Book, music and
lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
Directed by Stephen Pike
Queanbeyan
City Council production
At The Q Theatre until 15 August.
Review by Len Power 29 July 2015
‘Grease’ is a nostalgic fairy tale but it’s amusing to think
that in these politically correct times we all happily flock to a musical in
which a nicely-mannered, pretty girl learns that she has to look and act like a
leather-clad tart to keep her oaf-of-a-boyfriend’s interest.
Compared to the original, much grittier version, stage
productions of ‘Grease’ these days are more like the blander, sugar-coated but enjoyable
movie version of 1978.
Rosanna Boyd was excellent as Sandy as was Vanessa de Jager
as Rizzo. Marcus Hurley as Danny gave a
strong performance in the first act but seemed less energetic in the second
act. There were also great cameo moments
from Jonathan Garland, Dave Collins, Hayden Crossweiller, Liam Downing and each
of the Pink Ladies.
 |
| Rosanna Boyd as Sandy |
The set for the show and the projections were unimaginative
and a disappointment. There was so
little detail it seemed more like a concert version of the show. Jordan Kelly’s choreography was certainly
energetic but often had nothing to do with the intention of particular scenes
and it all looked the same after a while.
 |
| Marcus Hurley as Danny |
Costumes by Anna Senior were colourful and attractive with
great attention to detail. The singing
was confident and the band conducted by Jenny Tabur sounded excellent. Sound balance was occasionally uneven, making
it hard to hear some lyrics clearly.
 |
| Vanessa de Jager as Betty |
Stephen Pike’s show has an appealing freshness due mostly to
the enthusiastic young cast. It just
needed some better production values to make it a great one.
Photos taken at the Media Call on 22 July 2015 by Len Power
Originally published
in Canberra City News digital edition 30 July 2015. Len Power’s reviews are also broadcast in the
‘Artcetera’ program on Artsound FM 92.7 on Saturdays from 9am.