Grease was certainly the word when the film hit cinemas back in 1978.
Now it’s seemingly all the rage again after Grease the Musical kicked-off a string of dates at the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
The production features a star-studded cast, with The Wanted’s Tom Parker playing Danny, Over the Rainbow’s Danielle Hope in the role of Sandy, and EastEnders’ Louisa Lytton taking on Rizzo.
West End veteran Darren Day is also in the mix as he plays both the Teen Angel and Vince Fontaine.
Of course, there are always going to be high expectations when such a reputable show comes to town.
After all, previous incarnations have picked up Drama Desk Awards, Theatre World Awards and been nominated for a handful of Tony Awards.
So does it live up to its potential?
ENERGY: The cast make a huge impact during the musical numbers
First of all, the musical manages to capture an element of fun that isn’t always there at the theatre.
Such productions can be many things. Artistic? Yes. Powerful? Maybe. Thought-provoking? Sometimes.
But there’s no guarantee that fun will be on the table, so the cast and crew of Grease should give themselves a pat on the back for serving up a high amount from start to finish.
The story is a rather simple one; boy meets girl, boy rejects girl, boy then realises girl is actually ‘the one what he wants’.
It’s laced with musical numbers that are seemingly engrained into everyone’s memory, including Summer Nights, Greased Lightnin’ and We Go Together.
There are also a few subplots thrown in to tackle themes such as teenage pregnancy and dropping out of school.
It’s fair to say that this production really hits its stride when the entire cast are allowed to work their magic in front of the audience.
T-BIRDS: The Wanted’s Tom Parker plays Danny
Of course, solo renditions of There Are Worse Things I Could Do and Hopelessly Devoted To You make an impact.
But the real energy comes when all the T-Birds and Pink Ladies get a chance to share the stage together.
That said, Darren Day manages to wow with his rendition of Beauty School Dropout.
The actor – famed for playing the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 1993 – makes the most of his short time in front of the audience.
It’s just one of the many reasons why people will be singing, bopping and smiling along to this production until it wraps up in Manchester later this month.
*Grease the Musical is showing at The Palace Theatre until Saturday, March 25.
