Grease review - 8/18/07 2pm (including picture of show curtain and max and laura)

[ohjustjake]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 4:58pm

Grease Matinée - 8-18-07 - 2PM

So, I've been reading the reviews from you guys about this show, so I already knew that the choreography was going to be a little "dumbed down" and that the show wouldn't change your view on life or anything. Basically, I tried to go in with an open mind and just have fun with the show. I'm really bad at writing reviews so this will probably be allll over the place.


.......................

"Grease" - great energy from the ensemble. But right off the bat, I noticed that the choreography was very.. easy?

"Summer Nights" - huge applause when Laura and Max came out. The scene was cute, but I didn't understand the big "food" picture behind the table the girls sat at. It was weird.

"Those Magic Changes" - I really liked this song, but I have no idea how this fits in at all. It's so weird, they're all in the locker room and then all of a sudden he's got this band behind him? I didn't get it.

"Freddy, My Love" - I really liked the set for the bedroom, I thought it worked really well. I forgot about this song, and I really liked it. Also, Frenchy (Kirsten Wyatt) is so cute and I love her voice.

"Greased Lightin" - by far, the best scene in the whole show. This was the only song that Kathleen Marshall actually choreographed well. The dancing was awesome. The transformation from the junk car to the new car was well done also. Kenicki sang SO good too.

"Rydell Fight Song" - this song was so corny, but I guess it's needed.

"Mooning" - sooo funny. Roger is so funny in this show, it cracks me up. And his chemistry with Jan was well received.

"Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" - I always loved how this song worked in the movie, but I didn't think it worked well when it's placed in this scene. I don't know if this is how it was in the original show or not, I don't know. It just seemed really forced.

"We Go Together" - the dancing was okay in this scene too, and was a good way to end Act 1 I think.

ACT 2
The whole Dance thing - the scene worked well I thought, especially Vince Fontaine and Cha-Cha. But it was so slow at times.

"Hopelessly Devoted To You" - Wow. Laura finally got to have a whole scene to herself and sing her heart out, and I got chills.

"Beauty School Dropout" - Stephen Buntrock as the Teen Angel really sort of erked me for some reason. The whole scene worked really well, I thought. But something felt weird to me about him.

"Sandy" - Max sings his heart out in this song, it is SO good. I didn't know he could actually sing like that.

"There Are Worse Things I Could Do" - Jenny Powers is amazing. She sings the hell out of this song. It's awesome. And right before the song, when Rizzo and Sandy fight - it was really believeable. Great acting.

"You're The One That I Want" - the dancing actually wasn't that bad in this one either. But something happened halfway through the song, where the cast sings acappela - it was like the key couldn't get established. And when the band came back in, I wasn't sure if they were changing the key again or if the cast was just THAT off. I'm sure that can be fixed though.

"We Go Together (Reprise)" - It was a good ending to the show.

Stagedoor was crazy. My friend Elise and I raced out of the theatre, and we still were in back of a huge crowd of people. Luckily, the people in front of us were SO nice and I got pushed right to the front of the line, so I got most of the casts autographs and pictures. All of them were so nice and took the time to talk to you, except for Max and Laura. The Bodyguard was really rude I thought. He kept having us hand our playbills to him, and then he'd hand them to Max and Laura so they didn't really know who they were signing for, so the playbills kept getting mixed up. And we couldn't pose with them, just random pictures.

Overall - Max and Laura aren't that bad. Max actually is quite good, I thought. Laura, well, I blame the material, not her. It's like her scenes are so cheesy in the first place. She works hard with what is given to her though - her part is small, I noticed. My favorite character, by far, was Jan, played by Lindsay Mendez. I loved every second she was on stage, and I could really see her as Tracy in Hairspray - she's deffinently got the voice for it.

The lighting design was amazing, I thought. The sets - eh, some were good, some were very cartoony. The directing was good, I thought, although I did get confused right after "Summer Lovin" as the scenes went back and forth. The choreography left me wanting more. Opening night is tonight, so I know that nothing is going to change between the show I saw and the show that is opening. But tourists are going to love it. And even though I love shows that are serious and moving, Grease does deliver a good time. And I don't think it's really meant to do anything else.

