Grease The Musical At The Alexandra Birmingham Review

Reviewed by Liz Squires

With the release of the original musical in Chicago in 1971 it’s safe to say we have all been hopelessly devoted to Grease since it began. For me, this was more-so after becoming a Hollywood sensation in 1978. This 2021 rendition of the much-loved classic, sees our leading lady Sandy Dumbrowki played by Ellie Kingdon (usually played by Georgia Louise) and Danny Zuko (Dan Partridge) as they embark on their roller coaster love story. Keeping a familiarity to the original plot and implementing a twist and turn of new songs and shifts in the storyline, the company managed to maintain the beloved sing-a-long songs of the original production making this interpretation ultimately a success. I was sceptical when I saw a guest appearance from Peter Andre as the vibrant radio host Vince Fontaine and the all-knowing Teen Angel as his presence could have easily taken away from the wonderous performance of the theatre company, but his sincerity as a person shone through in his performance, he was fun and humbling as he seamlessly merged into the production team. His vocals were on point and he definitely won the favour of the crowd, it was a pleasure to see him perform without it becoming a Peter Andre show.*

It is important to take the musical for what it is, it was tricky not to be too comparative to the film and that could have spoilt my experience. However, this production of the timeless classic was breathtakingly fantastic from the first number. Ellie Kingdon’s performance of “Hopelessly Devoted To You” was phenomenal leaving many speechless and bowled over by the power in her voice. The company performances of our favourite songs were exhilarating and the audience had no option other than to clap their hands, nod their heads and have a total appreciation for how hard the performers had clearly worked. Full of lights and colour this production offered an all-encompassing experience with laughter and light hearted adult humour at its core.

With ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ judge Arlene Philips at the helm of the choreography and the combined genius of Director Nikolai Foster: Grease the musical was destined to do great things and it did not disappoint. The costumes were vibrant and beautiful with an enchanting and innovative set and props, the production was able to captivate the audience and draw them in to teenage love dilemma with ease. Danny and his gang of Burger Palace Boys and the Pink Ladies continue to be a firm favourite for many of the audience members, all of which clearly thoroughly enjoyed themselves, myself and my husband included.

The Alexandra as a venue is lovely, it’s a short walk away from a multitude of NCP carparks including New Street, Town Hall and Grand Central Station. On this occasion during the 15 minute interval we chose to use the delivery service offered by the theatre for refreshments. This was very simple and quick, not to mention a complete time saver for beating the queues for the refreshment bars: one of which is located upstairs and the other is located at street level near the entrance to the stalls.

The covid measures in place are very thorough, you will need your covid pass, a negative PCR or evidence of vaccination before you can enter the building. Masks are to be worn inside the bar and foyer areas, and hand sanitiser is dotted all over the venue.

There was some flash lighting so I do recommend that anyone with light sensitive epilepsy contacts the theatre before making a booking.

Rating: 4/5

Grease is at The Alexandra Suffolk Street Queensway, Birmingham B5 4DS from Tuesday 2nd November to Saturday the 6th November 2021. * Peter Andre is only available for certain performances. Prices vary from £13.00 (exclusive of £3.65 transaction fee). Remaining tickets for the Alexandra showing of Grease can be found here or by calling the box office on 08448717615

Remaining tour dates and venues can be found here.