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Grease
Presented by: Altona City Theatre
Venue: Altona Theatre,
Altona
Reviewer: Michael Butler
Date Reviewed: 7th July 2007
Grease is still the word…35 years on.
Unless you have been living in remote jungles in far away lands for
the past 35 years you are no doubt familiar with the smash hit
Broadway musical Grease. The musical which has had two very
successful runs on Broadway (and a third which is imminent) spawned
a massive worldwide franchise that included an equally successful
movie of the same name.
Unfortunately the stage show which was written some five years
before the film lacks a lot of the flow and flair that the film
later presented. Hit musical numbers such as ‘Sandy’, ‘You’re the
One That I want’ and ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You’ do not appear in
the stage musical (they will be incorporated into this year’s
Broadway revival) and the script is not as clean or as free flowing.
However, this is not to say that Grease is not an enjoyable show or
worthy of your money. Done well, it is colourful, fun, entertaining
and for those of you that are old enough, it is no doubt nostalgic.
So it was with great anticipation and enthusiasm that I arrived at
the Altona Theatre this past Saturday for Altona City Theatre’s
production of Grease. I will admit that I had never been to an
Altona show before, I was however going in with high expectations as
I have heard many positive things about the company. To my surprise
given recent postings to this website the theatre appeared almost
full. So with a near to full house and what I am lead to believe is
a very sweet deal with local council my expectations grew even
higher.
Ultimately the show was entertaining and in many areas more than
reached my high expectations. In a few major areas, the show comes
well short however, and in the interest of a fair review I would
like to go into both the positives and the less positives.
Firstly I would like to make note of the show’s sound. This is the
first time in a long time that I have attended a show in an older
theatre and been able to hear dialogue and vocals exceptionally
clearly. Lighting was also at the level of quality that we have
come to expect from Stelios Karagiannis, particularly given he had
lit what I would consider to be a less than practical set.
The set design I felt was not only impractical but did not reflect
the 50’s era effectively. Large giant flats which were constantly
having to be moved by crew and did not offer any insight into the
50’s style appeared very bland. An almost entirely white stage did
not add to the fun and colour expected in Grease. The backdrop was
also left white and could easily have been spiced up with a pink or
another colour that could have blended with costumes.
In mentioning sets which required constant crew presence I would
like to congratulate the crew on what must have been a difficult
job. The crew did a very good job, however I believe that too much
was required of them. A good design should include a crew that is
not noticed on stage. Unfortunately this did not occur and to my
utter horror was the major faux pas of witnessing crew wearing blue
jeans on stage. I ask how hard is it to be professional and wear
your blacks?
As a complete contrast to my disappointment in the show’s sets was
its wonderful costumes. Tina Sparkles did a terrific job of
assembling costumes that were truly reflective of the time period. I
was particularly impressed by the costumes worn by The Pink Ladies
that looked as if they had been taken straight off of the movie set.
The combined efforts of Geoff Hayhow (musical director) and Joseph
Beckitt (conductor) resulted in a very good sound from both cast and
band. Geoff had obviously assembled a very talent group of singers,
which sang clearly and perfectly in tune through out the entire
performance. The band too was always on the beat and produced an
excellent sound.
Unfortunately I felt that the show’s choreography lacked a lot of
the class of the vocals. It appeared to me that the majority of the
cast were quite capable movers however they were having to dance
choreography that did not do Grease justice. Grease as a production
wins over an audience with its catchy songs and its larger than life
dancing and unfortunately the show’s choreography did not achieve
this.
Narelle Bonnici did a commendable job as director. Overall she was
able to produce a fun show and get the best out of her actors. There
were times however when I felt that the show lacked pace. I would
also liked to have seen a little more creativity in the show’s
blocking. An example of this would have been whilst the girls are
having the slumber party. This seemed to drag on due to fact that
the girls just sat on the bed and delivered their dialogue.
Nonetheless, Narelle, well done on a great first effort.
For the most part the show’s cast was excellent. It would be near
impossible for me to mention everyone, but I would like to start by
congratulating the show’s ensemble. Grease is a show that is
heavily reliant on high energy and enthusiasm from its cast and the
ensemble showed it in abundance. A special mention should go out to
Robert Goldsmith as Vince Fontaine who gave one of the most
convincing performances of the night.
The show’s principals consisting of The Pink Ladies and The Burger
Palace Boys were all able to produce their own unique characters and
to work well with each other through out the performance. Will
Prescott (Kenicke), Jason Mill (Roger) and Lee Beckhurst (Sonny)
gave commendable performances. Young Ben Stokes as Doody was
excellent and I was particularly impressed with his efforts in the
number ‘Those Magic Changes’.
Leading man Blake Testro as Danny gave strong vocals and character
and generally did a great job in the role. However I would have
liked to have seen more made of his relationship with Sandy as I
felt that this connection was not as well established as it ought to
have been.
Katja Algelique Gleeson (Marty), Sam Simmons (Jan) and Elyse
McInerney (Frenchy) gave the show a lot of its humour with their
outrageous facial expressions and equally outrageous accents. Amy
Clarke (Rizzo) was particularly strong vocally. I did feel however
that some of the crassness and attitude expected in Rizzo was
lacking at times.
The standout performance of the night has to go to Shelley Rodrigues
as Sandy. Shelley not only looked and sounded the part but also
brought the perfect sense of innocence to the role that it required.
Her rendition of ‘It’s Raining on Prom Night’ was absolutely
beautiful. Shelley was also making her theatre debut and should be
congratulated on a fantastic first up performance.
Grease appears to still be the word and I would advise everyone to
get down to Altona over the next few weeks and enjoy the show. I
certainly did and I look forward to seeing future production by
Altona City Theatre as they appear to be a company that is heading
in the right direction
Michael Butler is currently in rehearsal with Fab Nobs on their
production of 'Tick Tick Boom’. He has recently been seen in 'Honk'
(Fab Nobs) for which he received a commendation from the Music
Theatre Guild. Other recent productions include 'Disney's Beauty and
the Beast' (Whitehorse), 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' (CLOC), ‘Hot
Mikado’ (MDMS) and ‘Return To The Forbidden Planet’ (Fab Nobs). He
will soon be heading to Brisbane to appear in ‘Carousel’ with Scott
Irwin.
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