‘Grease’ (Glasgow King’s Theatre) | Review By Rebecca Donati

‘Grease’ is performing at The King’s Theatre in Glasgow this week and what an incredibly fun night it is. This production is an intriguing fresh take on the classic musical we know and love. With its phenomenal score, bursting with hits including Summer Nights, Greased Lightnin’, Hopelessly Devoted to You and You’re the One That I Want, this new version is brought to life by a fresh young cast who bring energy, vitality and passion to this ultimate musical classic.

Ben Middleton as Danny Zuko gave an excellent performance, Middleton’s main strength was their physicality of the character, he used posture and stance to emphasise the status of the character and the alter ego of Danny. Middleton wowed audiences with his vocal range, delivering powerful belts with ease. At times Middleton let the mask slip, he would lose the characterisation of Zuko, usually in small movements or glances when exiting the stage or interacting with the cast which took us out of the world of the play.

India Chadwick as Sandy Dumbrowski wowed the audience with her powerful vocal ability. The character itself can be quite two dimensional, it can be difficult to bring the character to life despite Chadwick’s effort to combat this through her characterisation.

Rebecca Stenhouse as Betty Rizzo brought a new lease of life to the character, she honed in on the emotional drive of Rizzo and the hardship her character is experiencing. Stenhouse’s version of the character was refreshing with a well paced emotional journey.

George Michaelides as Kenickie gave a stand out performance. Michaelides is a natural performer, his execution of the choreography was effortless. At times Michaelides used a thick accent alongside a lower tone of voice which made it difficult to hear his dialogue.

Joe Gash as Vince Fontaine and Teen Angel was exceptional. As Vince Fontaine, Gash was extremely playful with the delivery of the text, using intonation and emphasis to give him the extra edge. His vocal ability was outstanding, demonstrating his vast range. As Teen Angel, Gash demonstrated his creativity giving a unique depiction of the role which the audience loved.

Kieran Lynch as Doody completely brought this character to life. Lynch’s creative decisions made for an extremely memorable character. The audience got behind Doody, rooting for him – this was due to Lynch’s storytelling ability and his perfectly balanced character journey.

Lewis Day as Roger gave a great performance, at times when he was reacting it seemed like he wasn’t fully immersed in the world, however, when it came to Roger’s storyline he was fully present and demanded the audience’s attention, especially during his performance of ‘Mooning’. At times it felt like Day wasn’t fully connected with the character, almost as if he was thinking of his next move or the audiences reaction which could be distracting at times.

Dylan Gordon-Jones as Sonny displayed excellent comedic timing. Gordon-Jones showed outstanding stamina and endurance throughout the performance. Gordon-Jones created a unique version of Sonny adding a sinister depth to the character at times. Alicia Belgarde as Frenchy was incredibly endearing. Belgarde had created a great depth and vulnerability with the character which the audience were drawn to. Belgarde demanded the audience’s attention throughout the performance.

Emerald B as Jan was well rounded, B did a fantastic job of staying away from obvious stereotypes and being creative with her character choices. B had a great on stage chemistry with Lewis Bay which aided the characters emotional journey. Lauren Kate Hampton as Marty gave a flawless performance, Hampton had some of the most entertaining reactions to the world around the character. Hampton was a well rounded triple threat, she had great balanced strength across her acting, singing and dancing.

The cast was made up of smaller acting roles by the ensemble and swings which had a huge impact on the storytelling aspect of the production. The stamina and energy of the cast throughout was excellent, the cast worked tremendously as an ensemble and seemed to genuinely enjoy their time on stage as a cast.

The direction by Nikolai Foster brought a fresh, dynamic feel to this classic musical. The use of staging was seamless, using the set and movement to transport us through time. The use of set and lighting added a wow factor, a contemporary feel to a musical which feels in the book slightly stuck in its time.

The lighting design by Ben Cracknell was a visual delight, the synchronicity of the lighting design to the music score of this performance was incredible. The lighting design brought a modernistic feel to this classic musical, giving it an edge which felt fresh and exciting.

The choreography by Arlene Phillips was incredibly high energy, the use of set within these numbers added a wow factor. The choreography had an excellent balance of classic musical theatre style with a hip hop influence weaved throughout the numbers. Uniquely the main cast had as intricate choreography as the chorus members, this was a great display of their stamina and is not something we often see in theatres today.

The musical supervisor Sarah Travis and musical director Charlie Ingles created a wonderful musical arrangement, which was executed to a tee. The use of We Go Together at the end of the first act was a wonderful way to solidify that friendship of the group at an earlier stage. Throughout the production we hear interludes of some of our favourite songs to emphasise and foreshadow the emotion of the story ahead.

‘Grease’ is a fun night out which can be enjoyed by many generations. With there being so many characters it can be difficult to feel like you really get to know each of their stories throughout the two hour performance. Some of the solo’s throughout the performance were slightly underwhelming at times, the audience had big expectations of these well known hits. Despite the modernistic direction and the attempt to keep the musical relevant, at times, the writing feels stuck in the past. Although the emotionally driven script is easy to resonate to, I fear the world we live in now will outgrow these classics due to the world of these teenagers feeling so far away from the world we live in.