Grease holds a special place in the hearts of Australians as the hit movie starred our own golden girl Olivia Newton John. The mid century adventures of the class of '59 in an American high school pivot around the romance between the wholesome Sandy and leather clad rocker Danny in the prime of the era of greasers, poodle skirts and rock 'n' roll.
We know all the songs: Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted To You, Sandy, Beauty School Drop Out, You're The One That I Want, Greased Lightning, Grease Is The Word.
Long before the movie, the musical premiered as an amateur production in Chicago in 1971 before opening Off-Broadway in 1972 and moving to Broadway later the same year when Grease was nominated for seven Tony Awards. Now hitting the Sydney stage at the Capitol Theatre Sydney this week, producer John Frost has a long association with the musical. He originally produced Grease at the Footbridge Theatre Sydney in 1991. (In Australia, Grease had previously been produced by Harry M. Miller in Melbourne in the '70s.)
2024 Sydney and the stage is set. The Capitol Theatre feels like a movie theatre before the curtain is raised. Vintage style film clips and advertising slides from Rydell High and '50s Chicago swing the opening night audience into the mood and our hopes high. James Browne's set is super cool pivoting around a revolve of stadium seating. Costumes are true to the era with rebellious rockabilly and vintage greaser hair styles exaggerated in comic book style. The cutesy smiling moon hanging overhead stole my heart. Neon lights pop.
Known and loved by everyone, the original Teen Angel pop star Franki Valli is replaced by our most beloved modern Australian pop star Marcia Hines, whose career spans five decades in these two centuries. Her songs delivered in her own unique style bring a punch of soul into the rock 'n' roll and are a highlight of Grease The Musical at the opening night in Sydney. Legendary trouper Patti Newton (as Miss Lynch) and icon Jay Laga'aia (as Vince Fontaine) complete this performing trio of Grease oldie gold. To be honest, I'd go to the show just to see Queen Marcia, Dame Patti and Crooning Jay.
Mackenzie Dunn as pouting Pink Lady Rizzo brings the house down to long loud applause mid show. Her performance has spunk; it's cheeky, gritty, sexy and endearing. The rest of her Pink Ladies' crew each offer up bounce and bang, each in the relevant personalities of their characters. Counterpart Kenickie is brought to brilliant life by Keanu Gonzalez. And his insurgent T-Birds gang zap just as brilliantly.
Joseph Spanti as Danny Zuko and Annalise Hall as Sandy Dumbrowski have big shoes to fill. It's a challenge and from the start they do a sterling job in these famous star roles. Together and with their high school friends they take us on a delightful nostalga trip. Where the couple missed a beat is in the final unconvincing song which fell a bit flat for me and didn't ooze enough spark or connection between them.
Choreography is high energy with the fun dance moves true to the change from the '50s to '60s decades. The dancing alone is enough reason to escape the worries of today and the cost-of-living crisis for some non-essential but oh so important quality-of-life spending. You know the songs. Sing-a-long on the street before the show and keep singing when you wake up the next morning.