WBAF's Official GREASE Review Thread

[Mamamia Sammy2]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 9:34am

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. The day has arrived. The day that Wannabe A Foster has been waiting for nearly a year.

This is the official place to post GREASE reviews!

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 9:51am

Well, Grease has some internet buzz as it is the number two most searched topic on Yahoo! (the number 1 being the film Superbad).

[Lynnespock2]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 2:14pm

He hates it! He probably hates me because I liked it and I am going to opening night tonight.

Posted: 8/19/07 at 7:23pm

Where are the reviews???

[Kringas]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 7:25pm

It's still in progress, no???

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 7:27pm

Man, this is gonna get slammed.
I can just sense it.
It's blowing in the wind.
It's shame, I like alot of the people in it.

Updated On: 8/19/07 at 07:27 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 7:28pm

Show starts at 7:30. Brantley's won't be up until about 10-ish.

I figured the AP would be slinking around the wires by now.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 7:30pm

Linda Winer, Newsday, is up. Not so hot.
Newsday Grease review

[MungoGypsy8232]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 7:32pm

I kinda feel bad for Kathleen Marshall because she put her reputation on the line. I'm think mild-bad reviews with possibly a few standouts.

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 7:32pm

Close it tomorrow! Let 'crap' be the word!

[Smaxie]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 7:32pm

Talkin' Broadway... about what you might expect he'd say.

Talkin' Broadway - Grease

Updated On: 8/19/07 at 07:32 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 7:35pm

Wow, those were fun!

Keep 'em comin'. Join the chat room!

[FranzRelax]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 7:38pm

Oy. lol. I really can't wait for Brantley now!

Laura and Max are getting okay notices so far. The blame definitely won't be placed on them. But definitely on Marshall and the producers who are making the show realistic opposed to the parody it was intended to be.

Updated On: 8/19/07 at 07:38 PM

[gottadance2]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 7:40pm

After these reviews, I'm really excited to see Jenny Powers!

[MungoGypsy8232]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 7:52pm

"Judging from the TV show and what’s landed onstage, Marshall, Jacobs, and Ian weren’t interested in doing the Grease that is, but rather the one everyone expects. The two shows aren't identical, and while those three may have gotten the one that they want, their efforts are bound to leave everyone else all choked up - for all the wrong reasons."

couldn't have said it better myself.

[Yankeefan007]

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

"It's hardly a minority opinion to say one of the lessons learned from the rocky Bush administration is that America doesn't always make the most farsighted choices. That forlorn conclusion is amplified loud and clear in the dispiritingly bland Broadway revival of "Grease." While the results of misguided casting decisions can't be compared to the impact of longterm political appointments, letting the people choose their own Danny and Sandy in this case does little to validate the democratic election process.

Not that there's anything especially wrong with Max Crumm and Laura Osnes, the pair chosen to play cool-dude Danny Zuko and his innocent summer love Sandy Dumbrowski, respectively, in Kathleen Marshall's low-wattage New York production. They sing confidently, dance capably and both have their own low-key, unaffected charms. But they're unprepossessingly innocuous, which is not a great quality in musical theater leads. What's more, they have less-than-zero sexual connection.

In a regional theater production -- which is what this one resembles -- Crumm and Osnes might be the toast of the town; the latter's vocals, especially, are lovely and she handles the high notes with admirable ease. Basically, they're two talented kids who would be fine on the support team but have no business carrying a Broadway show. They also have the kind of tiny bodies and small, telegenic features that don't communicate beyond row C of the orchestra."

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117934453.html?categoryid=33&cs=1

[bjh2114]

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

Variety really nails it. Kathleen Marshall sucks and the cast is decent with some standouts. Max and Laura aren't awful but have no chemistry. I also really love the reference to Sandy's wig in the last scene.

EDIT: Yankee beat me by one second. Updated On: 8/19/07 at 08:22 PM

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 8:25pm

"The real performance happens above the sanitized stage, where a tough and terrific conductor named Kimberly Grigsby leads the band from a synthesizer while tossing her pony tail and dancing as if she means it."

Anyone know what this means??? Is the orchestra for this show really visible on a platform above the stage action??? All I can think of is a "Movin' Out" -style band. That worked well for the Billy Joel show, but - EEK! - I can;t imagine that for GREASE!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 8:26pm

The band is above the stage, like in Movin' Out. The Atkinson has no pit.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 8:28pm

"Powers's impassioned rendition of "There Are Worse Things I Could Do," which sends Sandy hurtling away from her trademarked primrose path, is the only time the show is ever dramatically or musically involving."

Yay for Jenny Powers! She was certainly the standout of the production for me and I'm glad she is getting positive notices.

[ohjustjake]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 8:37pm

yeah, the band is above the stage - most the time you can see them, and some scenes there are drops or scenery blocking them. The band is more fun to watch the the actors themselves sometimes.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 8:56pm

David Finkle from TheatreMania seems to agree with the other reviews.
Theatremania.com Review - Grease

[artscallion]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 9:06pm

Variety- "they have less-than-zero sexual connection"

I can understand having zero sexual connection, or some sexual tension. But is it even possible to have "less-than-zero sexual tension"? What does that even mean? Where do these journalists get their degrees?

[FranzRelax]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 9:07pm

Laura and Max aren't really receiving the terrible reviews some expected.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 9:11pm

I don't really think anyone expected them to get terrible reviews after seeing them. Everyone has said the exact same thing as the reviewers. They are decent, but have not sexual connection or energy. Oh, and artscallion, it's called hyperbole. I am sure that journalists are aware that you can't have less than zero of anything.