‘An inspiration’: Sydney’s newest Sandy pays tribute to Olivia Newton-John
By Helen Pitt
Stepping into the red stilettos beloved Australian singer Olivia Newton-John made famous in the 1978 film Grease, was a little overwhelming at first for Annelise Hall.
Growing up on Sydney’s north shore and northern beaches, Hall, who plays Sandy, in the 1971 stage play which opens at the Capitol Theatre Tuesday night, said she was “Hopelessly Devoted” to Newton-John.
“Olivia Newton-John was someone I always looked up to growing up – she was graceful, a great singer and dancer and an inspiration to all young Australian women,” Hall said.
Actor Annelise Hall starring in the Australian production of Grease, Capitol Theatre. Credit: Louise Kennerley
“When I was young I watched the movie so many times with my sisters, but my mum would throw a tea towel in front of the TV when it got a bit risqué,” she said. “I never saw the scene in the car when bad boy Kenickie got Rizzo pregnant.
“Mum’s a massive Olivia-Newton John fan, I can imagine her being very much like Sandy when she was young, a bit prudish.”
Going to a Catholic school - Corpus Christi in St Ives - she says she too could relate to the role of the naive Australian exchange student who comes to America’s Rydell High and meets the supercool Danny Zuko, played by John Travolta in the film, and Joseph Spanti, in this stage production.
“I can relate a lot to Sandy too, I love the beach, and although I’m wearing a wig I’m still a blonde beach girl at heart like Olivia Newton-John, and I love playing this role as she transitions into the woman she wants to be,” she said.
At 24, Hall is a graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium’s musical theatre program, a little younger than Newton-John who was 28 when she starred in the ’50s era movie, which was the highest-grossing musical film at the time and whose soundtrack remains one of the world’s best-selling albums.
Olivia-Newton John and John Travolta in a scene from the 1978 film Grease.Credit: Paramount Pictures
As one of the official ambassadors for Olivia’s Walk for Wellness, Hall took part in the Melbourne fundraising walk to help raise funds for cancer last October, continuing the legacy of the four-time Grammy Award winner who died of breast cancer in 2022.
Continuing to support Newton-John’s cancer advocacy work is just one way the Grease cast is helping keep the memory of Australia’s golden girl alive.
Her friend and fellow singer who rose to prominence in the 1970s, Marcia Hines, plays the Teen Angel, the role Frankie Avalon made famous in the film. And Patti Newton, whose husband TV personality Bert Newton was a close friend of Newton-John’s, stars as Miss Lynch.
“The last time Grease was on stage in Australia was over a decade ago in 2013, when Bert Newton was in the cast [as disc jockey Vince Fontaine.]
“I like to think Olivia is watching down on this show smiling at the fact all Australians still feel connected to the story and music she helped make famous,” Hall said.
Grease plays at the Capitol Theatre until June 1.