After finishing its West End run at the end of April, Grease is touring the UK once more and I went to see it on Saturday. I’m not the biggest fan of the musical, but it’s enjoyable enough and you know exactly what you’re getting. The last time I saw it at the Piccadilly Theatre I was less than impressed though, mainly because I found the cast rather weak, but I decided to give it a go again anyway.
The two leads are played by Danny Bayne and Carina Gillespie. Danny played the part before in London after winning a television competition, but I wasn’t really impressed by him. He did everything Danny Zuko is supposed to do, he’s got a nice enough voice, he looks the part, but I found him lacking stage presence and charisma.
Carina, however, made a very good Sandy. She’s got a nice voice and I liked her Hopelessly Devoted To You. I often get bored with that song, because I’ve simply heard it too often, but I enjoyed her singing it.
Lauren Stroud (Frenchy), Laura Wilson (Jan) , Lois Unwin (Marty) and Kate Somerset How (Rizzo) are the Pink Ladies. Kate has a very strong voice, but I found myself watching Lauren Stroud a lot. There was something about her performance that made her stand out from the others, in a good way!
The T-Birds, Ricky Rojas (Kenickie), Richard Vincent (Doody), Derek Andrews (Roger) and Josh Dever (Sonny) were good, too, though they all looked far too old for their parts (though still younger than some of the London cast I saw), apart from Richard Vincent. Nevertheless, Ricky has got a great voice, so has Derek, and I loved their Greased Lightning and Mooning. Standout for me, however, was Richard Vincent’s Doody. He’s got a very pleasant voice and his Those Magic Changes was great, as was Rock ‘n’ Roll Party Queen, which he sang with Derek. Great stage presence and definitely one to watch out for in the future!
Robin Cousins was good as Teen Angel, but it’s not really a part I pay much attention to, I’m afraid.
The rest of the cast are Jason Capewell (Vince Fountain – good, but again, I don’t really pay much attention to him, there’s just too much happening on stage then), Darren John (Eugene), Sammy Kelly (Patty), Nancy Hill (Miss Lynch) and Sophie Zucchine (Cha Cha).
The ensemble, Tyman Boatwright, Albey Brookes, Matt Crandon, Llandyll Gove, Matthew Jeans, Holly Adams, Natalie Marie Dignam, Olivia Fines, Tarryn Gee and Alice Mogg were very energetic and great dancers.
I’m glad I saw it and I definitely prefer this cast, but as I said, most of them looked too old, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it again when it comes back down south.
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