Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be. When Grease first debuted on the Chicago stage in 1971 – only a year before it moved to Broadway and became a phenomenon before its beloved 1978 film adaptation – it was about 12 years removed from its 1959 setting at the fictional Rydell High in Los Angeles.
Even then, it felt far removed from the cultural cycles that had come and gone in that dozen years – from jazz cool to the folk revival, the British Invasion to the hippie summers of love. Elvis Presley was still performing, sure, but he was no longer the heart-throb pin-up he once was. The times were a-changin’.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same. If you struggle to imagine what a 2013 musical might look like today, The New York Times critic Clive Barnes, seeing Grease for the first time in February 1972, was equally aghast: “They are starting to be nostalgic about 1959 now,” he wrote. “And almost all I can remember about it is that it was a great year for Burgundy.”
Curmudgeonly theatre critics aside, perhaps 12 years is longer than we realise – especially for the young. Maybe that’s why Grease has always felt less like a document of lived experience and more like a half-imagined snapshot of what the rock ’n’ roll era looked like, from its leather jackets to its poodle skirts.
It doesn’t matter if Grease gets every detail right. The reason it endures – whether in its countless global revivals or its innumerable high-school stage productions – is that it captures the broad strokes of youth, with a killer soundtrack to boot. Whether or not you agree with Sandy’s transformation at the end to please her suitor Danny Zuko, Hopelessly Devoted to You still rings true for anyone who’s ever been heartsick. Every young friend group feels like they’ll always be “together” as in We Go Together.
In the Dubai Opera production, running until November 2, I found myself less swept up in the central love story than in the supporting performances and the songs that aren’t as familiar as the biggest hits. Touring West End performers including Michael Dean-Wilson as Roger, Erin Corfield as Marty and Elliott Baker-Costello as Doody each stole the show when given the spotlight.
If you’re bringing your children to a musical for the first time, Grease is likely to get them hooked for life – and this production is as joyful as ever. The hardest part will be stopping yourself from singing along and dancing in the aisles. After all these years, that’s still the word.
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30, December 1-2
International Vets
Christina Noble Children’s Foundation fixtures
Thursday, November 30:
10.20am, Pitch 3, v 100 World Legends Project
1.20pm, Pitch 4, v Malta Marauders
Friday, December 1:
9am, Pitch 4, v SBA Pirates
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Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
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