Grease The Musical

Grease The Musical is older than I am (and I’m no spring chicken!). It was first performed on stage in1971, with the smash hit movie released in 1978, and it’s been performed and screened probably a bajillion times all over the planet since. Yet, through some musical theatre miracle the cast and crew of the production currently playing at QPAC’s Lyric Theatre manage to make this old classic feel fresh.

It’s hard to put your finger on exactly how they achieve the freshness, but the show is exceptionally well paced, it leans hard into the moments of physical and verbal comedy, and while it does deliver on those moments every audience member is going to expect to see, the production is still wildly innovative. Plus, the cast is jam packed full of triple threats and the show looks and sounds superb.

The ambitious creatives behind the scenes have aimed for an epic and operatic scale and they really have achieved it. The atmosphere is set before the curtain rises with Craig Wilkinson’s charming digital displays of 1950s style drive in theatre advertisements. Wilkinson’s work adds a lot of fun and humour to the whole show and is also decidedly impressive during the drive-in movie scene.

James Browne delivers a clever, adaptable set design with ingenious levels upon which the players can work. Extra special mention to Browne for the transformation of the car during Greased Lightning. Browne is also responsible for wigs and costumes which are sheer perfection. My favourites are the costumes and wigs for the sleepover scene, beauty school and teen angel, Greased Lightning, and the school dance scenes. Having one visionary designing sets and costumes results in a production that is visually coherent with a well thought out colour palette.

Music supervision by Dave Skelton and direction by Kohan Van Sambeek is fantastic. The live band is thrilling to hear, especially the brass and percussion, which is punchy, lively, and electrifying. Arrangements are brilliant too, with my favourite being the stripped back, slow tempo opening to Hopelessly Devoted. I’m usually rather unmoved by that tune, but the arrangement and the passionate emotion in Annelise Hall’s (Sandy) delivery breaks my heart into tiny pieces.

While Eric Giancola’s choreography includes some of the moves audiences expect and I dare say even demand to see in Grease he still finds plentiful ways to be inventive and dial up the fun and humour. The many levels of the set and stage are used to great effect in Giancola’s dance sequences and also just in general scene blocking by director Luke Joslin. It’s hard to pick just a few, but favourite dance moments would be Grease is the Word, Greased Lightning, We Go Together and Born to Handjive.

Every performer delivers on the commitment, acting, singing, dancing and energy without fault. I’m particularly impressed with Fabian Andrés’ (Danny) accent work and physical comedy, Keanu Gonzalez’s (Kenickie) dancing and comic timing, Annelise Hall’s aforementioned singing and acting, and Mackenzie Dunn’s (Rizzo) characterisation and her singing and acting especially in There are Worse Things I Could Do. One can’t possibly forget to mention the hilarious and charismatic Patti Newton (Miss Lynch) or the exquisite vocal tones of Marcia Hines (Teen Angel). There seriously isn’t a dud performer on stage. The Pink Ladies are pink-readible (yes that pun was a stretch but let’s rock and roll with it) and the T-Birds are tee-riffic. Even the non-speaking ensemble players are a joy to watch.

This exciting fresh take on Grease The Musical hits all the right notes. Yes, it provides what audiences want and expect to see and hear from this beloved classic, but it also innovates and surprises. It boasts a stellar cast who are a pleasure to watch, gorgeous visuals, pitch perfect music and the fun chance to join in and dance and sing along during the finale medley. This production exceeds expectations and delivers a thoroughly enjoyable evening of musical theatre excellence.

Kitty Goodall

Images (from top) Fabian Andrés (Danny Zuko), Keanu Gonzalez (Kenickie) and the Adelaide 2024 cast of GREASE The Musical. Photo by Naomi Jellicoe; Mackenzie Dunn (Rizzo), Keanu Gonzalez (Kenickie), Patti Newton (Miss Lynch) and the Adelaide 2024 Cast of GREASE The Musical. Photo by Naomi Jellicoe; and Annelise Hall (Sandy Dumbrowski) and Mackenzie Dunn (Rizzo). Photo by Jeff Busby.