Grease First Preview Tonight — Page 2

they sure did...i kinda missed it though...but now the easiest job on broadway goes to the character of ms. lynch...very little stage time, but still a good paycheck :) for me, the best number in the show was "greased lightning"...the guys were great, and it was appropriately choreographed...the standout cast members were marty, frenchy,roger, and sonny, and also steve buntrock as teen angel..i like jenny powers, but i think any actress that plays rizzo,has a tendency to toughen it up too much...hopefully it'll soften as the run goes on

yeah, there was an alma mater song that the cast sings at the beginning, hopelessly devoted was added for sandy, the original song for danny was "all alone at the drive-in" instead of "sandy", and "all choked up" instead of "you're the one that i want"

They cut Your the One that I want? Why? That is the song everyone wants to hear. It was the name of the show. I think this is a slap in the face to anyone who supported that show.

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I'll be seeing it on Sept.15- I finally got my tix

BTW- Can someone be kind enough to post a playbill of GREASE ? bec. I have a
fetish for Playbill ? Thanks...

J*

Updated On: 7/24/07 at 09:23 PM

I received a text from a friend who was at intermission...

"HORRENDUS!"

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It should have let out at least a half hour ago already (unless it's longer with the new songs).

I received a text from a friend who was at intermission...

"HORRENDUS!"

Everyone is entitled to their opinion right or wrong. For example, some people LOVE President Bush, which only goes to show how wrong some opinions can be!

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*comes back to life to write a review*

...will be back shortly to post it.

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It's not - sorry to disappoint you.

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I have seen middle school productions of GREASE with better direction, choreography, and production value than the muddled nightmare that upchucked itself onto the stage at the Brooks Atkinson tonight.

I don’t even know where to begin.

OK. I’ll start in the middle. “Beauty School Dropout” is being sung to us by the Star Trek Pepsodent Man. He comes out of a space ship, wears all white sequins, and he walks like an Egyptian. No personality. Moves like a robot (clearly intended).

The cast of main characters look like they walked out of a mixed gay bar in 1970. Rizzo SCREAMS dyke. DANNY SCREAMS prithy boy. Not one of the main characters are the least bit traditionally attractive. NOT that that’s a bad thing, but when you are given nothing to cling to but the superficial in a crap production of the most superficial of superficial musicals, you’re going to need some sort of eye candy.

For some reason, every male cast member’s face was DRENCHED in sweat throughout the show. It looks like they each dipped their face into a swimming pool before coming onto stage for each scene. And no, the sweat was not a result of busy choreography--

You know how Jerry Mitchell’s choreography for LEGALLY BLONDE was seen as a step backward from the lively, eye-catching dance moves that we’ve become so used to? Well, Kathleen Marshall completely drops the ball here, offering us Choreography -101. It is dull and so JUST LIKE everything you’ve seen in every grade school production of GREASE, only more mechanical.

Osnes is wonderful with the small amount of stage time she has. She gives a gorgeous rendition of “Hopelessly Devoted To You” mid-way through the show.

Crumm lacks charisma, charm, personality, coolness, and suavity. He sings OK.

Jenny Powers is a standout as Rizzo.

An excruciating waste of time, money and energy. I don’t know WHAT Kathleen Marshall is thinking. The last revival was 100 times better than this minimalist (cheap, empty) mounting.

The Brooks Atkinson is an AWFUL space for a big musical like this. There’s no room for anything on that stage. Yet the lack of substantial set pieces make it look practically bare.

I’d say that they have work to do, but I can’t imagine anything that can be done at this point with the opening in less than a month.

If this is what Marshall’s vision is, she’ll just have to accept what the critics are going to spew out.

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Sounds like you had a ball!

I'm interested in hearing what Trace and the others who were there thought, as well.

Updated On: 7/24/07 at 11:43 PM

I'll also note that until tonight, I had never been in a single enclosed space with so many tourists at one time since I first moved to NYC four years ago. Crunching, munching, “WOO!“ing, talking, shuffling, kids whining. Yes, the audience was more touristy than your average Saturday matinee at MAMMA MIA! The dress code ranged from shorts and a Homer Simpson t-shirt to evening gowns.

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