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Tickets gifted for review

I don’t think anybody needs an introduction into what Grease is all about. It’s Greased Lightning! (And yes, that Greased Lightning mobile makes it on stage at the Little Theatre!). Get your hands at the ready, find your shiniest leather trousers and be prepared to hear some fabulous renditions of this iconic show by Wigston Amateur Operatic Society. Though… bad news for those of you who don’t have tickets, as it’s sold out!

Jumping straight in, there are some super clever uses of stage techniques throughout the show, I enjoyed the use of split staging, and found it to be excellent during Summer Nights. I also thought lighting and projection (Joe Roberts) was excellent throughout, with a series of old time American commercials to set the scene and a selection of backdrops to help move the story along. Lighting wise, it was always on point. Though, it’s impact did become an unfortunate distraction during a beautiful performance of Hopelessly Devoted to You as the audience giggled away to the projection.

Can you beat a live band? The band makes a great impact on the music and the orchestra is led with expertise by Katie Bale. Choreography by Lyd Rushton might be considered brave at points, yet the cast handle it with ease. With some excellent use of sign language during some numbers, a strong tap dancing section, and some true to movie movements – John Travolta and Cha Cha (Shell Cully) eat your heart out. The ensemble sometimes did appear overcrowded on stage, but shows testament to how many members the group has. The Beauty School Dropout choreography and costume design was a major high!

Sandy is brought to life fabulously by Jenna Leigh and Danny by Gaz Hunt. They have a great on-off connection, and both delivered a wonderful performance. There were a lot of audience laughs brought with thanks to the delivery of script changes (such as having to go home to see Mickey Mouse!) and comedic movements. Leigh had a brilliant show and showed fantastic natural character arc.

Katie Wilson delivers a serious A game as Rizzo. Her quick tongued responses are perfectly timed and delivered and her muttering and mannerisms were fantastic. She also showed serious vocals in There Are Worse Things I Could Do. I loved her chemistry with the wonderfully cheeky and charismatic Kenickie played by Nick Wilkins.

Perhaps one of the strongest performances of the night for me was Zach Varnam as Doody, who was brilliant throughout. He was excellent during Those Magic Changes and was a really delightful character to watch who continued to remain so strongly in character even when not in the focal point of action. Sonny and Roger complete the Burger Boys with Jay Kenney and Jacob Bale respectively.

Marty (Katie Proctor), Frenchy (Emily Woodall) and Jan (Lucy Foreman) have such strong performances, the girls in Grease really shine through as such commendable and standout roles. Marty (Katie Proctor) was very fun and entertaining to watch, and Jan (Lucy Foreman) was played excellently whilst Frenchy (Emily Woodall) really shone through on Beauty School Drop Out.

The show is a well put together show which is testimony to the hard work dedicated both on and off stage and the fun and dedication shines through. If you’ve got tickets to this sold out amateur performance of Grease, you’re in for a treat. It’s a delight to see such a great show with a buzzing sold out energy of support.