#26
Posted: 2/1/16 at 9:13am
Roscoe, I thought those are all the qualities you look for in an actor?
Aaron Tveit as Danny Zuko — Page 2
#27
Posted: 2/1/16 at 9:50am
Stew123 said: "Roscoe, I thought those are all the qualities you look for in an actor?"
It does seem to be what Aaron Tveit insisted on delivering.
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Philip K. Dick
My blog: http://www.roscoewrites.blogspot.com/
#28
Posted: 2/1/16 at 9:51am
Tvelt as Zuko for me was the same thing as NPH AS Hedwig. Sang and danced but at no point inhabited the character.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
#29
Posted: 2/1/16 at 9:57am
No body really had a character, though. Maybe Jan, if doing a voice counts as a character.
#30
Posted: 2/1/16 at 10:15am
I think Aaron was miscast, but he did a great job- the best he could do. He can sing, dance, and act, and did all three well, he just wasn't right for the part.
#31
Posted: 2/1/16 at 10:41am
Aaron Tveit is very talented, but when I first saw the promos for this I thought he looked badly miscast. The performance itself did not change my opinion.
#32
Posted: 2/1/16 at 10:52am
"No body really had a character, though. Maybe Jan, if doing a voice counts as a character."
That's no excuse. Tvelt was not Danny Zuko. Hough was definitely Sandy.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
#33
Posted: 2/1/16 at 11:05am
I don't understand why they didn't go with someone younger. No doubt Tveit is talented but he really didn't fit the mold of the character, Granted Hough is 27 but she looks so much younger and opposite himthat just made him look older. You can really see it in the scene at the drive in when he gives her his ring. The lighting didn't help either.
You Can Disagree Without Being Disagreeable
#34
Posted: 2/1/16 at 11:13am
I think there are people who read so much younger on screen that would have also worked perfectly - Zach Efron, a Jonas, James Maslow Darren Criss, Ryan McCartan, Skylar Astin...
With the exception of Nick Jonas and Zach Efron, none of those people are really doing ANYTHING that could have prevented them from showing and none of them are really in a position to say no to paying work.
#35
Posted: 2/1/16 at 11:27am
I think part of the problem was that the direction and production values were so complex that characterization and relationships were compromised. The actors were probably nervous about running all over the studio to be in the right place at the right time. There were many sequences (and this is being picky) where the blocking was unmotivated (Frechy's solo, The song on the porch, the drive in song) and actors looked like they were trying to hit their mark which often times resulted in an attractive visual but did little for what the actor was expressing through song. The fact that the director did something visually that has never been seen with TV musicals is what has us excited today; and one wants to hope that those production values will continue in future projects without getting in the way of the story.
In theatre the directors work should be seamless or the director has not done his or her job. But I think with these TV musicals our expectations are low therefore the production values took us by surprise last night and gave us a few moments of excitement.
#36
Posted: 2/1/16 at 11:30am
I thought Aaron Tveit was great (and I've never been a fan of him) but he certainly nailed the spirit of Danny. It was clear why he was the leader of the T-Birds. He commanded the set with great authority and his singing was sublime. Not sure why there is so much hate. Sure he looked too old for the part, but we all knew how old he was, what did you guys expect? Put a mask on him? He got the job done and he did it incredibly well.
#37
Posted: 2/1/16 at 3:28pm
"Sure he looked too old for the part, but we all knew how old he was, what did you guys expect."
Teenagers usually are played by twenty something actors so this is not exactly a news flash. Like Travolta and Newton-John looked like teenagers - lol.
Updated On: 2/1/16 at 03:28 PM
#38
Posted: 2/1/16 at 5:41pm
I thought he was great! Especially in Greased Lightning and You're the One That I Want!
#39
Posted: 2/1/16 at 6:01pm
SmoothLover you hit it on the head.
I found that there wasn't much in the way of character while watching Grease. While it's clear that Fox wanted to and succeeded in one upping NBC in terms of doing live musicals on TV, most of the flash got in the way of the acting. Hell, NBC has done theirs on a soundstage whereas here, Fox used an entire backlot. I thought that the whole needing to transport actors via golf carts to different parts of the studio lot to be a bit much. I mean I enjoyed it, overall but I think that the spectacle got in the way of the performers.
