With the odd exception, sequels vary rarely are as good as the original they are based on. And one of the more spectacular flops was the sequel to the 1978 hit movie musical Grease. 1982’s Grease 2 was about as embarrassingly bad as it gets. So, you would think that, given it’s history, musical writers would give it a wide birth, and not consider bringing it to the stage. You’d be wrong. T

he notorious 1982 flop sequel, to the Greasiest musical of them all, told the heady and daring love story of two unlikely lovers and their road to romance from bowling alley to burger joint, sing-a-long-a-sex education class to talent show, and long (and beautifully lit) romantic motorcycle rides to a slightly incongruous luau ending.

Now, it has been re imagined, following a short London run, as a brand new cast recording featuring the hit songs 'Who’s That Guy?', 'Score Tonight', 'Cool Rider Reproduction', 'Girl for all Seasons' and the haunting melody of 'Rock-a-Hula Luau (Summer Is Coming)'. The cast are lead by Ashleigh Gray and Aaron Sidwell, with Reece Shearsmith leading the class again in a lesson on ‘Reproduction’. The rest of the principal cast includes: Niki Evans (X Factor, Blood Brothers, Legally Blonde), Mark Anderson (Book of Mormon, Mary Poppins), Bronté Barbé (Shrek), Daniel Buckley (Loserville, Book of Mormon), Joshua Dowen (Dogfight, The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee), Lucinda Lawrence (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Drunk, Chicago), Hannah Levane (Sister Act, We Will Rock You, High School Musical), and Niall Sheehy (Miss Saigon, Les Miserables).

The big let down for me is the score - it’s pretty poor, and that becomes obvious when the ‘standards’ come along and give you some well-needed respite. The performances are good - but it can’t be easy for them working with such poor material. Orchestrator and arranger Lee Freeman attempts valiantly to try and make the band sound interesting, but this also fails.

Probably one of the most ill conceived and poorest cast album I’ve had to endure unfortunately.

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Ian Gude