By Rachel Land, English teacher at Abbeywood Community School.
With a sensational ensemble and band to match, ‘Grease’ certainly electrified Abbeywood Community School (ACS)!
The world famous musical follows rebellious teenager Danny Zuko (Jay) and sweet Sandy Dombrowski (Emily) as their relationship struggles to deal with the peer pressures of Rydell High.
From the moment the cast burst onto the stage for ‘Grease is the Word’, the audience seemed utterly enthralled.
Emily shined as Sandy, as did the rest of the Pink Ladies, especially Gwen with her stellar performance as Frenchie and Anna as Rizzo.
All the expected and adrenalin- fuelled scenes were delivered to an impeccably high standard, from the fast-paced memorable high school dance off, the witty humoured comments from Jan (Caitlin), Sonny (Joe), Roger (Jacob) and Patty (Jolie) to the impressive solos of ‘Freddie, My Love’ (Eva) and the eternally catchy ‘Greased Lightning’ performed by the talented Daniel as Kenickie with help from Doody (William) and Danny!
The energy of the show never dropped with the ensemble of swaggering yet goofy T-Birds and the effortlessly cool Pink Ladies driving the pace – with the help of lots of hair gel and hairspray! The ensemble really helped the audience feel like they should be on stage, particularly during the famous Rydell High dance.
Costumes are at the heart of Grease – from the array of vibrant swing dresses to the bold leather jackets, the costumes are a fitting tribute to the 1950s. Well done to Mrs Davies and the many textiles students for their hard work!
The choreography throughout the show was phenomenal. Abbeywood certainly has many creative students (and teachers!).
And let’s not forget the two people who truly have (hopelessly) devoted many months into ensuring Grease was a success – Mr Jones and Mr Clarke. On behalf of all the students and the whole of ACS, THANK YOU!
Wow, ACS, you proved that Grease truly is the word.
This article originally appeared in the May 2019 issue of the Stoke Gifford Journal magazine (on page 20). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to over 5,000 homes in Stoke Gifford, Little Stoke and Harry Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
