“Grease” by Millenial Productions

I last saw Grease live in 2013 while at a year 10 drama camp. It had a flash cast of stars including Rob Mills, Gretel Scarlett, Bert Newton and Todd McKennoy, and baby was I excited! I spent all the cash I had on an overpriced program at the front door, and found my seat, ready and raring for the show of a lifetime: But as I sat there, watching the second act from the back row of the top balcony I realised something… I hated it. Not ideal when I then had to go back to three more days of camp with 60 other theatre obsessed kids who wouldn’t stop raving about it. Awkward.

So it’s been 10 years now since I last saw Grease. In that time I did graduate high school and endured a few interesting years of a drama degree, that seems to impact my perspective on things. So let’s see where I’m at now, shall we?

I bought tickets to Grease by Millennial Productions after seeing their Spring Awakening earlier this year. They certainly seem like a community theatre group to keep our eyes on, and I’m honestly looking forward to seeing where they go from here. I think when they’re past productions and marketing can get me to buy a ticket to a show I just said I hated, they’ve done an impressive job.

After a late start due to tech difficulties, and an absolute ordeal finding a carpark (sorry to all the basketball dads who got double parked until intermission) the show commenced with school principal Miss Lynch (Carly Wilson) leading a little housekeeping address. What I loved about this moment was how it reminded me of seeing a high school production of the show, it had a delightful nostalgic feel and Carly’s American dialect set the tone of the show right away - certainly hers was a stand out for the whole performance. Later she was joined by comedic duo Patty (Angelina Bourke) and Eugene (Peter Wood) who each had their little moment with Miss Lynch. I admired how they fleshed out the role of Eugene, to allow for nerdy little dance breaks and one-liners that had the audience quickly falling in love with Peter’s character.

After just a few high energy numbers, what began to stand out above all else was the masterful choreography. It was slick, creative and fast paced- a massive congratulations to choreographer Jess Briskie and assistant Lauren Bensted, for devising such dynamic routines, and to the performers for executing them with such talent. The choreography continued to be exceptional throughout the whole show, and made the production stand out from any other community musical productions I’ve seen before. Certainly the worthwhile highlight of the production!

The costuming and sets were gorgeous- especially the creative use of the lockers for some great moments. The main Rydel High set continued to have that feeling of a high school production in the best possible way. Costuming in especially Beauty School Dropout was quite literally, sparkling, and great admiration to the creative team Keeley Turner (Production Manager), Taylor Andrews (Director) and Jackson Hughesman (Assistant Director) for pulling the shows look together.

All the actors on the stage embodied the caricatures of this show fantastically, showcasing some really impressive talent from young performers here in Brisbane. The Pink Ladies Rizzo (Mila Fave), Marty (Chelsea Sales), Jan (Emma Bettinson) and Frenchy (Chelsea Jaimeson) all delivered their roles gorgeously, from their dialects, to their looks, to their physicality. Fantastic casting choices again by the creative team!

A a girlie in 2023, it could feel pretty icky watching those T Birds thrust about their toxic teenage masculinity all over the stage, but I was really impressive by the way the group delivered the humour of the characters in a way that was as gross as it was sweet. Doody (AJ Betts) and Roger (Jackson Hughesman) in particular brought such a likeable energy to the group and I would maybe trust a T Bird with my drink at the bar.

I caught AJ in Spring Awakening earlier this year, and was delightfully impressed by their ability to embody such a different character so skilfully. They had plenty of gorgeous moments, and their Beauty School Drop Out performance was certainly a show stopper. With such warm and skilled vocals, I will be looking forward to seeing more of their future roles.

Jackson also has a sweet set of pipes on him, and his high notes in Mooning had the audience (and Jan) absolutely swooning. His awkward teenage chemistry with Emma as Jan was very special piece of the show, and I admired little moments between them, such as him fetching her a juice box during the school dance, that were adorably detailed and sweet.

In fact I noticed quite a lot of beautiful details in the show, especially from the ensemble and background actors, who didn’t allow for any dead or tired moments. Whether this was the detailed direction of director Taylor Andrews or actor led, it really stepped the whole show up to the next level. Fantastic work to the entire cast on bringing this show to life!

Now as we neared the end of the show, the moment we’ve (really not at all) been waiting for arrived and Sandy sauntered down the steps in those tight leather pants and thick red belt. It’s an interesting sign of the times that she received very little audience response in this moment as we all sat there thinking, no girl don’t do it. But I know you just can’t mess with that original text... With that said, I really felt a lack of chemistry between Sandy and Danny that it made this moment possibly even more of a bad idea for the poor girl. Throughout the show there wasn’t much of “a will they won’t they” feeling, and instead more of “a run girl run vibe”, because Danny Zuko had zero redeeming qualities. Not at all to discredit the actors, but something about the lead characters relationship simply just wasn’t hitting quite the right note.

Unfortunately the biggest thing that let the production down was the sound. The microphones seemed quite temperamental and while the first act was so booming we were getting blown away, the second was turned down so much moments were missed. Especially the final scene as dialogue bounced about the stage, there were many lines completely missed due to the microphones, emphasised quite beautifully by the little boy in front of me asking his mother quite loudly “who is talking right now?”. This moment in general did feel a little messy, as it was difficult to find focus on the stage, and could’ve done with some playing with.

With all that said, the shows positives did shine through, resulting in a joyful, colourful production that had me dancing along in the back. With only 3 shows left this weekend, it’s worth grabbing a ticket for a fun night out. And I will certainly be keeping a close eye out for what Millennial Productions gets up to next!

Tickets at: https://www.millennialproductions.com.au