With casting only starting in August, staff and pupils had their work cut out to get the show up and running. But the whole cast pulled together in record time to make this a performance to remember.

With plenty of enthusiasm and bucketloads of spirit the school stage was transformed into 1950s Rydell High.

The coupling of Ruth Prophet and Murray Allan as lovebirds Sandy and Danny worked well. Ruth made an excellent Sandy, acting out the role of the innocent new girl with conviction, while Murray had the part of popular cool guy Danny down to a tee.

Both showed great promise with Ruth singing beautifully during 'Look at Me I'm Sandra Dee' and Murray, as the lovable leader of the T Birds, having great stage presence throughout the night.

Lori Carthew as the wise-cracking Pink Ladies leader Rizzo gave a suitably sarcastic performance, with her witty one-liners showing good comic timing.

The rest of the Pink Ladies – Frenchy (Hannah Easton), Marty (Iona Turnbull) and Jan (Fhionnagh Waterfall), as well as T Birds, Kenickie (Ross Cairns), Sonny (Greg Esplin), Doody (Alex Grant) and Rodger (Paul Kelly) all acted with gusto. And Fhionnagh and Paul's duet 'Mooning' was particularly memorable.

Other star performances were given by Grant Wilson as radio presenter Vince Fontaine and Mark McKeich as both rock star Johnny Casino and Teen Angel.

Mairi Lawson as school swot Patty, Aaron Patterson as geeky Eugene and Robyn Nelson as the stern Miss Lynch all offered great comic relief, while Amanda Brown as dancer Cha Cha showed excellent skill.

The chorus and dancers, under the direction of musical director Andy McClean, artistic director Brigid McNeil and choreographer Alison Lane, showed great enthusiasm. There were a few wrong turns by some dancers, but this was no doubt down to first night nerves.

The band, meanwhile, gave a solid performance throughout the show making the night run smoothly.

One of the highlights of the night were the mini Pink Ladies and T Birds – made up of younger pupils – who acted out small skits during costume changes. They made a novel change to other performances I have seen.

And with lots of well known hits the audience were tapping along by the end of the night, showing that while the musical may be set in the 1950s, Grease is still the word in 2008.