Grease

I've mentioned from time to time that Armidale's musical life is quite intense. Well last night we headed off to yet another extravaganza, a performance of the Broadway musical, Grease, which is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. Set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School, it follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love, cars, and drive-ins and such social issues as teenage pregnancy and gang violence; its themes include love, friendship, teenage rebellion, sexual exploration during adolescence, and, to some extent, class consciousness/class conflict. I always associated it with John Travolta.

This rendition had several interesting features. The entire cast and much of the orchestra comprised teenagers and the audience was heavily teenage to match. Dot, I and some friends dramatically raised the average age of the audience! However, the cast was drawn from the exact opposite of the working-class poor because they came from from 'The Armidale School' (TAS, which approximates Harrow and Winchester) and 'The New England Girls School' and 'The Presbyterian Ladies College' (approximate the Cheltenham Ladies' College). This seems a little bizarre and the performance took place in the private auditorium of TAS.

Although the performance was a bit rough around the edges, participants and the audience certainly enjoyed themselves.

AS