Steve On Broadway (SOB)

How To Get Out Grease

How To Get Out Grease

Ever wonder how shows generating only so-so critical success suddenly overcome with their own hype in hand? Why, they take certain liberties with critics' quotes and make all seem right with the world. Even if it's not right in any sense of the word.

And since lots of recent hype has been saying again that Grease is once again "the word" -- that is, with the exception of most critics -- it's curious that the print ad (left) created for the much-maligned musical was allowed to run in the first place. It went even further than most deceptive ads with its fundamentally specious tone.

New York' Daily News theatre critic Joe Dziemianowicz, for one, has had it. The ad audaciously included his publication's graphic, along with those of several other media outlets ranging from New York magazine to USA Today. The implication, of course, was that as "The One That I Want!" screamed above each outlet name, critics from each one had provided a glorious review.

Dziemianowicz rightly proclaims, "Deceit is the word."

Shame on Serino-Coyne (a theatre advertising agency), Grease producers (Paul Nicholas, David Ian, Nederlander Presentations, Inc. and Terry Allen Kramer) and theatre publicists at Barlow-Hartman for creating the extremely deceptive $10,000 ad. Thankfully, it was pulled almost as fast as it appeared. Now one wonders whether the stage show will suffer the same fate.

Hat tip to Playgoer.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Labels: Advertising, Best Revival of Plays, Broadway, Deceptive Practices, Grease, Musical, New York Daily News

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, August 24, 2007