Giles Woodforde attends a five-star performance of Grease from the Oxford Operatic Society

Grease, that pulsating, 1950s-style, rock’n’roll teenage angst musical, has come full circle. It started life as an amateur show in Chicago, and went on to become a massive Broadway hit.

It has toured all over the world, and is a frequent visitor to Oxford’s New Theatre. Currently the professional tour is in Perth, Australia, leaving the way clear for the show to return to its amateur roots.

So how could Oxford Operatic Society resist the opportunity to mount their own version on the very stage so often used by the Grease professionals?

The great advantage possessed by an amateur company is immediately apparent in this production. As the testosterone-fuelled male pupils at Rydell High School first swagger on to the stage, there are plenty of them — entirely in character, they seem a little nervous to start with but they rapidly gain in self-confidence.

An amateur company doesn’t have to keep the numbers unrealistically low because it’s paying union rates to professional performers. And there’s a very full complement of girls too. All these teenagers look on as the rocky (please excuse the pun) romance between Danny and Sandy develops.

In her first role with Oxford Operatic, Nicola Caldwell makes a terrific Sandy: her big solo number Hopelessly Devoted to You is movingly delivered, and she achieves a startling transformation from blushing virgin to sparkling sexpot.

Antony Gibson wasn’t quite her equal as Danny on opening night, but I suspect that his performance will build during the week — his big solo Alone at a Drive-in Movie is also most affecting.

Libby Holcroft and Phil Weller provide strong support as bitchy Rizzo and sidekick Kenickie.

But it’s the chorus work that makes this a five-star show. Under Dave Crewe’s direction, singing is strong, but Joanne Cook and Sally Chase’s choreographic exploitation of the huge numbers on stage is sensational. You will never forget, for instance, We Go Together or Shakin’ at the High School Hop.

Grease
New Theatre, Oxford
Until Saturday
Box office: 0844 871 3020, atgtickets.com/Oxford