#40
Posted: 2/1/16 at 7:59pm
I don't know why everyone is bitching about how old Aaron looks. No one in the original film was high school aged either.
"When filming began in June 1977, John Travolta was 23, Olivia Newton-John was 28, Stockard Channing was 33, Jeff Conaway was 26, Barry Pearl was 27, Michael Tucci was 31, Kelly Ward was 20, Didi Conn was 25; Jamie Donnelly was 30, Eddie Deezen was 20."
And I'm pretty sure that when actors such as Rosie O'Donnell, Brooke Shields, and Jon Secada, among others, starred in the Weissler produced revival in the 90's, none of those were high school age either.
#41
Posted: 2/2/16 at 2:41am
The age thing didn't bother me all that much either.
It was more in the casting. When he was trying to channel Travolta (as best as he could), his character was at least a little more convincing. When he slipped out of it though (which was quite often) it was like watching the Disney Channel version of Zuko.
I thought Sandy was quite good though, and Rizzo held her own considering what she's gone through.
#42
Posted: 2/2/16 at 1:19pm
Also, Tveit looks older with his hair longer (greased or not)
#43
Posted: 2/2/16 at 1:30pm
"Like Travolta and Newton-John looked like teenagers - lol."
I thought they looked pretty young. At least they didn't have the frown lines yet - lol.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
#44
Posted: 2/2/16 at 1:53pm
Aaron should have invested in a good dermal filler…
Other than that, he was great as Danny
#45
Posted: 2/2/16 at 2:08pm
I was fine with Tveit's look for the part but not his performance. I also feel Palmer was miscast. JMO
Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder
#46
Posted: 2/2/16 at 7:28pm
Aaron is very handsome, sings well, dances well, has proven that can act in other work. Was excellent in Next to Normal, to name one.
IMO he was not excellent in Catch Me If You Can or Grease because he lacked charisma required for a lead role. I didn't care about his age...I have never thought of the players as high school students, right from the original production with Barry Bostwick, who was probably mid to late 20s when it opened. I was disappointed again by lack of charisma I don't know If charisma can be taught, but I fear that, despite talent and looks, he will be held back from going further by that deficiency.
#47
Posted: 2/2/16 at 8:03pm
Catch me if you can was Tony nominated for best musical though . And on TV Aaron was a lead on Graceland for three seasons. I don't think that he's incapable of being a leading man otherwise these projects wouldn't have succeeded at all.
#48
Posted: 2/2/16 at 8:28pm
He certainly looked too old for the part, but I thought he was phenomenal nonetheless. I am a fan of his in general, so perhaps I'm biased, but I really prefer his Danny to John Travolta's. And I hate Grease with a passion. I can't stand it at all. But I watched it for Aaron, and he did make some numbers bearable.
#49
Posted: 2/2/16 at 8:38pm
Sunny11 said: "Catch me if you can was Tony nominated for best musical though . And on TV Aaron was a lead on Graceland for three seasons. I don't think that he's incapable of being a leading man otherwise these projects wouldn't have succeeded at all.
Catch Me If You Can was a major flop, and Norbert Leo Butz in a supporting told stole the show and won the Lead Tony in what was essentially a supporting role...Aaron did not even get nominated, I suspect because of his lack of charisma.
Re Graceland, as long as he is handsome, can act reasonably well and look good with an occasional shirt off, he can do okay. But that is not as the lead in a musical, which requires more.
i like him...I just think he has limitations as a musical lead.
#50
Posted: 2/2/16 at 8:38pm
Sunny11 said: "Catch me if you can was Tony nominated for best musical though . And on TV Aaron was a lead on Graceland for three seasons. I don't think that he's incapable of being a leading man otherwise these projects wouldn't have succeeded at all.
Catch Me If You Can was a major flop, and Norbert Leo Butz in a supporting told stole the show and won the Lead Tony in what was essentially a supporting role...Aaron did not even get nominated, I suspect because of his lack of charisma.
Re Graceland, as long as he is handsome, can act reasonably well and look good with an occasional shirt off, he can do okay. But that is not as the lead in a musical, which requires more.
i like him...I just think he has limitations as a musical lead.
Tickets From $59
Tickets From $71
Tickets From $71
Tickets From $95