WaiCol rocks and rolls back to the 50s

HIGH SCHOOL HOP: Grease cast members, in their 50s outfits, boogie down at the Rydell High prom.

Grease never gets old.

The story has the depth of a puddle - but the leather jackets, poodle skirts, prom scene, old Ford de Luxes, Greased Lightning and Summer Nights and John Travolta will always stick a smile on the dial.

I was pleased Wairarapa College was taking on the musical, and the young cast delivered the 50s-themed favourite with verve, enthusiasm and, as the youngsters say, swag.

Grease needs no introduction - but for those living under a rock, bad boy Danny falls for the virginal Sandy and all seems peachy.

But Danny is scared to show his true feelings in front of his mates, leaving Sandy to wonder if the good-girl image is doing her any favours.

In WaiCol's production, Daniel Dunning and Eden Shearer made a convincing Danny and Sandy - he was cool as a cucumber, and she had a big voice, hitting highs to make Olivia Newton-John envious.

However, I felt the stars were their cronies, the T-birds and Pink Ladies.

Taylor Huston (Keniche), Zach Cresswell (Sonny), Jack Murphy (Doody) and Matthew Sale (Roger) were all brilliant show men, feeding the audience laugh after laugh as the cocky, wisecracking Italian-American T-birds.

Stand-outs were Matthew as the loveable "mooner" Roger, and Jack as Doody, whose attempts at playing the guitar were hilarious.

Seraphine Rochery kept the jibes coming as Rizzo - though it would have been good to see a bit more acidity to her delivery.

She did, however, have the strongest voice, and brought the house down with her soulful rendition of There Are Worse Things I Could Do.

The Pink Ladies were also enchanting - Steph Gully made both a cute and coquettish Marty, Cassidy Cruz charmed everyone as Frenchy, and Kaitlin Laing threw herself into her role as the quirky Jan, performing an adorable duet with Roger on Mooning.

The big cast numbers were also well done, with all the choreography done by WaiCol student Justine Grant - incorporating several of those signature moves.

Students were also stage managers, wardrobe specialists and set designers - and the biggest props needs to go to Year 13 student Thomas Nikolaison, who built a stunning Greased Lightning.

My one critique would be that the chorus numbers needed a touch more oomph and volume, and there were some pitch and tuning issues in some of the songs.

But, it almost didn't matter - it's Grease after all; the songs are meant to be belted out in karaoke fashion.

But most importantly, every single cast member looked like they were having fun, and kept the energy going from start to finish.

Well done, guys - WaiCol's the word!