Grease....Run, don't walk AWAY from the theater

Wow. I thought Cry Baby was bad.

I had avoided seeing this for quite some time, because I had no desire to see Grease again. But, it was the last show of the season I hadn't seen, which means I had to go tonight, just to close out the season.

The funny thing is, I enjoy a lot of Grease. The songs are fun and catchy, and when the show is done right, it can be a lot of fun to watch. Incidentally, I have now seen 4 professional productions of this show- this one, the Papermill production, a production at Bucks County Playhouse, and the last revival (with that theater star Dominique Dawes!!). I have also seen umpteen community and schools put this show on. By far, the productions I have enjoyed the most were the non-professional ones. For whatever reason, they seem to "get" this show a lot more.

Much of the blame for this debacle of a production has to go to Kathleen Marshall, who ought to be run out of town for putting this schlock together. Her direction was choppy and amateurish, and the dancing was painfully simple. That was the most low energy "Hand Jive" I've ever seen.

I didn't watch You're the One that I Want, but perhaps someone can fill me in...was Max Crumm really the best they had? I mean, he can't sing all that well, and he's utterly charmless.

Jenny Powers looks about 40. It's ridiculous. She's also got to be the nicest Betty Rizzo I've ever seen. What happened to the mean Rizzo?

The guy who played Kenickie had a weak voice and no energy in Greased Lighting.

It's a sad state of affairs when someone as talented as Stephen Buntrock is stuck in a 5 minute role. Is he that hard up for a job? To make matters worse, they costumed him in the gayest looking white outfit, with these hideous sparkles.

The costumes and sets were ugly.

What really ticked me off, however, was the appalling behavior of the conductor. This guy was putting on his own little show up there. I thought Kimberly Grigsby was distracting, but this guy takes the cake. There was one point where he was actually grinding against the pole up there while conducting.

Laura Osnes was pretty good, and is talented enough that she should survive this dreck and work again. The actress who played Jan was also quite good (and bared an uncanny resemblance to Shoshana Bean).

Understudies for Roger, Doody, Frenchie, Miss Lynch, and Hand Jive Specialist (with two swings on).

This whole production is just an embarrassment.

But, many in the audience seemed to love it, so what do I know?

How was the guy who sings "Mooning" - did he hit the high note?

This production of GREASE is leagues better than CRY-BABY.

I'll take a mediocre production of a show I enjoy over a horrible show any day.

It came down to Max and some guy who had been in some tours and stuff and basically came in with this "It's mine. Worship me." attitude that I think turned a lot of people off.

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Well, this is the last musical this season that I haven't seen and I am feeling a lot more confident in my decision to skip it.

I would much rather sit through CRY-BABY ten times then have to sit through GREASE once more.

The most painful production in the last two or three years.

The painful thing is that even though I know it's terrible I'll probably end up seeing it. They have student rush now, so that's not an excuse. As much as I hate to admit it, I did watch the reality show. I'm also one of those people who like to see everything in a season.

I'm afraid it's only a matter of time. Lord help me.

I thought that Austin was a lot better than Max, TBH. My mom, sister, and I were really disappointed that Max won.

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Well, this was an understudy last night. I have no idea if the regular Roger hits it or not.

I thought Austin was leagues better as well, SporkGoddess.

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"The audience seemed to be enjoying it because they've been TOLD it's terrific. They've watched the reality show that put the leads into this mess and heard the commercials touting the show. They've also paid good money for their seats. It's a sad state of affairs for live theater."

Spot on Dolly. And it's more than sad, it's a tragedy.

Kathleen Marshall DID try to make up for this ****fest with Applause at Encores! this year, which I thought was quite well done, but still, she's pretty attrocious and bland, especially here. I have a quote for her and her dancers from Joe Gideon/Bob Fosse-

"Stop smiling, this isn't the high school play."

I was actually happy Max ("Slacker Danny") and Laura won. Austin ("Hot Danny"... didn't they say he had played Link on the Hairspray tour?) was just too full of himself. That he was dubbed "Hot Danny" says it right there. I liked Derek ("Wholesome Danny"), as he was down to earth, but perhaps too 'wholesome' for Danny Zucco.

And though I watched the show, I have zero interest in seeing Grease on Broadway. I did see the Paper Mill Playhouse version some years ago. That's the only professional production I've seen. That was enough.

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Updated On: 5/3/08 at 07:24 PM

loved your review. who were the understudies?. brian sears is so down to earth. i loved allison fischer as patty simcox's though. i thought i loved max during your the one that i want but then austin grew on me. i agree laura will do more afterwards, maybe not another lead role. i also saw cody's picture in the playbill and i thought he was such a cutie and he looked like a danny too, not an u/s for him though. i am rooting for him in step it up and dance as well as michelle from the lion king. i agree i saw other great productions and this is first on the bottom of my list.