Director: David Gilmore
Book, Music and Lyrics: Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
Additional Songs: B Gibb, J Farra, L St Louis and S Simon
Details: Piccadilly Theatre, Denman Street, W1D 7DY
Tube: Piccadilly Circus
Performances: Mon-Thu, Sat 7.30 pm, Fri 8.30, Matinees Fri 5 pm, Sat 3 pm
Running time: 2h30
In short: Slice of 50s boy-meets-girl juvenilia guaranteed to lighten the heaviest heart.
In full: My sister was once set to tread the boards as Sandy until her picky school pulled the production on the grounds of decency. Sounds bizarre, but in a way the school had a point; Grease contains a load of double entendres and sexual allusions that were conveniently hidden behind the angelic glow of Olivia Newton John’s face in the film but which give the stage version some added (and welcome) earthiness.
It is this sexually charged atmosphere of boys and girls on heat plus a phalanx of fantastic songs that help Grease ride away from the many bandwagon jumpers who saw simple 50s nostalgia as the key to the show’s success.
Other Critics
– ‘Energetic production with frantic choreography.’ Michael Coveney, The Observer
– ‘The score, with its mixture of rock’n’roll and classic pop, is a genuine delight…The rock’n’roll band is the best I’ve heard in a West End theatre.’ Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph
