Grease Live In Singapore: It's Got Groove, It's Got Meaning!

Summer nights have hit Singapore, and I'm not just referring to the unbelievably hot nights that we've been having recently.

I talking about Grease -- the latest musical to open at the MasterCard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands. 

Having grown up belting out Summer Nights and Hopelessly Devoted To You while playing the Grease soundtrack on repeat, I was really excited to catch the show. And a teensy bit worried. I had the high hopes and expectations that one has when revisiting an old favourite. I really really really wanted it to be good.

I needn't have worried. The show remained true to the well-loved 1978 hit movie and while conveying raw energy that comes only with the stage. My husband and I had a rollicking good time from start to finish.

We had an inkling that this show was not the usual prim-and-proper musical when the show opened with Miss Lynch, the principal of the fictitious Rydell High (where Grease is set) teaching the audience the filler words to We Go Together. So "rama-lama-lama-ka-ding-ity-ding-de-dong" and "shoobop sha wadda wadda yippity boom de boom" and the like. Everyone was encouraged to sing along, guys against girls. (Incidentally my sister and I just loved these nonsensical lyrics as kids, so I had no problems and was really enjoying having a go at it!). This was a show in which audience participation -- singing, clapping and even dancing along -- was encouraged as part of the fun.

(Credit: Base Entertainment Asia)

When the performers subsequently burst on stage with Summer Nights, it was hard not to want to dance and sing along to the energetic dance routines and the familiar tunes. From the first note, I was bopping along in my seat asking my husband to "tell me more!". Credit has to be given the great choreography and fancy footwork of the cast, as well as the presence of a live band, which just lent oomph to the great tunes.

Of course, what makes or breaks a musical is the, well, music and songs.

Here's a fun fact: This production is not the original stage production which pre-dated the hit 1978 movie, but rather, a newer version of that Broadway musical which incorporates four of the songs which were written for the movie, namely the title track Grease, Hopelessly Devoted To You, You're The One That I Want, and Sandy. So you get the best of both worlds!

Filling the shoes of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John is a tall order, but one which the leads Stephen Mahy (who plays Danny Zuko in the Singapore tour) and Gretel Scarlett (Sandy Dumbrowski) pulled off well. A self-described "real-life Sandy", Scarlett slips easily into Sandy's sweet girl-next-door persona while convincingly portraying her confusion and longing. Mahy too certainly looked the part of as Danny, standing head-and-shoulders above everyone else, and had that likeable charisma that makes him totally believable as the leader of the T-Birds.

Grease is a story that needs a great ensemble cast, and the group here certainly played their part. In fact, one of the crowd favourites on opening night was Doody's Those Magic Changes which near stole the show, especially when backup singers/dancers popped out of shower stalls in skimpy little towels in the dream sequence!

I must admit I was rather befuddled by the story when I first watched the show as a teen and I still am, since it does not sit well with my value system and framework for life. But Greasehas always been a little larger-than-life and over-the-top, and continues to be rollicking good fun.

That said, I personally would leave the kids at home for this one as its mature themes and language are probably not so appropriate for the little ones. Make a date night of it and go catch Grease for the songs, the dancing, and that raw, palpable energy. Grease is about youth and even today, will appeal to the young at heart.

Grease is now playing at the Mastercard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands from 25 April to 18 May 2014 at 8pm on Tuesday to Saturday, with additional matinee shows at 2pm on Saturday and 1pm and 5.30pm on Sunday. Tickets are priced at $175 (VIP), $150 (A Reserve), $130 (B Reserve), $85 (C Reserve) and $60 (D Reserve). Get your tickets at Base Entertainment Asia or the Marina Bay Sands website.