A packed auditorium at the Sheffield Lyceum welcomed the touring production of Grease the Musical to the city. Rock 'n' roll had come to town. This was an audience that loved musicals, had seen the film and could sing along to all the tunes given half a chance.
For a production coming to the end of a long tour, this was full of energy, expertise and enthusiasm and technically perfect.
The narrative takes us back to 1950s America and Rydell High School, where sex-crazed teenagers gather together in rival gangs with conflicting interests. New girl Sandy has recently joined the school after meeting Danny on a beach, but she quickly realises that his loyalty to his gang of greasers is more important than a brief romance. Unsurprisingly, true love wins out in the end when Danny becomes a 'letterman' and Sandy a 'greaser girl'. But in the interim, the story has given rise to many opportunities for vigorous song and dance.
The stage is dominated by a raised dais occupied by disc jockey Vince Fontaine, who leaves this from time to time to lead the company in highly energetic and well choreographed song and dance routines. These are complemented elsewhere in the musical by gender group performances by the greaser girls or boys.
One of the greasers has bought a battered old car, which makes an impressive entry on to the stage, is easy to push around and provides a useful space for assignations. The story takes a more serious turn when Rizzo thinks she may be pregnant after a night with Kenickie, but she conveniently finds that this is not the case and returns to song and dance with renewed determination.
The audience had come to see much loved songs in performance and were not disappointed. Among the many performed were "Summer Nights", "Greased Lightning", "Hopelessly Devoted To You", "You're The One That I Want" and many other favourites.
For anyone unfamiliar with the musical, it would be quite difficult to pick up the nuances of the plot. The two groups, one of boys and one of girls, have little opportunity to develop their characters, and key words are often inaudible when delivered with a strong American accent or as part of a song. Some members of the cast are always audible, while others are less so.
But this is not a medium in which we expect complexity of character or a serious digression into the inconvenience of an unwanted pregnancy. It is the music and dance that matters, along with the effectiveness of staging and colourful costumes and lighting effects. In this respect, the production has a lot to offer.