WBAF's Official GREASE Review Thread- Page 5

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 8/20/07 at 11:12pm

No, I was talking about the Word of Mouth review.

I wholeheartedly agree with you about that dreadful wig.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 12:47am

Wow! My very own review thread! And I missed much of the fun.

*sigh*

I actually had forgotten that GREASE was opening on Sunday night. I've been away from my computer for the past few days, and I just came back to discover my very own thread.

I'm flattered, really.

Hats off to John Simon. He's the only one who really laid most of the responsibility on Marshall.

I agree with those who have said that once the advance fades, the show will dwindle much like TARZAN did. Those who wanted to see this have bought their tickets already, and there's nothing new that is going to encourage them to shell out $120 now.

As for the Best Revival category at the Tonys, another possible revival would be if the Roundabout decides to mount the in-limbo PAL JOEY revival this Spring. I think that we will end up having at least five revivals this season, and the Nominating Committee will absolutely leave GREASE off of the list in favor of the revivals that are being produced for an artistic purpose.

[reichi]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 4:32am

I was there yesterday and the audience flat out loved it as did I. America made the right choice in casting Max and Laura in these roles.

[Sleeper2]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 7:43am

For once, I completely agree with Simon. Marshall deserves 99 percent of the blame. She looks like she sleepwalked through this, and when you pay $110 per ticket, you deserve more.

She should be ashamed of herself. Lazy slag.

I didn't think Saldivar really pulled it off -- I mean, the guy is in his late 30s for Chrissakes! -- but he serviced the role well. Jenny Powers' 11th hour number was a winner. I hope their contracts are brief and they get the hell out of that stinker.

[Kalimba]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 8:05am

Kathleen Marshall should be run out of town and banned from Broadway forever. David Ian should stick to producing schlock in his own country.

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 8:34am

Hopefully the public will see the reviews and see sense. The show will quickly gobble up its advance and Broadway will have a house open again for something decent soon.

[Lynnespock2]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 9:43am

Or sit empty? I hope it has a good, long run!

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 10:43am

Sadly David Ian is producing the same s--- in his own country! He should be burned at the stake and have the fire fueled by the moneys he's earning from these shows!

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 11:29am

Jenny:

"Come to Grandma..."

Matt:

"...I'm waiting for the Viagra to kick in, babe."

Laura:

"Why must you hate on me and my voluptuous wig?"

Max:

"..."

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 11:41am

Is it possible that I hate these new Word of Mouth people even more than the old ones? This Dawn girl is worse than Randi, and I would take Audrey and Phyllis over Georgette any day.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 11:42am

Laura:

"Why must you hate on me and my voluptuous wig?"

Max:

"Cause it's NASTY!"

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 12:05pm

Have you thought about this?

The last GREASE revival in 1994 got extremely atrocious reviews, but still managed to last for four years, which shows you how critic-proof a show like that can be. There is hope yet ...

[jaystarr]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 9:17pm

Hi All-

I really dont wanna create a new thread, bec. nobody really looks at it

but here is it (in case your interested)

Broadway.com Grease opening night
https://www.broadway.com/Gen/Buzz_Video.aspx?ci=551839


J*

[jbdc]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 11:15pm

It just came out today, but here's Elysa Gardner's from USA TODAY...

WOW.

"...a few performances underscore what some have lamented as the American Idol-ization of Broadway — that is, the tendency for tender singer/actors to emphasize big, flashy gestures over emotional nuance... The chief culprit is Jenny Powers, who turns the Pink Ladies' sassy leader, Betty Rizzo, into a self-righteous bore and reduces her heartbroken anthem There Are Worse Things I Could Do to a stiff belting marathon. Powers would do well to study Robyn Hurder's effervescent Marty, whose flirty Freddy, My Love is a highlight."


USA TODAY Grease Review

[FranzRelax]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 11:16pm

Wow! Powers got a bad review.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 11:30pm

Wow. Girlfriend has lost it. And no, not because her opinion is different than mine, but because her review is completely inaccurate. She couldn't be more vague, and she glossed over most details.

[Sleeper2]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 10:50am

Newsflash to USA Today (aka McPaper):

These actors are DIRECTED to perform/sing/dance that way. If Miss Informed has a problem with that, she should cast her evil eyes to Jay Binder who cast these, ummmm, "kids," and Kathleen Marshall who steered this ship into the craggy coast of Broadway disaster.

[StageFan2]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 12:06pm

Gotta love Michael Musto. Here's his two cents on Grease:

http://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0734,musto,77586,15.html

[Lynnespock2]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 12:37pm

He doesn't exactly hate it! "Goofy charm?"

[nyc1870]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 12:44pm

WBAF, also, if Roundabout decides to do Birdie, that could be another contender.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 2:06pm

Birdie will be 2008-2009 Season at the earliest.

[vfd88]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 2:13pm

Wow, looks like they're really going for the "Chicago" look with that black and white photo. Max just looks awkward.

Edited for spelling.
Updated On: 8/22/07 at 02:13 PM

[jv92]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 2:14pm

Well, I'm back. I couldn't resist posting, even on vacation. Let me shed some light on these reviews-
Wow. Not unexpected. Clive Barnes gets the award for best headline- GREASE FRIGHTNING. However, who hit everything on the nose? Barnes? Brantley? Simon? Gosh. This is tough. I loved Brantley's pan for his pure bitchiness, I loved Old Man Barnes' scathing write up for its headline and utter nastiness. But John Simon is absolutely on the money here. Of course, being John Simon, he had to go into physical appearances, etc., but who really cares? He placed most of the blame of Kathleen Marshall, who is hopefully sitting in a dark room crying and saying to herself "Why? Why did I sell out like this?".
My one question goes to Michael Riedel- Why didn't you write a nasty collumn about all of these terrible reviews today instead of writing a piece about the various favorite Tin Pan Alley standards of today's writers? And here's an even better question Michael, WHY didn't you ask Scott Frankel and Michael Korie their favorite?
That's my two cents. May Grease go down the path of Allegro, Tarzan and all of the other shows that have had huge advances and closed within a season.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 3:31pm

This is the stuff of Riedel's wet dreams. I don't get why he is avoiding it. It's just the kind of target he'd take pleasure in going after.

[yankees1253]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 6:02pm

heres a video review of the show from ny1...click on broadband to get the video you may have to wait a few seconds or so

heres the link:
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=238&aid=72859