Last night I returned to The Marlowe Theatre
For the first time since February 2020
It was so good to be back
To see Grease The Musical
I loved the movie Grease as a teenager
I knew every word to every song
And still do
I have performed in extracts of the show before
But never the full musical
And until last night I had not seen Grease on stage
I am so glad that I have
I thoroughly enjoyed myself
And for a couple of hours
All the stress and anxieties of the last 18 months
Drifted away and I was hand jiving with the best of them
And wondering if at 44 I am now too old to play Rizzo
A role I have always wanted to try
But less about me
And on with the show!
Grease is a coming of age story
Set in the 1950s
The decade when the teenager was born
This story is set in and around a high school senior year
The film centred around an unlikely love match
The stage show tells more of the stories of all the characters
The Burger Palace Boys and The Pink Ladies
This was brilliant as this show has a great ensemble cast
And the best performances were given by some of the smaller roles
I thought Alex Christian as Doody, Josh Barnett as Roger
Cristian Zaccarini as Sonny and Maeve Byrne as Jan were amazing
One of the standout moments for me was Roger (Rump) and Jan performing Mooning
They were both wonderful throughout the show
But coming together for this number they were so funny and so endearing
I loved them both
I also really enjoyed
Doody singing Those Magic Changes
The dancing in the show was high energy
The choreography by Arlene Philips was wonderful
And added layers of humour and depth to every scene
It was so hard to see Danny and Sandy and not compare them to
The legendary Olivia Newton John and John Travolta
I thought that the pair were good but for me there was not enough chemistry between them
And Sandy’s change at the end could have been made so much more!
The strength of this production of Grease was definitely in the big full cast song and dance numbers
The songs so many of us know and love
We Go Together was particularly well done
And of course, Hand Jive
Peter Andre was in the show last night
He is appearing in some shows in certain theatres throughout the UK tour
As Vince Fontaine and Teen Angel
I think Peter played the roles brilliantly
He was not taking himself too seriously
And he was having a lot of fun throughout the show
Always in the background and allowing the young leads to have their moments on stage
It really worked
I had a fantastic night at the theatre
I loved being transported back to my teenage years
I loved hearing all my old favourite Grease songs
And the 1950s music just made me think of my childhood and my Dad
I was raised on 50s pop and rock n roll
The feeling it brings never ever goes away
If you are looking for a fun night at the theatre
With a hefty dose of nostalgia mixed in
This is the perfect show for you
Grease The Musical is at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
Until Saturday 14th August