Review - Grease at the Cliffs Pavilion
If you haven't seen or heard of Grease, then you probably aren't the type to bother with musicals.
But if, like me, you love a good old fashioned stage show then Grease just never goes out of fashion - it is surely one of the classics.
Since being successfully revived on stage in the mid 90s, the seventies set behemoth has rarely been out of the theatres, touring the country with a host of talented up and coming, and established stars in the title role.
This time Peter Andre, charismatic and cool on a very warm night, joins them as Teen Angel on selected dates and adds a bit of star power.
But if you are expecting a re-tread of the classic 1978 film version then you are in for a surprise because this takes its lead from the original stage production, with extra songs, grittier dialogue and no sign of any T-Birds because they were originally the Burger Bar Boys and the action all took place in Chicago.
There is a more balanced focus on all the Rydell High Schoolers, not just Danny and Sandy's romance which is in turns refreshing but sometimes a bit confusing for those of us who only have the film as reference.
As a result their central connection is perhaps a little bit lost at times but the extra scenes and action more than make up for that and all the favourite numbers are here but with fresh choreography and a real spring its step.
This really is a show for all ages - a bit tongue in cheek but just enough to fly over the heads of the very young and nostalgic enough to recall a time we weren't all surgically attached to our smart phones.
Grease is at the Cliffs Pavilion until Saturday July 27 (Peter Andre will not appear on this date)
www.thecliffspavilion.co.uk
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