"Grease"

Nottingham Arts Theatre.

We may not be seeing Summer Nights this week, weather wise but at the Nottingham Arts Theatre the sun is shining and there is great fun to be had with this brilliant slice of retro teen/coming of age High School awopbopaloobap awopbam boom fun musical. I know that "Grease" isn't everyone's cup of tea, it's definitely my choice of beverage.

Everyone knows the story of Rydell High’s Danny, the leader of the pack and High School “jock” and Sandy, the prim and proper “Sandra Dee” character who has just moved to Rydell and reacquaints herself with Danny after some Summer Lovin’ with Zuko, There's also the T Birds and The Pink Ladies and the unforgettable soundtrack, so I don’t need to go into the story for you.

You'll find a few differences to the film here as some of the songs have been moved around and is more akin to the actual stage musical than the film version.

Sandy is played by Emily-Hope Wilkins and what I like about this version of Sandy is that she is not made out to be the perfectly groomed little airhead school girl, she is opinionated and knows what she wants, and who she wants, and is altogether quite a tough little cookie. Emily-Hope's rendition of "Hopelessly Devoted To You" really comes from the heart and provided those tingles that I look for in a ballad.

Jonathan Jaycock plays Danny Zuko and he is just what is required for the role. Good looking and slightly big-headed but not over the top when it comes to being a goofball. He plays the ideal "jock", the sort that all the high school girls want to get with, and all the lads want to associate themselves with. I thought his version of "Sandy" was one of the best local theatre versions I'd heard, and I'll tell you why. He didn't try and sing it with the teenage angst that Travolta did. He'd just been dumped so it was an "in the moment" version. There was no straining for the high notes and when he slipped into falsetto at the end, he managed it easily.

Rizzo is played by Esmee Khadim. In some ways I prefer Rizzo to Sandy's character because there is that earthiness, devil may care, lone wolf feel about the character. Esmee straight away showed this from her first speech. There is an air of maturity about the character, brought out perfectly by Esmee and yet another tingle moment when she sings possibly my favourite song from the soundtrack "There Are Worse Things I Could Do". This song shows the vulnerable side of Rizzo and Esmee delivered it with the perfect amount of vulnerability and emotion. This is Esmee's first piece of theatre since 2019, and I for one hope that we don't have to wait another four years for her next role.

Kenickie is played by George Young, and what a different look for George. Anyone who has seen George perform before will straight away know his hair. I actually had to check the programme to see if it was really George; it looked like George but, unless he has had his hair cut, surely all the grease in the theatre could not have plastered George's hair down the way it was with this character. He looked great, he acted great and, as I said earlier, with this being the stage version as opposed to the film version, he got to sing "Greased Lightning", which Kinickie did on stage; Travolta of course sang it in the film version, he performed and sang it brilliantly.

This is a brilliant role for George and shows another side to George's acting skills. Even in the smallest scenes, like when Rizzo told him the suspected pregnancy was not his to worry about, George's expression really had you feel for him.

Jess Henley-Marshall plays Marty and another excellent piece of casting. Marty is the really cute one who Vince Fontaine chats up at the hop. This is Jessica's second Nottingham Arts Theatre show; she was in "Footloose Jr" last year.

Sophie Benner plays Jan, the character who likes her food, and everyone else's. It was lovely that the audience really reacted to the part where Danny and Sandy are first reunited and Danny drops his lunch pack and Jan's first thoughts are to pick his lunch up and starts to tuck in to his sandwiches, that caused quite a giggle among the crowd. Sophie is an actor I've seen several times and she always brings something fresh to the roles and what a voice she has as well.

Kate Russell is Frenchy, the beauty school student who drops out. In the film the role is played by Didi Conn who really brought the characteristics of this ditzy character to life. Kate does the same thing here. We know that Frenchy is not the sharpest tool in the box but she has an absolute heart of gold and we see this in Kate's performance.

Doody, Frenchy's boyfriend, is played by Sonny Noble, marking Sonny's debut for the Arts Theatre. This is the first time that I have seen Sonny but you can tell that he is quite the seasoned performer due to his confidence in this role. You can tell that he enjoys being on stage and playing this slightly goofy character.

Sonny is played by Brogan Haynes, and I know Brogan from his various roles from various venues, most recently from "Les Miserables" where he played Maurice at The Duchess Theatre. Sonny has a crush on Marty and is one of the T Birds. This is a fun character, always joking and goofing around, and it's nice to see Brogan play a less serious role on stage, it shows another dimension to his acting and performing skills.

Megan Wilson plays Roger, the youngest of the T Birds. This is also the first time that I've seen Megan on stage but she is a little powerhouse of an actor. This is her first time with Nottingham Arts Theatre productions but with the confidence she shows on stage, you can tell that she has had stage experience previously. Can't wait to see her in future shows.