Here's the show curtain and a picture of laura and max from the stage door.



Updated On: 8/20/07 at 04:58 PM

[ohjustjake]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 4:58pm

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 5:16pm

Ohjustjake, you do know that "Freddy My Love" is Marty's song right? Not Frenchy's. I do love Kirsten as Frenchy, but just the way you put it I wasn't sure if you knew that was Marty's song (which by the way Robyn Hurder nails).

I have to strongly disagree with you about Greased Lightning being the best number in the show. In fact I thought it was one of the worsed. I thought the choreography was poort and the car transformation was highly underwhelming. I don't even think I could pick a "best scene" because they were all very poorly directed. I can pick best vocal moments and best character moments, but there really weren't any scenes that I thought stood out. In fact, the only one that really stands out in my memory is the very opening when the four guys walk in through the doors upstage and are followed by the girls. That was kinda cool, but the rest of it had no direction whatsoever.

[ohjustjake]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 5:20pm

oh, and my playbill, if anyone is interested.

[purpleprince101]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 5:21pm

Thanks for the review! I thought it was okay and the choreography was....well......okay. I hate that curtain though

[ohjustjake]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 5:24pm

BJH - yeah, I knew it was Marty's song, I was referring to the whole scene (where she's like "sandy, do you want me to pierce your ears" part, heh).

I thought Grease Lightning was the best part because I really saw some style in the choreography, even though it wasn't a "huge" dance scene. I do agree with you on the beginning entrances for the guys and the girls - it got a huge response from the audience.

Purpleprince - I agree. I hate the show curtain. It reminds me of the cartoon "Doug".

[Dirty_Rotten_Guy]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 5:34pm

thanks for the review

and wow, I am definitely joining that curtain hate club, haha. that is one of the worst I've seen

anyways, I'm not overly excited for this show, except for Laura, Robyn, and Jenny :)

I'll be really interested to see how the reviews are for this one tonight...

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 5:35pm

"I hate the show curtain. It reminds me of the cartoon "Doug"."

OMG YES!! I knew it reminded me of something!!!

[The Boy From Ohio]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 6:24pm

I'm glad someone said something about the curtain, yuk. I hope it looks better in the theater.

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 6:51pm

I kinda want to see this, badly.
Due to the fact I love Max and Laura.

[ElFantasma14]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 7:22pm

What a stupid curtain. It reminds me of the Sims.

[wicked4life51]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 11:42pm

what has this world come to
casting broadway shows with reality tv shows
ahhhhh

[rgaywrites]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 11:48pm

I have no plains to see this iteration of Grease but I bear no ill will toward the show. Nonetheless, I have to say this--that show curtain is a crime against all that is right in this world. I'm a writer and I can't come up with the right words to describe how dreadful it is. With millions of dollars and a professional design staff, this is the best they could do? It makes no sense. It really doesn't. I don't understand how anyone involved with the show could look at that curtain and find it acceptable as anything more than something to be torn into rags with which to clean one's home.

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 11:48pm

"..where the cast sings acappela - it was like the key couldn't get established. And when the band came back in, I wasn't sure if they were changing the key again or if the cast was just THAT off. I'm sure that can be fixed though."

I nearly died laughing after you said this. That's the worst thing..when no key can be established...hehehe

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 11:57pm

that's the ugliest show curtain I've ever seen.

[chino]

Posted: 8/20/07 at 12:10am

The show curtain reminds me of "Hey Arnold!" But one of the ugliest show curtain I've seen by far is "Evita." It was posted here some time ago, the one that looked like a poster of "Street Fighter." Really creepy! :)

Am excited to see the show though... and the Cast Recording as well.

Yikes! The stage door was that crazy?


Updated On: 8/20/07 at 12:10 AM

[BroadwayEnthusiast2]

Posted: 8/20/07 at 12:12am

ugliest. show. curtain. ever. ugliest. logo. ever.

[Bwayfan4]

Posted: 8/20/07 at 5:52am

Why does the curtain look like something a middle school production might use? Am I the only one who thinks Max Crum is a total tool?

[StageFan2]

Posted: 8/20/07 at 9:12am

The curtain is terrible, but the production which lays in wait behind the curtain is even worse. :-O