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“Chang chang changitty chang sha-bop”
Grease
Sunderland
Empire
Until Saturday 6th May 2017
The
Dress Circle was full for the musical voted “the number one musical of all time” in the Channel 4 chart of 100 Greatest Musicals. The tale of
teenage love at Rydell High, with its memorable and catchy songs, continues to
be a popular production after 46 years. Of course it is the 1978 film starring
Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta, which is in every fan’s collection, and
is the benchmark which future stage productions will normally be compared. So
how did the 2017 production, with Over
The Rainbow winner Danielle Hope as Sandy and teen idol Tom Parker
from The Wanted as Danny, compare?
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Photo: Paul Coltas
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The
tale starts on the first day back at Rydell High. Danny confesses to his mates, the T-Birds,
that he had some summer loving with a girl at the beach during the Holidays. Meanwhile
the new girl Sandy mentions meeting a new
lad, called Danny, to the in-group of girls called the Pink Ladies. Once the two teens realise that they’re in the
same school there proceeds to be a catalogue of misunderstandings as they try
to retain the respective reputations.
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Photo: Paul Coltas
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The
Pink Ladies are marvellous. Frenchy (Rhiannon Chesterman) is charming, Marty
(Lauren Atkins) is confident, Jan is lovelly , and Betty Rizzo is in control.
Likewise the T-Birds are full of that adolescent charm and wrongly placed
self-assurance that teens have. Special mention for this evening’s understudies
Michael Cortez, as car-owner Kenickie, and Grant Thresh, as the experienced
Sonny, who fitted in so well into their roles.
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Photo: Paul Coltas
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The
first act had some funny touches from director Dave Gilmour and choreographer
Arlene Phillips. In particular the 3 backing singers coming out of the showers
raised a number of laughs. The two musical highlights of the show were both in
the second act. Danielle Hope showed her fabulous singing skills during Hopelessly Devoted To You. She has real
star quality. The staging of Beauty School Dropout, with George Olney
as the Teen angel, was much more satisfying than on the televised Grease Live show.
I
finished the show, not entirely convinced by Tom Parker’s vocals during a few
of the songs. Perhaps it wasn’t his night however his acting skills made up for
it.
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Photo: Paul Coltas
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This
is a very slick production thanks, in part to the set design from Terry
Parsons, and the lighting design from Mark Henderson. The costumes, designed by
Andreane Neofitou, too were very much ‘of the period’ too. The combination of
bright set and costumes worked well together. The dresses looked amazing during
the big dance scenes.
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Photo: Paul Coltas
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The
band is perched in the upper half of the set. They were given a chance to show
off their skills at the start with a number of solos before hiding behind a
screen for the bulk of the show. MD Griff Johnson kept a tight ship and the
musicians didn’t put a foot wrong all night.
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Photo: Paul Coltas
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Overall
Grease is a slick production that will please the fans of the show. The catchy
songs and great dance routines performed in fabulous costumes make it a fun
trip to the theatre.
Review
by Stephen
Oliver
Website:
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Photo: Paul Coltas
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For more information, visit www.greasethemusical.co.uk
Please tag the account
on twitter: @greasemusical
Tickets:
Tickets available
from the Box Office on High Street West, via the ticket centre 0844 871
3022* or www.ATGtickets.com/Sunderland *calls cost up to 7p per minute
plus standard network charges. Booking and transaction fees may apply to
telephone and online bookings.
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