Grease is the Word Musical

Last week the hubby and I went to see Grease the Musical at the Lyric Theatre. I have loved the movie version of Grease ever since I first saw it when I was about 10 and have probably seen it hundred of times since so when the musical hit town I knew I had to go see it.

Vince Fontaine (played by Burt Newton) kept the audience entertained with Radio WAXX while the audience found their seats and popped up over the course of the musical to string scenes together.

Before the musical started the Principal of Rydell High Miss Lynch (Val Lehman) hit the stage (along with Eugene and Patty) to teach the audience the lyrics to Sha-Na-Na and then we were treated to the show itself and what a treat it was.

For those of you that have been living under a rock Grease is a musical that follows a bunch of students from Rydell High school most notably the greaser T-birds and their girls the Pink Ladies. During school holidays greaser and bad boy Danny meets pure and wholesome Sandy (who is new in town) at the beach and the spend the summer together. They meet up again at school but Danny casts Sandy off as she is too sweet to maintain his image with his peers. The group go through their ups and downs and the school year plays out but it all ends happily ever after for these teens in love!

The show perfectly captured the essence of the 1950's with great costuming and production. Gretel Scarlet made a fantastic Sandy, perfectly transitioning from sweet girl next door to the vixen she becomes at the end of the show. Rob Mills would not have been my first choice for Danny as he seems to clean cut and nice but he played the part really well and I especially loved his Danny Zucko laugh! I also have to mention Lucy Maunder who played Rizzo. Not only did she get the best costumes but she put in a really gutsy performance that gave the character real emotion especially when she sang 'There are Worst Things I Could Do'.

My favourite part of the movie has always been the teen angel scene and the musical didn't disappoint in this scene with Todd McKenney stealing the show with his performance in the role. Watch out for the reference to Dancing with the Stars and his maraca wielding Boy from Oz moment!

And of course I can't help but notice the awesome costumes. Here are a few of my favourites:

Grease is a fun 50's musical that I think anyone would enjoy. The musical closes in Sydney on 22nd December so grab your tickets soon!