Grease @ The Bristol Hippodrome – until Saturday.
Grease has been a favourite for audiences around the world since the release of the 1978 film, when boy met girl, fell in love and battled their teenage demons while confronting gang warfare and teenage pregnancy.
This production succeeds in bringing a strong cast together, belting out favourite hits you just can’t help singing along to: Grease Is The Word, Summer Nights, Sandy and Grease Lightning, to name just a few.
The set is amazingly colourful and in keeping with the film. The actors work together to make it a real showstopper.
The comedy is constant, helped along especially by the characters of Roger (David O’Reilly) and Eugene (Darren John), who portrayed the perfect geek and brought the audience to their knees.
Stuart Reid played the part of Vince Fontaine with ease and kept up the suave characterisation throughout. But my personal favourite had to be Rizzo (Kate Somerset.
When she sang the auditorium fell silent and all that could be heard was her beautiful, pure voice, that made the hairs on my neck stand up.
A strange but successful addition to the cast was former ice skater and Dancing On Ice judge Robin Cousins, who played the part of Teen Angel.
The audience reacted to him with a long round of applause, which was well deserved. I was amazed at how captivating his singing voice and dance routines were.
Unfortunately, there were some technical problems on this first night, with some cast members injuring themselves and sound problems during Sandy’s final song. But it did not stop this band of professionals soldiering on, to make Grease a show really worthy of watching.
- Pauline Cole
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