Grease as presented by Roscrea Musical Society

Grease as presented by Roscrea Musical Society: 

Tuesday, 7th May 2024. 

For the final adjudication of my tenure as Adjudicator, it was a pleasure to visit Roscrea and relax in the company of the Pink Ladies, the T-Birds, and all the other characters who comprise the good old comedic romp that is Grease. A fine director of old once told me he refused to direct a show whose dramatic highlight was a girl skipping her period, and he was kind of right. It’s not a show filled with high drama, but when approached in the right manner, it can certainly be a show that is bright, vibrant, colourful and great fun in which to be involved. Step up, Paul Norton, a director who definitely likes to have a bit of fun, and not surprisingly, he made sure that Roscrea Musical Society had more than a few laughs with his production. 

Given the very limited stage space and facilities of the Abbey Hall, Paul sensibly opted for a neutral and delightfully created set, with images and motifs appropriate to the era, and created location with the use of good props and dressing and projections. These were handled with tidy efficiency by a good stage crew under the guidance of stage manager, Ian Hanrahan. Mr. Norton made sure that his characters played their roles with fun and exaggerated energy, and he ensured that the space available to the cast was well used. The pace of the show was very good, but as always, with Paul, comedy was the big strength of the production, which is as it should be with Grease. I’m quite sure Roscrea had a great time bringing this to the stage. Highlight of the show was a hilarious towel routine for “Magic Changes” which was very well-performed. 

Musical Director, Mary Rose McNally, a bit of a seasoned Rock’n’Roll chick herself, had great fun too, with a very competent and enthusiastic band of musicians, maintaining bright and breezy tempi throughout a very nicely played show. Mary Rose had done very good work on the chorus, making sure harmonies were well-realized, and her principals were musically very secure. There was also a good balance between the musicians and the singers. 

Dayna Quinlan was a most delightful choice for the role of Sandy Dumbrowski, combining a lovely youthful innocence with a beautiful vocal quality and convincing acting. At only seventeen, which such capabilities, I suspect she’ll play many character and leading roles in the future. On this occasion, she certainly made a big impression. 

Adam Skeffington, looking considerably less monstrous than the last time I saw him, made a great impact as cooler than cool dude, Danny Zuko, strutting with assurance, singing with melodic tones and playing his comedic and romantic scenes very convincingly. 

Aoife Digan played a fairly hard-nosed Rizzo in a production which might have allowed her to give more lightness to her character. She was strong and emotional in “Worse Thing I Could Do”, but I’d have liked more lightness and comedy in her “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” number. I also felt that the F-word was slightly out of kilter with the lighter tone of the rest of the show. However, as always, her performance was solid and reliable. Colm Hogan was a strong Kenickie, dominating his scenes with a comical arrogance and delivering his vocals with great confidence. He had a great look and attitude for the role.

Megan Maher, as aptly described in the show program, was “short, classy, cute and sassy” in the role of Marty. She was also fun and feisty and gave a strong rendition of “Freddy My Love” with lovely vocal quality. 

Eimhin O’Meara played Sonny Latierri, as a dorkish, wannabe-cool-dude with great comedic quality and confidence. A nicely created character, with good vocals and movement. 

Laoise O’Connell played a cute, dim and flirty Frenchy, full of fun and comedy and was also an accomplished dancer. She was particularly notable for very good facial expressions. Cole Flanagan as Doody was fortunate to have the funniest number in the show, and made the most of it, supported by his fellow gang members. A very good comedy performance and a rockin’ good voice. 

Helen Flynn had great fun with the role of food-aholic, Jan, always vibrant and animated, and very capable in all of her routines, both vocally and dance-wise. 

Zach O’Halloran was her counterpart, a lazy and slobbish Roger, but still well able for his dances and his good comedic activity. “Mooning” was well-delivered by both. 

Teresa Bourke was a very amusing, catty, and capable Patti Simcox, and I’m quite sure she would have been just as funny without the unnecessary speech impediment. A good character player. 

Jason Fitzgerald was an unusually lanky dork as Eugene Florczyk, but he used his height to good effect in creating a withering wimp when confronted by the T-Birds. Very nicely played. 

Lisa Hogan was a sexy, sassy and delightfully tacky Cha-Cha Di Gregorio, strong in character and very agile in her dancing. 

David Walshe made a very decent vocal job of both Johnny Casino, and Teen Angel, selling “Beauty School Drop-Out” particularly well. 

Stalwart performer, the young and lovely Siobhán Bowe, aged herself delightfully to play the stuffy schoolteacher, Miss Lynch, as reliably as she always does. 

John Lynch, either enhanced by miracle-grow hair-restorer or a rather natty wig, had a lot of fun with pervy DJ, Vince Fontaine. 

A super, energetic and fun-loving chorus of dancers worked hard all night to give life and enthusiasm to all of their routines, which they succeeded in doing with good polish and also a very decent vocal quality throughout. 

This was a great fun show for Choreographer, Stephanie Browne, to display a good range of steps and styles. Her rock’n’roll numbers were exciting and very well executed, and there was plenty of imagination and creativity in the rest of the show. She was fortunate to have a very willing chorus to bring all of her routines to life with great proficiency. A very good body of work. 

Lighting for the show was generally tidy and effective, with good special areas and plenty of variety and colour for the rock and roll sequences, although cueing wasn’t always as tight as it should have been. Sound quality throughout was very decent and well-balanced. Costumes were well-sourced and all good and appropriate, as one expects for Grease, with T Bird and Pink Ladies Jackets, and good individuality in the principal characters. I loved the towels, etc, for Magic Changes and the Beauty School Drop Out rollers and robes. 

Wigs/hairstyles were, again, very tidy and era appropriate, and there were no issues at all with make-up. Plenty of good props and dressing helped to nicely dress the stage. 

I have never not enjoyed a visit to Roscrea, passionate and energetic as they always are in presenting their annual musical, and above all, they have a great spirit of camaraderie and fun in everything they do, as typified by this most enjoyable production of Grease. Thank you for the great entertainment, and indeed, for many, many years of friendship and happy memories. 

Peter Kennedy

Gilbert Adjudicator 23/24