Grease Revival...
Grease Revival...
Grease Revival...#1
Posted: 8/25/09 at 7:00pmYikes! I've never had the courage to listen to the recording, though I've had it since it was released, and now I know why. What a horrible, horrible, god awful cast. I mean truly, truly amateur. Even the talented Jenny Powers comes off poorly. Yikes. I love me some Grease. I like that the performers are age appropriate unline the Weissler revival but there have to be more talented age appropriate performers than these.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/07
re: Grease Revival...#2
Posted: 8/25/09 at 7:02pmLaura Osnes has grown so much as a performer since then. She took over the role of Esign Nellie Forbush in "South Pacific" form Kelli O'Hara and will play Bonnie in the new musical, "Bonnie & Clyde" this November.
re: Grease Revival...#2
Posted: 8/25/09 at 7:08pmI imagine she's fine with better vocal coaching but some of the notes and inflections they allowed to escape from her are criminal.
re: Grease Revival...#3
Posted: 8/25/09 at 7:11pmBobby, I got scared when I saw your thread. I thought they were bringing it back. (After all it is about time for a revival, right?)
re: Grease Revival...#4
Posted: 8/25/09 at 7:17pmI like the recording with Brooke Shields the best. The orchestrations are just fun. Sometimes fun is okay.
re: Grease Revival...#6
Posted: 8/25/09 at 7:22pm
The problem with the production had less to do with the cast and more to do with Kathleen Marshall and the show itself. Her production was just... a mess, to be honest. It was like watching a high school perform the show. From the sets to the cluttered direction and choreography, it was just amateur and sloppy. This is not to mention the fact that the musical itself is all over the place and is one of the most poorly written musicals of all time. The only time a movie musical has ever improved upon its source material.
Max Crumm had no business being cast as Danny. I would never believe him as Danny. Never. And Laura Osnes should work as Sandy. But she failed. She was boring to watch and listen to. And Sandy doesn't have a very large role to begin with. She somehow made it seem even smaller. But I forgive her. She did the show, got her foot in the door, and now she's doing some FABULOUS work over at the Vivian Beaumont in SOUTH PACIFIC.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
re: Grease Revival...#7
Posted: 8/25/09 at 7:29pm
This is not to mention the fact that the musical itself is all over the place and is one of the most poorly written musicals of all time. The only time a movie musical has ever improved upon its source material.
Eek! Time for a fact check!
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
re: Grease Revival...#8
Posted: 8/25/09 at 7:29pmI like some of the songs on the recording, but was never impressed with the entire score.
re: Grease Revival...#9
Posted: 8/25/09 at 7:38pm
Lol Blaxx.
Millie I'm confused by your comments. I don't think the score itself has anything to do with the performances on the recording.
re: Grease Revival...#10
Posted: 8/25/09 at 8:03pmFor the entire first act and most of the second, the revival was an example of truly bad Broadway performances. From "You're The One That I Want" to the end, it was just horrifically bad community theater.
~Lina Lamont
My name wasn't, isn't, and will never be Scott.
re: Grease Revival...#11
Posted: 8/25/09 at 8:09pmHow do I need a fact check? The movie was better than the stage musical (which was written first). It cut unnecessary songs and plot lines and was, overall, better. In my opinion. Maybe I was a little dramatic about it being one of the most poorly written musicals of all time, but it is certainly a giant mess.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
re: Grease Revival...#12
Posted: 8/25/09 at 8:12pm
Certainly nothing was poor in the witty and raw original Grease.
And certainly the movie was NOT an improvement upon what the musical was first - in fact, I blame the horrid movie version for turning Grease into something it never was.
re: Grease Revival...#13
Posted: 8/25/09 at 8:13pmActually all of the stage songs are used in some form or another in the film.
re: Grease Revival...#14
Posted: 8/25/09 at 8:16pmI am actually a fan of Grease, but the recent revival sucked. The show works best when it is played in a slightly gritty fashion and not all candy coated. Marshall did a horrible job and seemed to just not care that much. Maybe someday we'll get a decent revival that actually has some thought put into it (like 15 years from now and not 5 lol)!
