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Post by LaLuPone on May 7, 2022 23:06:06 GMT
How was Olivia Moore as Sandy? I was so glad to see her announced for this, she did some great work covering Veronica in Heathers and then Jenna and Dawn in Waitress and definitely proved herself as a capable leading lady.
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Post by ceebee on May 7, 2022 23:38:29 GMT
How was Olivia Moore as Sandy? I was so glad to see her announced for this, she did some great work covering Veronica in Heathers and then Jenna and Dawn in Waitress and definitely proved herself as a capable leading lady. She was excellent - absolutely divine. |
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Post by Dr Tom on May 7, 2022 23:44:13 GMT
How was Olivia Moore as Sandy? I was so glad to see her announced for this, she did some great work covering Veronica in Heathers and then Jenna and Dawn in Waitress and definitely proved herself as a capable leading lady. She did great. Sang really well in Hopelessly Devoted to You (spoiled when I was there by audience members helping her out with the vocals). But otherwise, a bit anonymous, perhaps because it's hard to keep track of everyone in a vast theatre, perhaps because Sandy/Danny is only one of many stories in this version of the show, or perhaps by design. Nothing to be ashamed of appearing in. |
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Post by MusicalTalk on May 8, 2022 8:36:28 GMT
Grease last night was fun; whilst not as elaborate or detailed as the one they played at the dominion 30 years ago - this production reveals the show’s darker edge and tone whilst still being a strong parody of 1950s attitudes and films. I always forget how clever the songs are and it’s nice to hear some I’ve never heard before - such as Tattoo Song and How Big I’ll Be (first featured in a revised Version done by the American theatre company)
Peter Andre was fun as Vince Fontaine but his performance of Teen Angel was lacking as he seemed not to bother to sing the last note of the song - but it was still fun and the audience, whilst a bit chatty, lapped it up.
Was nice to see my friend Olivia Moore be amazing as Sandy, too!
I just wish someone would stage the true original in the UK. With boogie man boogie, in my day, kiss it and all choked up - and restore the alma mater (and its parody) along with the framing device of the reunion.
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Post by Dr Tom on May 17, 2022 9:35:42 GMT
I nipped back again to see Grease last night. This wasn't planned in advance, but Rush threw up a front row ticket option, which I took. I was way off to the side, but it was largely the boys' side of the stage, so the view was good. Space next to me too.
As with many shows, I enjoyed this much more as a second viewing. I also much prefer being able to see faces and details. The sound is still rather ropey though, even at the front.
Peter Andre fans out in force again. I found the audience much better than before, fewer disruptions, although that might also be a benefit of sitting at the front.
Noah Harrison stood out to me vocally. It is great to see how he has gone so quickly from a lead role is Lysistrata Jones (which I saw) to a lead role in Grease. From his vocals, I can see him being perfectly set for a career in Jersey Boys.
Enjoyable and I would happily go back again.
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Post by musicalcritical on May 19, 2022 2:26:46 GMT
Mainly 2-3 stars, kinda sad to hear, I was super looking forward to seeing this and Legally Blonde.
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Post by ladidah on May 19, 2022 8:09:48 GMT
I still want to see this, will wait for the right deal.
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Post by robertb213 on May 19, 2022 8:18:43 GMT
I enjoyed it, it's a bit rough around the edges and Dan Partridge isn't a strong enough Danny in my eyes, but there are some excellent supporting performances. And it's worth going for Olivia Moore's "Hopelessly Devoted To You" alone!
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Post by leanne23 on May 19, 2022 8:55:10 GMT
I saw this on Press Night - it's great fun and as others have mentioned, features an excellent, energised supporting cast. Paul French as Kenickie steals every scene he is in. Dan Partridge is entirely fine as Danny, whilst Olivia Moore shines as Sandy with her divine vocals.
My main issue with the show is how it goes to such great lengths to modernise the piece for 21st Century audiences and reinject a bit of grit into the show, yet completely fails to see this through to the end. It features a wonderfully diverse cast, headstrong female characters (though Sandy comes across as massively self-righteous) and intimates towards class/racial politics.
As such, the ending of the show felt incredibly abrupt. Sandy has her moment of revelation and quickly clads herself into some leather. It was delivered with absolutely no sense of irony or self awareness whatsoever. I expected another scene or two in which the transformation could have been criticised. I simply felt the final scene completely undermined everything the directors had hoped to achieve. It all felt very abrupt.
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Post by danb on May 19, 2022 10:12:47 GMT
Unfortunately I think it would be difficult to reinvent Grease much further than they already have. From its relatively simple original staging to the flashy (at first) show/film combo that ran forever & everywhere, back to gritty-ing it up again with this production…I’m not sure where else it could go without losing the basics of its dodgy (by 21st Century standards) plot.
