Indeed, it is not Spanti’s Danny who performs the iconic Greased Lightnin’, as Travolta did in the movie, but Gonzalez’s Kenicke, which is what the character did in the original show. It’s a slight adjustment, but enough of a change to the cherished film version to shift the spotlight away from dreamboat Danny to the other characters to remind us of the importance of gangs and groups during the crucial teen years.
And just as the great Stockard Channing ran away with the Grease movie playing tough gal Rizzo, Perth-reared, WAAPA-trained Dunn leaves the leads in the dust with her powerhouse version of one of the show’s lesser-known songs, the ballsy, heartbreaking ballad There Are Worse Things I Could Do.
Danny (Joseph Spanti) and Sandy (Annelise Hall).Credit: Jeff Busby
As has become a tradition with Grease the Musical, the grown-up roles are taken by well-known veteran performers, with 79-year-old Patti Newton bringing a surprising snap to her role as the school teacher Miss Lynch (no Biden-like questions about her being up to the task), Jay Laga’aia channelling James Brown-ish swagger in playing the mischievous DJ Wayne Fontaine and Marcia Hines going full diva as the Vegas-ready Teen Angel (she still has a hell of a voice).
Unlike previous shows set during this period that have played at Crown in recent years, there is no attempt to make Grease relevant to our times or remove elements that will make a more enlightened audience cringe (when the geeky Eugene becomes the target of homophobic jokes he shudders, as if he was being called a Nazi). So it lacks the self-reflexive wit that could freshen up Grease for a younger audience.
But Grease the Musical is not that kind of show. Indeed, there is barely any attention paid to the push and pull of the Danny/Sandy relationship and the trauma of Rizzo’s pregnancy is brushed off with a couple of words, which completely undermines the heartache of her earlier ballad.
It’s pure nostalgia, delivered in such a slick and exuberant manner it is like being dropped into the passenger seat of Kenicke’s souped up car, taken for a spin through the fantasy version of the 1950s with a bunch of timeless songs on the radio – and ending in a very happy place.
Grease the Musical runs until July 28.
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