Paul ThomasonGrease is back in Manchester for a welcome return with this energetic touring production featuring a youthful cast. This current version is a blend of one of the greatest movie musicals of the last half century and the original 1971 stage show it was based upon.
This is a familiar boy-meets-girl story but with the addition of teenage hormones, friendships, peer pressure and wisecracks which tread close to bullying.
Local Levenshulme lad Marley Fenton takes the role of the Burger Palace Boys gang-leader, Danny Zuko who falls for Sandy Dumbrowski (Hope Dawe, making an impressive professional debut) in a holiday romance only to be re-united when Sandy moves school to Rydell High. Fenton’s portrayal provides a more vulnerable Danny, whose uncertainty at how to handle his public interactions with Sandy doesn’t match his bravado and banter in front of his mates. Sandy also has to compromise and try to impress her new friends so she can join the Pink Ladies.
Dawe has a fantastic voice with a DIsney character quality and brought whoops from the crowd after a dreamy “Hopelessly Devoted To You” and Fenton can certainly hold a tune too.
The direction from Nicolai Foster makes the show race along but it doesn’t give the central relationship of Danny and Sandy the opportunity to appear genuine.
Strangely, the romance between imposing Burger Palace Boy Kenicke (Ben Nicholas) and Rebecca Stenhouse’s hard-faced Betty Rizzo seems more realistic. Stenhouse is convincing as the mean girl leader and gives her all while showing her vulnerable side performing “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”. Nicholas gives authenticity to the role, looking like he can handle both a gang battle and Rizzo’s acerbic tongue.
The show comes alive when the full cast are on stage performing to Arlene Phillips’s (of Strictly fame) brilliant choreography, particularly during the dance competition at the timely Halloween Ball with Deena Kapadia strutting impressively as Cha Cha.
A radio studio perched high-up at the back of the stage allows Joe Gash to provide a fast-talking DJ Vince Fontaine but it as playful Teen Angel, hitting high notes befitting a fifties crooner in “Beauty School Dropout”, where he gets to display his showmanship and really fire up the audience.
The remaining Burger Palace Boys and Pink Ladies are also given their chance in the spotlight and they all grab it. Lewis Day as Roger and Emerald B as Jan convincingly moon over each other, India Chadwick is a confident Marty, Kieran Lynch makes a charismatic Doody, Alicia Belgarde a friendly Frenchy, and Dylan Gordon-Jones is a really likeable and funny Sonny.
As mentioned earlier, this is not a straight staging of the film version so even if you are Travolta’s biggest fan, expect some new songs and familiar songs in unexpected places (“Sandra Dee” is not sung at the sleepover). However, all of the main songs from the movie are still there and are sung note-perfectly here so get down to The Palace and put a big grin on your face because this staging of Grease has groove and has feeling.
Grease is at The Palace Theatre, Manchester from 8-19 October 2024.
Steve Timms
Carmel Thomason
Liz Ratcliffe