactly how you would expect a big musical to look. The lights were extravagant, the set was massive, and when the two came together it worked really well. Throughout the whole show there is a hole at the back of the stage with the Rydell High school name above and below. This is where ‘Vince Fontaine’ the radio DJ resides and you see him multiple times in the background up there doing his thing. A big piece of set that gets used in multiple different ways are the bleachers. This is such an iconic piece of set to ‘Grease’ so to be able to use it so often to portray multiple different places was very effective in my eyes. How can we talk about set without talking about the one and only ‘Greased Lightening’ as well. Having an interactive piece of set as big as that, and again as iconic and important as that being used in the show was really cool to see. I’m going to talk about the song ‘Greased Lightening’ later but I thought the way it was done with the projections on the wheels and lights down the side (as well as working headlights) was fantastic. A big piece of lighting that it thought was really effective was the use of the lights through the gym door windows. This was used a couple of times throughout the show and it’s something so simple that makes one hell of a difference.

The music was brilliant. I’ve already mentioned how great that iconic soundtrack is, and with those extra songs added in it really helps pull the story together. The difference from the movie is that all the songs just seemed so much more pumped full of energy. Again, this is helped by the incredible live band. There are certain notes or riffs in musical theatre that are instantly recognisable after one note is played; ‘Defying Gravity’, ‘Alexander Hamilton’, ‘I Dreamed a Dream’. However, I don’t think much beats that first power chord in ‘Grease’! The live band made the music feel like a concert or a gig, and essentially for some songs that’s exactly what it is! Charlie Ingles smashed this, and the reaction he received in the curtain call from the audience and the cast shows this. Of course with ‘Grease’ being such a crowd pleaser of a musical, people are going to want to sing along but please don’t - you will get your chance to sing along in possibly one of the most exciting post show mega mixes I’ve ever seen!

One thing I really want to mention about this show is how impressive the dancing is. It’s really no surprise since the show is choreographed by Dame Arlene Phillips. There was so much going on the whole time but it was all so impressive, so fast, and also so polished. And this wasn’t just from certain members of the ensemble that you can usually tell are the dance captains, this was the whole cast - no matter their role - who were all just phenomenal. Resident choreographer, Carly Miles, and Dance Captain, Thomas Inge, both need a huge round of applause and their own moment in the spotlight because wow! The dance breaks during ‘Hand Jive’ and ‘Greased Lightening’ were possibly some of the best dance breaks I have seen in a musical. I don’t know if it was because I wasn’t expecting it, but if you’re a big dance fan, this cast has just given you another reason to come and see this show.

To wrap up, this musical is a classic musical. Some of the theming and language used is a bit dated and potentially could be revamped/modernised slightly without taking anything away from the story. It’s not a groundbreaking piece of theatre, but it is an incredibly impressive musical to actually watch or experience really. ‘Grease the Musical’ is at Mayflower Theatre until November 2nd, and after that you won’t have too much longer to try and catch it as it starts to close out on its UK tour. If you’re a fan of the movie, if you’re a fan of the music, if you’re a fan of a cheesy night out, or even just if you’re a big fan of dancing - ‘there’s no worse things you could do’ than miss this one. So now I’ve told you all about it, go give it a watch so you can ‘tell me about it, stud’. That’s enough of the puns now, I apologise. I want to congratulate the cast and crew on their tour so far, and wish them the best of luck as they finish it off.