"If we don't live happily ever after at least we survive until the end of the week!" -Kermit the frog "I need the money... it costs a lot to look this cheap!" -Dolly P. "Oh please, Over at 'Gypsy' Patti LuPone hasn't even alienated her first daughter yet!" Mary Testa in "Xanadu" "...Like a drunk Chita Rivera!" Robin de Jesus in "In the Heights"
"B*tch, I don't know your life." -Xanadu After that if he still doesn't understand why you were uncomfortable and are now infuriated, kick him again but this time with Jazz Hands!!! -KillerTofu
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
re: Grease Revival...#15
Posted: 8/25/09 at 8:16pmI'd die to see a raw, vulgar and dirty version of Grease, as it staged originally.
re: Grease Revival...#16
Posted: 8/25/09 at 8:32pmMe too! But I have a feeling they will just keep candy coating it.... *sigh*
"If we don't live happily ever after at least we survive until the end of the week!" -Kermit the frog "I need the money... it costs a lot to look this cheap!" -Dolly P. "Oh please, Over at 'Gypsy' Patti LuPone hasn't even alienated her first daughter yet!" Mary Testa in "Xanadu" "...Like a drunk Chita Rivera!" Robin de Jesus in "In the Heights"
"B*tch, I don't know your life." -Xanadu After that if he still doesn't understand why you were uncomfortable and are now infuriated, kick him again but this time with Jazz Hands!!! -KillerTofure: Grease Revival...#17
Posted: 8/25/09 at 8:43pmI do have to agree the original book is poorly written unless the cast kicks the crap out of it.
re: Grease Revival...#18
Posted: 8/25/09 at 9:05pm
The interesting thing about the show is it takes place at the beginning of a transitional period for american youth. 1959 was the end of the proper post-war time and the generation in this show was the generation that was a big part of the change that happened in the 1960's. The book is on the week side, but it would be interesting to see a director to explore the idea that these working class characters might represent the youth-driven change that comes after 1959.
Just a though 
"If we don't live happily ever after at least we survive until the end of the week!" -Kermit the frog "I need the money... it costs a lot to look this cheap!" -Dolly P. "Oh please, Over at 'Gypsy' Patti LuPone hasn't even alienated her first daughter yet!" Mary Testa in "Xanadu" "...Like a drunk Chita Rivera!" Robin de Jesus in "In the Heights"
"B*tch, I don't know your life." -Xanadu After that if he still doesn't understand why you were uncomfortable and are now infuriated, kick him again but this time with Jazz Hands!!! -KillerTofu
re: Grease Revival...#19
Posted: 8/25/09 at 9:18pmGREASE is a show that has not been treated well over the years. Forget the over-bloated over-orchestrated revivals that sucked up the movie score and sucked the life out of the piece. Listen to the ORIGINAL cast album, with its smaller orchestra and bigger spirit than all the subsequent noise and gimmickry could ever equal.
re: Grease Revival...#20
Posted: 8/25/09 at 9:29pm
The problem with Grease isn't whether it's "gritty" or "candy-coated." The problem is that it's completely stylized and practically a farce.
The most recent revival made the egregious error of treating the characters "organically" and trying to make it a real story, when at its most basic the show is one big wink.
~Lina Lamont
My name wasn't, isn't, and will never be Scott.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
re: Grease Revival...#21
Posted: 8/25/09 at 10:19pm
Yes, that, in a nutshell, was the problem with Marshall's production of GREASE.
There's nothing "real" about it; the show is satire. Marshall tried to create rawness and realness.
That and there was no chemistry between any of the actors.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
re: Grease Revival...#22
Posted: 8/25/09 at 10:26pm
"Millie I'm confused by your comments. I don't think the score itself has anything to do with the performances on the recording."
I am not a fan of this specific revival's cast recording, nor am I a fan of the score as a whole across all recordings; however, I do enjoy some of the way a couple of the songs were performed on the most current CD, which made the score more bearable for me. But definitely not on my top list.
re: Grease Revival...#23
Posted: 8/25/09 at 10:29pm
Marshall tried to create rawness and realness? I think I have seen more rawness and realness in a middle school production!
None the less, you are right.... the show is quite the satire.
"If we don't live happily ever after at least we survive until the end of the week!" -Kermit the frog "I need the money... it costs a lot to look this cheap!" -Dolly P. "Oh please, Over at 'Gypsy' Patti LuPone hasn't even alienated her first daughter yet!" Mary Testa in "Xanadu" "...Like a drunk Chita Rivera!" Robin de Jesus in "In the Heights"
"B*tch, I don't know your life." -Xanadu After that if he still doesn't understand why you were uncomfortable and are now infuriated, kick him again but this time with Jazz Hands!!! -KillerTofure: Grease Revival...#24
Posted: 8/25/09 at 10:42pmOh I get it. She wanted to create average teenagers by casting average performers. What a genius!
Videos
