Too Cool For School

Last night, I was invited along to the concert performance of Cool Rider at the Lyric on Shaftesbury Avenue. Cool Rider - for those who may not know - is the ‘stage name’ for Grease 2, the sequel to the blockbuster movie-musical, that failed both critically and financially. As it happens, whilst I was a huge fan of Grease when it opened in 1978, I have never actually seen Grease 2. I knew it was an early major role for Michelle Pfeiffer and that a few of the original cast had joined in but after this, I had no idea either of the songs or the plot.

When I heard that producers Christopher D Clegg and James DP Drury were mounting a concert performance of the movie, I simply wondered as to who would buy a ticket to see it? To my surprise, within less than a week the concert had sold out and another performance added on the same evening. I’d expected a quality cast, on-script, singing numbers from the show with little attempt at staging or story. I hadn’t expected so many cast members, vibrant choreography, simple but amusing staging and an audience who didn’t only know the plot but also the lyrics to each song.

The band led by Lee Freeman belted out a cache of catchy tunes, notoriously written by multiple composers and lyricists but specially arranged for this stage version. These are all complemented by Matt Krzan’s frenetic choreography, featuring some show-stopping moves from Michael Callum Evans and an adapted script from director Guy Unsworth and Mark Jones.  There are strong central performances from Ashleigh Gray as Stephanie (the Pfeiffer role) and Aaron Sidwell as Michael with support from Niall Sheehy as Johnny, Hannah Levane as Paulette and Reece Shearsmith as Mr Stuart.

Judging by the passion and vitality by which this concert has been presented, the creatives obviously have a huge fondness for the original movie. Cool Rider was a great night out but as to a future life, I have to be a little more pragmatic and question whether or not the show could sustain full production. Personally, I think it could have a longer life in its present format rather than laying on full-blown production values. There was a huge amount of energy and commitment on stage last night and that kind of thing can become infectious. The audience loved what was happening on stage and cheered every tongue-in-cheek, low-tech special effect as much as they did the lively musical numbers and corny dialogue.

Grease 2 may be classed as a flop but given the right marketing and suitable backing, Cool Rider could well become a huge hit for theatregoers in need of a fun night out. As for me, I have spent much of the day checking out Grease 2 on YouTube and trying to work out where they went wrong.