Grease

The Banyule Theatre in Heidelberg is rockin’ and rollin’ to the sounds of ARC’s latest offering, Grease.

The much loved musical, set in 1959 at the fictional Rydell High, follows its students through in their final year of high school, revealing all the love, friendship and trials along the way. ARC has given a retro revival of the show with a few fresh twists.

Co-Directors Mark Kearney and Stephen Valeri have extended their talents to designing the impressive set. Instantly you are hit by the American Bandstand style stage, complete with ‘TV’ and multi-level dance podiums, which were used effectively throughout the production. The pastel colours and shapes represent the era perfectly. Watch for Greased Lightning (the car), which was a real treat.

The theme followed on through Louise Parson’s costumes. Pastel colours were the palette for the beautiful pieces worn by the characters and they were very true to the 1950s setting. I particularly liked the decision to give each of the Pink Ladies a base colour which was carried throughout and cleverly matched to their Burger Palace Boy counterpart. However, I would have liked to have seen the same attention to detail be given to the hair and make-up choices to ensure they were appropriate to the vision.

The lighting design by Danny Issko was well rounded with good use of colour that complemented the set. However, there were a number of instances where spotlights were not correctly placed, which was distracting and often left the actors in shadow. I believe as the season progresses these issues will be rectified.

Costa Zacharia’s Danny was heavily influenced by John Travolta’s portrayal in the popular film. I would have preferred to have seen a unique characterisation in this production. However, Zacharia did thrive in the character chosen and won the audience over with his smooth, strong vocal ability, which was particularly evident in his version of Sandy.

Rachel Tigel’s Sandy was well balanced between sweet and naïve to sexy and sultry. A more modern interpretation of the character, Tigel showed a Sandy that would be found in your local high school. At times she struggled with her upper vocal range, but countered this with a lovely, mellow mid range. She did tend to get swamped by the more developed characterisation of the other performers, but in general Tigel gave a solid performance.

Kenickie, played by Harrison Wall, was a good mixture of tough guy and bravado. A late casting due to the injury of Julian Campobasso, who was originally cast in the role, it would be forgivable for Wall to provide an under-developed performance. This is not the case. Wall was consistent from start to finish.

Ashleigh Kreveld showed the vulnerability of Rizzo nicely and this was demonstrated well in the emotional performance of There Are Worse Things I Could Do. However, I felt her portrayal was a little restrained and missed the strong, sassy leadership qualities which really are the core of the character.
It was disappointing to note the lack of chemistry between Zacharia and Tigel and also Wall and Kreveld. More attention to this was needed in order to make the relationships between the characters believable.

The Burger Palace Boys are rounded out with Doody (Luke Oldmeadow), Roger (Luciano Parissi) and Sonny (Giulian De Vincentis). All three performances were enjoyable, shining where appropriate and working well together as a comedic trio.

Equally as endearing were the Pink Ladies; Marty (Elise Cavallo), Jan (Jaclyn De Vincentis) and Frenchy (Kate Spruce). I found the strength of these three characters often overshadowed the other leads. This was especially true in the case of De Vincentis, who was the clear audience favourite.
A special mention goes to Stephanie Laiacona for her intense, sickly sweet and somewhat unnerving portrayal of cheerleader, Patty.

The stand out performance was given by Robert Clark as Teen Angel. And angelic he was. Suave, composed and a falsetto that raised a roaring cheer from the crowd, his cameo role was the highlight of the evening.

The ensemble was bubbly and full of energy. They all reacted well and appropriately. It was also nice to see the versatility of the performers utilised with many cameo roles as back-up singers, dancers and Beauty School Angels.

The production was supported by Co-Musical Directors Simon D’Aquino and Kent Ross, as well as a very talented band. And they should be congratulated for attempting to try something different with the musical interpretation of the show. The most evident alterations were the substitution of All Alone at a Drive-In Movie and All Choked Up for their film equivalents, Sandy and You’re the One That I Want. There was some re-writing of harmony or changes to which characters sang certain parts that added interest. The decision, however, to allow a more modern pop vocal style to some of the solos didn’t quite hit the target. They felt out of place and distanced those pieces from an otherwise smooth flowing show.

Kearney and Valeri’s directorial decisions were very clear and cohesive. There was more of an influence of the film version than anticipated and I would have liked to have seen a stronger attempt to bring some more unique touches to the interpretation, as was apparent in the musical direction. But overall the vision was purposeful and did bring an atmosphere where the audience could identify with the characters, which can be difficult to achieve. This was particularly well shown in the Rydell Fight Song.

Emmalee Meisel’s choreography was fun and energetic, drawing inspiration from the jive, rock and roll, swing and a touch of tap. The execution was a little messy and uncertain, and often not synchronised. Given the varying level of dance experience on stage, the choreography could have been simplified without losing any of its impressiveness. However, the cast performed it with enthusiasm and it was enjoyable to watch.

Congratulations to ARC for a wonderfully bright and fun production of this sock hoppin’ favourite.

Grease runs until July 16th.  Bookings:Ph: 0435 062 087  or Web: www.arc-theatre.com.                         Check What's On for more details.

Review by Katrina Vinck

Katrina Vinck is in her 10th year of involvement in non-professional and professional theatre. Her theatre credits include two productions of The Mikado (ensemble and Yum Yum), Oliver! (Charlotte Sowerberry), Bye Bye Birdie (Penelope-Ann Henkle), Guys and Dolls (Mimi/Hot Box/Havana dancer), Li’l Abner (Dee-Dee), A Cut in the Rates (Monica Pickhart), The Boy Friend (Nancy), The King and I (Wife/Dancer), Snow White (Snow White), Grease (Jan), Hot Mikado (ensemble) and Who Will They Clone Next? (Prue Bright). She has also assisted with costumes and marketing in various productions. Currently Katrina is Assistant Director, Lighting Designer and a Principle Performer in an upcoming variety concert for Leading Dramatic Society and Assistant Director for an upcoming benefit concert.