Grease the Musical

Producer John Frost worked on the first Australian production of Grease in 1972 tearing tickets for patrons – it was a darker version of what is staged now and surprisingly closed with a few months.

Years later he had his arm twisted to bring Grease back, but with Guy Pearce in the lead role of Danny it became a hit, spurring him to revive it no fewer than eight times.

Frost joked at the media call that he misplaced the last set he used, so he had to commission a new one.

So familiar are members of the audience with the music, that they were invited to sing along during the final mega mix.

The production began with cute nostalgic projections in the style of advertisements one would see at the drive-in in the 1950’s. ‘Don’t forget to put the speakers back on the pole before you drive off’ read one of the of the messages.

When the screen rose, a new set comprising a stepped grandstand arrived. It swivelled around to reveal motor vehicles and other set pieces. Large letters which spelled out Rydell High wobbled at the top during a vigorous dance routine.

Slightly incongruous were glitzy bright walls and lights that were more reminiscent of Lets get Physical from the 1980’s than the 1950s.

Visual enhancements to the costumes from designer James Browne were more pleasing, with plenty of bright pinks, slick leather jackets and a flamboyant sea of white costumes in Marcia Hines’ set piece “Beauty School Dropout”.

This song was given a delicious Velvet like tweak to the orchestrations and chorus. Overall, the music sounded terrific with the eight piece band cranking out those famous tunes with highlights included a dirty bass sound and a sharp saxophone solo. 

The choreography from Eric Giancola was sharp as a tack as the young cast burned through traditional Grease routines and new ones featuring ample pelvis thrusting and athletic leaps.

John Frost cast leads ten years younger than the last time he put the show on and gave the main roles to relative unknowns Joseph Spanti (Danny) and Annelise Hall (Sandy).

The pair looked great and drew inspiration from the famous performances from the movie of Olivia and John Travolta.

But stealing the show were some of their “classmates” from Rydell High School. In particular Mackenzie Dunn (Rizzo) got a huge ovation for the song “There are worse things that I could do”, Cristiana D’Acostino (Cha Cha) danced up a storm and Keanu Gonzalez  (Kenickie) flipped brilliantly.

Director Luke Joslin succeeded in the giving the musical some fresh sparkle and played down some of sexist aspects of the script which reflect the time and cannot be eliminated.

With plenty of on-stage smoke and testosterone Grease is revved up for another run around the paddock for old fans and new.

David Spicer

Photographer: Jeff Busby