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2022 12:14:18 GMT
Is this the same production that was doing the rounds pre Lockdown. Peter Andre was in that one, there was a black Rizzo, dark haired Sandy and original songs but back in?
Everyone knows the film version but this one includes original songs along with the extra songs written for the film. Sandy is only thought of as blonde as Olivia Newton John was blonde and it has largely been played as such since. Like Holly Golightly was blonde in the book but we think of her as Audrey Hepburn with her iconic image.
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Post by mattnyc on May 19, 2022 17:12:49 GMT
Going to see this tonight and the box office just told me Peter Andre is out but will be back next week.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 19, 2022 17:18:22 GMT
Going to see this tonight and the box office just told me Peter Andre is out but will be back next week. Peter is in urgent talks about an ad campaign with Sky TV 😲 🍆 |
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Post by amp09 on May 19, 2022 17:37:33 GMT
This was a miss for me today except Olivia Moore (Sandy), Paul French (Kenickie) and Damon Gould (Sonny) who managed to hold it all together. Everyone else fell flat particularly Dan Partridge (Danny) and Lizzie-Rose (Marty) who struggled with hitting the right notes and screeched in parts. There was zero chemistry between the two leads but my gosh can Olivia Moore knock out Hopelessly Devoted To You - phenomenal and staged really well.
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2022 17:47:44 GMT
Going to see this tonight and the box office just told me Peter Andre is out but will be back next week. Peter is in urgent talks about an ad campaign with Sky TV 😲 🍆 He said the chipalata size was in proportion to the vessel it entered. |
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Post by mattnyc on May 19, 2022 18:00:22 GMT
This was a miss for me today except Olivia Moore (Sandy), Paul French (Kenickie) and Damon Gould (Sonny) who managed to hold it all together. Everyone else fell flat particularly Dan Partridge (Danny) and Lizzie-Rose (Marty) who struggled with hitting the right notes and screeched in parts. There was zero chemistry between the two leads but my gosh can Olivia Moore knock out Hopelessly Devoted To You - phenomenal and staged really well. And now Olivia is out tonight, also. :-( |
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Post by ladidah on May 20, 2022 7:09:51 GMT
My friend went last week and also thought Danny was poor, which is interesting because everyone seems to agree.
Surely there must be an amazing performer out there who could have taken it on?
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Post by distantcousin on May 21, 2022 12:45:28 GMT
I saw this on Press Night - it's great fun and as others have mentioned, features an excellent, energised supporting cast. Paul French as Kenickie steals every scene he is in. Dan Partridge is entirely fine as Danny, whilst Olivia Moore shines as Sandy with her divine vocals. My main issue with the show is how it goes to such great lengths to modernise the piece for 21st Century audiences and reinject a bit of grit into the show, yet completely fails to see this through to the end. It features a wonderfully diverse cast, headstrong female characters (though Sandy comes across as massively self-righteous) and intimates towards class/racial politics. As such, the ending of the show felt incredibly abrupt. Sandy has her moment of revelation and quickly clads herself into some leather. It was delivered with absolutely no sense of irony or self awareness whatsoever. I expected another scene or two in which the transformation could have been criticised. I simply felt the final scene completely undermined everything the directors had hoped to achieve. It all felt very abrupt.
Unfortunately - as I commented last July when I saw it - the "obligation" to shoehorn in the film songs completely throws a spanner into the the Sandy and Danny characters/dynamic the script creates - because the song lyrics suit the revised, film version of their relationship. That was the real clanger for me - the lyrics of those songs paint them as this deep love affair - the script and original stage songs suggest nothing more than a fling (which both learn and grow from as young adults) that is all but over by the finale.
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Post by ladidah on May 23, 2022 19:39:43 GMT
In the interval, really not liking it at all. As a movie fan, all the songs are in a strange order - we got together at the end of the first part!? - and all the original songs are bad.
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Post by ladidah on May 24, 2022 6:38:38 GMT
I actually left at the interval, haven't done that in years.
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Post by mattnyc on May 24, 2022 12:37:07 GMT
In the interval, really not liking it at all. As a movie fan, all the songs are in a strange order - we got together at the end of the first part!? - and all the original songs are bad. But this isn’t the movie. This is the order the songs are in, in the original stage version. |
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Post by ladidah on May 24, 2022 13:12:18 GMT
I get that, but I found it too jarring. It just wasn't for me at all.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2022 14:15:10 GMT
Must have been a bad production for an experienced theatre goer to leave a well known show.
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Post by ladidah on May 24, 2022 14:42:58 GMT
I think if I had realised it was a totally different script, with new songs I wouldn't have booked. I really did just want the joy and fun of the film.
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Post by couldileaveyou on May 24, 2022 14:57:17 GMT
I think if I had realised it was a totally different script, with new songs I wouldn't have booked. I really did just want the joy and fun of the film. Those are not new songs |
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