★ ★ ★ ★

Reviewer - Hollie

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review.

This show contains: Strong language throughout the show and discussions of sex.

Welcome to Rydell High! Presented by Greasepaint Productions at Mountsorrel Memorial Centre there was a full audience for the start of the six-night run of the all-time favourite musical, Grease! Grease is a classic love story with themes of fun, rivalry and jealousy throughout the story.

Grease has an enormous following and it is a lot of people’s favourite film so I was intrigued to see how the musical would fare on the small stage. As the school bell rings you are transported back to 1959 with the teenagers returning to school after the summer with the inclusion of authentic props and costumes which brought back memories of a time gone by.

Opening with the classic opening song ‘Grease’ by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons the audience began an evening of fun, singing and smiles. All of the Pink Ladies and T Birds sang really well and performed all dances and songs with gusto whether they were solos or duet performances. The entire inclusive cast were extremely natural with each other and they provided lots of laugh out loud moments and well-coordinated and choreographed dance routines.

The musical contains all of the classic songs ‘Hopelessly devoted to you’, ‘Greased Lightning’ and ‘Summer Lovin.’ The performance also provided some original songs with ‘Mooning’ being a particular audience favourite sung by Jan and Putzie! Were you born to hand jive baby? The audience thoroughly enjoyed joining in with the actions of the Rydell High Prom Night songs in the second half. Throughout the evening there was a buzz and energy amongst the audience as they were reminiscing about their favourite Grease moments during the interval.

A particular mention is awarded to Bobbie Da’Bell who played cheesy cheerleader Patty Simcox through the use of her hilariously funny actions with her pom poms and one-liners throughout the show. Many laugh out-loud moments were had by the audience over the superb acting of the enthusiastic and bubbly character Jan played by Nikki Coles. Another stand out moment was when the teen angel appeared before Frenchie in the classic musical piece ‘Beauty School Dropout.’

Mountsorrel Memorial Centre has been renovated over the last few years and the tiered seating offered perfect views of the staging, lighting and scenery. For a small venue, the show was well worth the money in my opinion and many audience members agreed with me! I look forward to attending shows at the Memorial Centre in the future!

Are you ready toTutti Frutti and Chang Chang changitty chang sha-bop on down this week? You will have to attend in order to find out for yourself how uplifting and brilliant the show is!