Grease  – Empire Theatre, Liverpool and Touring

Marley Fenton and Hope Dawe in Grease at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool and Touring. Picture: Marc Brenner

Grease was reviewed at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool where it continues until 1 June 2024. The tour continues until 16 November 2024.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

An overheard comment in the foyer highlights something about stage musicals that have gone on to become films. An audience member scanning the programme was commenting that the actor cast as one of the leads in Grease looked nothing like John Travolta. Of course, while Travolta had indeed appeared in the first Broadway run, he did not take the role of Danny until he was cast in the movie version, by which time the music and overall feel of the show had transformed into something less challenging for the audience.

With the 1978 film version so ingrained in peoples’ minds, it takes guts from a director to attempt to restore it to its earlier, edgier Chicago roots, but Nikolai Foster has a great track record of blending faithfulness to the writers with imagination and originality. His 2019 production has already had two successful runs in the West End and is now making an extensive UK and Ireland tour.

The tour promotion promises that the show will be ‘grittier and more glamorous than ever’, and what is especially notable is the raw energy that permeates every scene. First impressions, as the cast clamber around set designer Colin Richmond’s skeletal steel staircases, are of the electricity of West Side Story, and the show opens with an impressive array of favourite numbers. Less than halfway into Act I we have already heard ‘Grease is the Word’, ‘Summer Nights’ and ‘Greased Lightning’, among others, which certainly sets the tone and, for the most part, the pace of the entire show.

It may not go quite as far as the slightly earlier Chicago revival in restoring all of Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey’s original book and score, but it reinstates the Burger Palace Boys in place of Hollywood’s T-Birds, as well as returning to a closer approximation of the running order of the first Broadway production while maintaining enough touches from the film to avoid disappointing its die-hard fans.

It is definitely the music, arranged by Sarah Travis and directed by Charlie Ingles, and the excellent ensemble and solo vocals from the cast, coupled with very stylish choreography from Arlene Phillips that do the hardest work in the show. While some of the passages of spoken dialogue lose momentum in places, the pace is generally well judged, and Foster gives equal weight to the more reflective, emotional scenes as he does to the big production numbers. Meanwhile, Tom Marshall and Richard Brooker’s sound design ensures that the substantial pit band is perfectly balanced with both solo and ensemble voices.

The central pairing of Marley Fenton and Hope Dawe as Danny and Sandy leads a cast that is filled with very fine characterisations and performances. Rebecca Stenhouse and Alicia Belgarde give powerhouse vocals to Rizzo and Frenchy, while George Michaelides and Joe Gash impress as Kenickie, Vince and Teen Angel (with Gash doubling roles). But this is not to ignore the impressive array of turns from so many of the cast, each of whom brings a rich individuality to their parts. A special shout goes to Sergi Ibanez, understudying Roger on press night to quite a response.

Houses sold out by all but half a dozen seats or fewer at every performance in the Empire’s vast auditorium speak volumes about the enduring popularity of Grease as a show, and audiences will not be disappointed. This revival finds a balance that adds an extra layer of theatricality for fans familiar with the silver screen rendering, and more than satisfies those looking for the promised edginess of the source material.

The tour continues with a packed itinerary of venues booking through to November.

Nigel Smith