Patty Simcox, the Head Cheerleader, is played by Yara Tamsyn Johns-Ramos. This role shows just how energetic an actor Yara is, also highlighting just how much a team player she is, fronting the cheerleaders played by Hemi Lewis, Emily Holder, Lotty Bricklebank, Charlotte Clay, Erin Hanby, Harriet Campion, Hermione Cumbers and Olivia Bonham, whose vocal talents could also be heard as the singer on the radio.. The choreography for this group was marvellous as was the synchronicity from every one of them.

Eugene, the Class valedictorian and all round geek, is played by Jamie Adlam. This young man is such a ball of fun to watch, especially when he rocks out during "We Go Together". His characterisation and delivery of such a character is marvellous to watch. I've seen Jamie in a few other roles in the last year and he really lives the character he is playing at the time. He has an obvious love for performing and that comes out in his execution of the role. This young man, who is just as enigmatic off stage as he is on, has a bright future as a character actor.

Joshua Preston doubles up as Jonny Casino, the leader of the band playing at the dance contest, as well as Teen Angel. The first thing that will hit you about Joshua is his voice. His voice is so deep and rich, it's like tasting dark chocolate for the first time. Imagine Johnny Cash playing Teen Angel, well that is what came to my mind with Joshua. It's as teen Angel though that his personality came into play; there's a slight air of arrogance in the character and that, blended with that voice just made his version of Teen Angel one of my favourites. Joshua is another new face debuting at the Arts Theatre and injections of fresh blood like him on stage is a very welcome sight and sound. And I love the Teen Angel costume.

Vince Fontaine, the radio dee-jay with a penchant for teenage girls is played by Daniel Duckworth. Daniel brought out the predatory creepiness of Fontaine well and managed the 1950's DJ rapid patter reasonably well also. It's not easy to get that speed talk, I know, I've tried it.

Phoebe Bateman plays Cha Cha, and her dance experience really came into play with Cha Cha Digregorio, the best dancer at St Bernadette's but with the worst reputation!

Miss Lynch is played by Eloise Lowe. The serious, no-nonsense English teacher is played wonderfully by Eloise in her return to the stage after finishing University. I've already got my tickets for her next part as Belle in Bingham Musical Theatre Company's production of "Beauty And The Beast" at Bingham Arena.

Daisy Hillery plays Blanche, the xylophone tapping side kick to Miss Lynch. Some of the comedy is very subtle in "Grease" and there's one scene at the start of the dance off where Miss Lynch is making the announcements, which are pre-empted by a xylophone flourish from Blanche, resulting in the confiscation of the instrument.

The ensemble include Malikea Smith, Preston Nash, Stephanie Booth, Isobel Farr, Kayla Burgess, Josie Samuels, Liam Brown, Connie Armstrong, Eliza Szejda, Elise Sykes, Hannah Tuck, Arlo Perrons - whose voice was heard as the radio announcer, Caitlin Young, Cleo Sims, Cody Eley, Ace Merkelt, Amelie Burgess, Ainna Leisa McIndoe-Peart and Amy Flatman. This ensemble really fleshed out the cast and brought excitement to all of the dance routines.

During the film sequence when Danny and Sandy were in the car, we also got to hear the vocal acting of Olivia, Preston and Arlo.

Directed by Marie Rogers, this show was the success that I knew it would be. The pace was kept up at all times and the time flew by. This is an iconic musical so there is always a lot of pressure to get everything right, and that is what Marie and her crew did; they got everything right which was hugely recognised by the audience on opening night.

Choreographed by Amy Rogers-Gee assisted by Charlotte Barrington. These dance routines may seem easy when you are doing "Greased Lightning" at a wedding etc but when on stage and done well it looks spectacular. the big choreographed numbers like "We Go Together" or the more simple solo numbers all looked amazing. Apart from hand jives, flicks and kicks, jives there were acrobatics in there which made the choreographic side of this musical an absolute joy to watch, performed by these young and talented actors and dancers.

I must also mention the work that the stage crew do on productions as big as this. Mark Russell, Matthew Allcock, George Wilson, Rhys Beardley, Cathy Bodman, Ian Hadlington and Hollie Harvey.

Musical Director was AJ Hills leading the six piece band who created that authentic 1950's feel of the musical.

Lighting Design by Evie Webster was absolutely spot on as was the Sound Design by Rob Kettridge; a perfect fusion.

I loved the set with its' big Grease backdrop and multi level staging. Plenty of detail went into this set, even down to the posters of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe along with the film posters that adorned the bedroom walls.

The costumes were wonderful - I've already mentioned Teen Angel's silver suit and sneakers, but every costume, and as you can see by the size of the cast, there were plenty to source, and I just love the retro styles.

The wigs and make up were also incredibly good, especially in the "Beauty School Dropout" scenes where the Teen Angel dancers had their bouffanted hair up in a mountain of rollers, and still looked glamorous.

This show really is the one that you want to see, even if it is raining, not just on prom night or on a blue moon night. A thoroughly enjoyable night at the theatre, again showcasing the incredible talent that these young actors have. A show to really lift your spirits.

"Grease" is at the Nottingham Arts Theatre until Saturday 23 September.