Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff – until 27 November 2021
Reviewed by Rhys Payne
4****
Grease is probably one of the most well-known movies/musicals to ever be created and so most people go into the show knowing what to expect. I myself have seen three different versions of this show three times and so I go in knowing what points in the show will be a highlight but also how much energy the performers need to do a complete run of the stage musical. One of the most impressive things about this musical is how the ensemble are able to endure the whole high-energy musical that is crammed full of energetic dance numbers without running out of energy as I know for a fact that I wouldn’t make it through the first two numbers! Every cast member managed to get through the whole musical without the standard of dance specifically always being very high!
The tour was headlined by the incredible Dan Partridge who plays the lead burger boy and iconic Danny Zuko. Dan is clearly a very talented vocalist which was a constant highlight during this portrayal of the character. His rendition of the ambitious song “How Big I’ll Be” was incredible with the emotion and fantastic stage present demonstrated throughout the number! Alongside Dan as Danny, we have Sandy who was played by Laura Jayne Fenny. This is my third time seeing a production of Grease and every time I do think that the reveal of Sandy’s new persona should be a much bigger moment instead of a normal entrance. Laura’s performance of “Hopelessly Devoted To You” was absolutely insane! The two-character work together a lot and Laura and Dan’s voice sounded beautiful when performed alongside each other!
As you would expect the high-energy dance number “Grease Lightening” was an absolute spectacle to watch with energetic choreography, a car and strangely a sort of tap section on dust bins. I can guarantee that if you play this song at any party then people will bust out the classic arm based choreography which actually did not exactly make an appearance in this production!
I liked the inclusion of Peter Andre as both the teen angel and Vince Fontaine with the latter taking up the majority of his time on stage. As Vince, Peter was wonderfully camp and Elvis inspired that was incredibly entertaining throughout where even he was not the focus of the scene I found myself focusing on him. I was absolutely amazed to watch Peter (aged forty-eight) pull out incredible jazz splits which were then made into a joke with the cast members helping him back up after this incredible stunt! The scene as the Teen Angel allowed Peter to showcase his vocal abilities where he was a lot better than I expected! I thought that the pairing of Josh Barnett as Roger and Maeve Byrne as Jan worked fantastically together. Their rendition of “Mooning” was fantastically funny with both performers giving everything into this comedic number.
There has been a lot of discussion in many of the theatre-related social media pages about the lack of theatre etiquette since returning. While there are some things that are generally unacceptable such as talking during the show, answering phone calls or recording production but there is one controversial issue that is always coming up. People seem to get very annoyed by audience members who sing along during musicals and I have a bit of a strange opinion on this. I personally love a sing-song and can’t help it when one of my favourite songs is being performed! Despite this, I always keep in mind that the people around me, may not enjoy my singing so I keep it as quiet as possible. While watching the brand new production of probably one of the most well-known movies/musicals Grease I noticed that a lot of people were singing along which usually isn’t a problem. They all seemed to known the words which is great but the issue was that they didn’t seem to get either pitch or timings. People were shouting out the wrong lyrics at the wrong time or worst of all-singing during breaks in the music which caused the audience to laugh which must have been very distracting for the performers on stage. I totally understand that the majority of people know the songs from Grease inside out but it’s incredibly frustrating when the focus is taken off the actors who are literally paid to put on a show. Also, there is a mega-mix at the end of the show where everyone is encouraged to get up and dance with all their hearts out so the audience should keep participating to mostly this point! On a much more positive note a quick thank you needs to go to Wales Millennium Centre who had done everything within their power to rearrange a booking to see Grease after the shows earlier in the week were cancelled due to cast change/illness!
Overall, Grease is a musical that showcases the endurance of its ensemble members while showcasing the vocal abilities of many of the key characters. I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of icon Peter Andre where he showcase his singing abilities and surprising dancing skills where it was clear that he was also having a great time performing! I love any musical that contains a mega-mix at the end of the show which should be the only opportunity for the audience to get involved.