Greased lightnin' strikes again

The Grease cast try to keep as close to the film as possible. Photo / Supplied

Of course Grease still has groove and meaning three decades on, says Paul Nicholas, co-producer of the show hitting the Civic this week.

"Grease is still the word because it's the eternal story. Boy meets girl, boy and girl fall out, usually over a misunderstanding or jealousy, and then at the end boy gets back together with girl and things work out.

"It's the old Adam and Eve thing, isn't it, and it's something within us all."

Wrap that in the nostalgia for the 1950s - white sneakers, full skirts, cigarettes, plenty of hairspray for the girls and pomade for the boys - throw in some singalongs and knee slaps and you've got a snappy little evening, he says.

Nicholas been involved in the show since he played Danny in 1973, replacing Richard Gere in the first London production of the show. West End star Elaine Page played his Sandy.

He went on to produce Grease and managed to convince Jim Jacobs, who co-created the musical in 1970, to introduce some of the film's biggest numbers to the stage show.

You Are The One That I Want, Grease Is the Word, Hopelessly Devoted to You and Sandy were written specifically for the 1978 film and the production at first did not have the rights to them. "It just happened that those four songs became so popular and were the hits, really.

"It was very key that those songs went into the stage show, because people would turn up having seen the movie and if those songs weren't in there they would be disappointed."

One of the biggest tasks with any stage production of Grease is trying to please the fans by keeping as close to the film as possible, Nicholas says.

And the first and most difficult hurdle is to find a Sandy and Danny who will live up to Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta.

"Everyone has that image of John Travolta. First of all, they have got to be attractive. But not only have they got to be attractive, they have got to be able to sing.

"They have got to be able to dance and they have got to be able to act.

"So many people can do two of those things but it's very difficult to find those ingredients for the Dannys.

"For the Sandys, it's difficult to find that sense of innocence she has at the beginning and then for her turn into that rocking chick at the end.

"And also, to find someone who can sing Hopelessly Devoted To You, which is a very tough song to sing, particularly the middle section - a lot of girls fall there."

It ain't easy, but they are out there, and Nicholas thinks he has found a particularly good pair in South African performers Bethany Dickson and Jonathan Roxmouth, who play the leads in this week's Civic show. For 22-year-old Dickson, landing the role of Sandy was a childhood dream come true.

She was introduced to the film when she was 7 years old. "I remember exactly where I was and I remember exactly how it happened.

"It was re-showing at the cinemas where I lived for one night only, and I wasn't able to get a ticket.

"I was devastated because everyone was talking about it and everyone was going and my parents managed to find an old copy of it that they had in the garage somewhere.

"They put it on the video player and I sat in my room and watched it. I remember it had such a big impact on me. It's so special that I am able to do it now."

As a child, pretty, demure Sandy was her favourite but in later years Dickson fell in love with feisty Rizzo.

It may have helped that she looks like Sandy - she wasn't sure whether she would have to cut her long, naturally blonde hair when she won the role - but it turned out the costume director had most of the cast in 1950s wigs.

That allows for a 40-second transformation from conservative Sandra Dee to racy Sandy at the end of the production.

"It's actually quite a procedure. I have about six people ripping off my wig, taking off my dress and putting on my black outfit, shoes, a new wig and red lipstick - thankfully I haven't been late for my entrance yet."

This is the second time 23-year-old Jonathan Roxmouth, who plays Danny, has been involved in a big Grease production. In the first, five years ago, he chose to play the Teen Angel over going to university to study criminal law.

He's been putting off the law career ever since, as he went on to perform in Cats and Beauty and the Beast before returning to Grease.

This time around he is in almost every scene - as Teen Angel he appeared for one song in Act 2 and spent the rest of the time watching from behind the curtains.

"It was kind of frustrating, you wanted to get back out there. So this has been wonderful to see the show from the stage this time and not from the wings," he said.

As Roxmouth is not trained in fancy footwork, Danny is a challenging role - especially as choreographer Arlene Phillips injected the steps with even more stage-show energy.

It's daunting enough having to recreate John Travolta without going one up on him.

"I don't think there is anyone who can do Travolta steps the way Travolta can.

"I needed a bit of remedial training for this role, especially for the big number in Act 2, the hand jive, that Danny and Cha Cha win. That was quite a big stretch for me."

LOWDOWN

What: Grease, the musical
Who: Produced by Paul Nicholas, Pieter Toerien and David Ian and starring South African performers Bethany Dickson and Jonathan Roxmouth as Sandy and Danny
When and where: This Thursday until Sunday at the Civic Theatre