It can still be a challenging time in these post-pandemic lockdown days for the world of theatre. Such challenges as illness and cast changes have faced the UK Tour of Grease the Musical in the early part of its Cardiff run this week.
Featuring a strong cast including Dan Partridge as Danny, Laura May Fenny as Sandy, Paul French as Kenickie, Tendai Rinomhota as Rizzo and Peter Andre in the combined role of Teen Angel & Vince Fontaine the cast and crew have overcome every obstacle to provide a fun musical you should not miss the chance to see.
For me, by seeing Grease for the very first time, the musicals well deserved widespread success is proven by hearing songs that I didn’t even know originated in it. It was a pleasant surprise to hear incredible songs such as Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted to You and Sandy performed wonderfully and in the spirit of the well-known recordings.
There were some wonderful performances too, among them Peter Andre’s crowd pleasing dual role of Vince Fontaine and Teen Angel (which got much audience appreciation in the second half) and Laura May Fenny received some well deserved appreciation for her vocal performances as Sandy.
In the cases of some of the characters, eccentric, high pitched adds to the humour of Grease. The storyline’s message of changing yourself to fit stereotypes and trends for others does feel outdated. Despite this, Grease continues to be loved by people all over the world and doesn’t let itself be held down by such negative connotations.
Songs such as You’re the One That I Want, Greased Lightning, Beauty School Dropout and Grease is The Word are consistently amazing and enjoyable. They are really the backbone of the musical and are worth going to see alone. Along with the soundtrack we’re also given a story of heartbreak, longing and change set to the backdrop of the class of 1959 at Rydell High School.
Grease is a must-see musical and is worth every second of your time.
- Grease The Musical ends its run at Wales Millennium Centre today. For ticket availability check out The Centre’s website.