Grease the Musical: When Dubai Was Hit By Lightning!

If you grew up in the seventies, or even the eighties for that matter, then you're probably more than familiar with Grease - a classic story of boy meets girl, set to electrifying tunes of the yester years.

 

So when i was given the opportunity to watch the musical in Dubai, I immediately started brushing up on all the songs and donned my pink ladies jacket on in order to immerse myself fully into the Grease experience. 

 

Produced by Curve UK Theatre group and brought to Dubai by 6IX Degrees, the show was held at the Dubai World Trade Center - a massive complex that can easily house over a thousand viewers. 

 

The ambience was all set up to take us back to the days of donning leather over everything - with a vintage sale and a classic cars exhibit at the venue. Once we had stocked up our bellies with popcorn, nachos and other tidbits we proceeded to be seated, awaiting the magic to unfold. 

 

From the very first dialogue, you could tell that the audience was in for a good three hour extravaganza of song, dance and some tears! The thing with a true love story is that you're never really too old for it - and that was evident from the fact that the crowd was made up of people of all ages!

 

Kicking things off, I was amazed at the excellent sound quality and top notch stage set up. Being a former stage designer myself, I was instantly blown by the intricacies of the set, the presence of usable props, the nuances of lighting and the union of song and dance. It all came together very nicely and we didn't realise how time went by.

 

The plot of the musical was near identical to the actual movie, but still had it's own element of individuality. All the performers embodied their characters to the tee, making sure the crowd (mostly myself) were transported back to Rydell High without trying too hard.

 

I am continually amazed at the human mind's ability to remember all the lyrics to a song, but the performers managed a 3 hour show, never skipped a beat and continued to enthrall the audience with what could very easily be the best flashback into time! 

 

If I had to pick a favourite, which as we all know is the hardest because they were all beyond brilliant, it would probably have to be Rizo. Her raw power and charisma on stage shone and I felt like she was closest to the actual character from the film. I would safely say that Doody and Frenchy came in a close second. Sandy and Danny are obviously out of the equation because they practically carried the show on their shoulders! 

 

I cannot wait to see what other shows 6IX Degrees brings to Dubai, but if Grease is anything to go by, then we have a lot of surprises coming our way I reckon! 

 

An EW review