For 30 years The Rattonians have been entertaining the people of Eastbourne with shows that range from Some Like it Hot and Kiss Me Kate through to Hairspray and Fame, all of which have been well received and, in this 30th anniversary year, they have chosen, for the first time, the hit musical Grease – but, to be totally honest, I’m not sure that it was the best choice.
The thing with most musicals is that they don’t necessarily have a “definitive version”. Many play the West End, then tour, then are revived, then tour again and so people get used to seeing changes and updates but, with Grease, there is a definitive version (which was voted the Best Musical of All Time in a recent poll) and , sadly, this is not it.
Ben Chaffin as Danny and Chloe Shearer as Sandy work well together and Ben Gurney (Kenickie), Jack Colbran (Doody), Matt Wentworth (Roger) and Mike Summerfield (Sonny) are suitably car and girl obsessed as the T-Birds, but the Pink Ladies, with the exception of a superb performance by Meggie Dennis as Rizzo, lack depth of character.
Marty (Alice Potter) is not really as “easy” as she should be, Frenchy (Natalie Harper) is not as outgoing as she should be and, although she tries the hardest of the gang, Daisy Bennett sadly just misses the mark as food obsessed Jan.
Another problem with this production is that, although there is a sizeable orchestra pit in this theatre, the musicians are hidden away backstage, taking away the powerful effect that having a live eight piece orchestra would deliver and replacing it with amplified sound which never gives the same effect.
There are some moments of pure Rattonian magic, particularly during the full cast dance numbers (Summer Nights, Born to Hand Jive and We Go Together) and, as mentioned before, with Rizzo’s showstopping rendition of There are Worse Things I Could Do but, overall, this production lacks the “wow” factor that is usually associated with a Rattonian production.
*** Three Stars