Adelaide, you better shape up! The much-loved, all-new, electrifying production of Grease has officially opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
Review by Carla Caruso
My favourite movie as a kid was Grease. (It probably still is.) And I also used to love dancing to the Grease soundtrack on LP in our rumpus room … showing my age!
So, I was pretty excited to hear that a new theatrical production of the phenomenon was coming to Adelaide.
The hit musical premiered in Melbourne in January, then toured to Sydney and Perth, and now it’s here!
For the Adelaide season, Patti Newton has reprised her role as Rydell High’s Miss Lynch (though she’s not quite as no-nonsense and strict as the movie version of the teacher). Jay Laga’aia has also continued his role as the slimy radio announcer, Vince Fontaine, who judges the school dance-off.
However, Paulini has replaced Marcia Hines as Teen Angel, especially for the Adelaide season.
While I haven’t seen what Marcia brought to the role, I was super-impressed by Paulini’s incarnation. Her singing gave me goosebumps; the woman has pipes to rival Beyonce.
Though, in the movie, I usually find the guardian angel part a bit boring, with Paulini behind the mike, I was riveted. It felt like an extra-special, almost indulgent treat to get a mini concert from her as part of the theatre ticket.
One thing you realise about Grease, as an adult, is that what makes it so iconic is the distinctive characters – from beauty school dropout Frenchy to T-Birds’ bad boy Kenickie and the tough and sarcastic leader of the Pink Ladies, Rizzo.
The supporting cast did brilliantly at slipping into these roles, even outshining the leads.
What I didn’t know about the story behind Grease was that the writers, Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, came up with the idea for it, inspired by people they went to school with in the 1950s. Originally, the characters had Polish-American backgrounds, but that’s since been ignored, although two Italian-American characters are left identifiably ethnic.
The musical is named after the era’s working-class youth subculture, known as ‘greasers’.
While Grease started out as a play (in 1971), you can’t help comparing the plot to the later movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
Some things happen at different times in the musical, like the iconic backside mooning scene, while other sections are omitted, such as the car chase. But it only makes you want to go home and rewatch the movie for a comparison.
Another thing that’s stark about viewing Grease today is how much times have changed. The treatment of women and talk around consent is now vastly different and we no longer throw around words like ‘hooker’ as insults. It’s a good reminder of how far we’ve come.
All the unforgettable songs from the movie will have you tapping your feet throughout, including Summer Nights, Sandy, Hopelessly Devoted to You, You’re The One That I Want, Greased Lightnin’, and Grease is the Word.
And, at the end, you get your chance to jump out of your seat and sing along.
Summer lovin’, here we come!
Grease the Musical is at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide until 26 October 2024
Grease is recommended for ages 7 and up. All persons aged 16 or under must be accompanied and seated alongside an adult from the same ticket transaction. Please note that the production contains strobe lighting, theatrical haze, moderate course language, the simulated smoking of cigarettes, and includes several scenes of backside mooning.
For more information, please visit the Grease the Musical website.
All photos supplied by the Adelaide Festival Centre.
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
As per all our Play & Go reviews, this is not a sponsored post and our review is done completely independently.
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