Tonight, Grease Is The Word
Tonight, Grease Is The WordThirty-five years ago, Grease -- a slightly raunchy little musical about high school lovin' -- opened at Broadway's now defunct Eden Theatre. Now, a second revival is about to open on the Great White Way at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.
This is no longer the same Grease as the one that opened nearly two generations ago. While the major difference getting the most attention is the method used to cast the 2007 incarnation via a reality television show ("You're The One That I Want"), the larger departure from the original is its incorporation of music written especially for the 1978 film version.
Among the musical additions are three major hit songs from the summer of '78: "Grease," "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and "You're The One That I Want."
The latter two tunes were written by John Farrar, who's suddenly enjoying quite a summer on Broadway. While he never had a Rialto credit to his name prior to this year, earlier this young theatrical season, he literally scored success with his contributions to Xanadu.
But as noted, expect most of the critical response to focus on Grease's unconventionally cast Danny (Max Crumm) and Sandy (Laura Osnes), as well as whether director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall suffered a major misstep or engineered a stroke of genius. It was just over a year ago when it was first announced that the Grease revival would be cast via a reality show.
Stay tuned as I provide a critics' capsule tomorrow.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Grease tickets.
Related Stories:
Starring Roles Whether Or Not They're The Ones You Want (August 16, 2007)
Hairspray's Stunt Casting Sticks (August 14, 2007)
Broadway Grosses: Greasing The Skids (August 7, 2007)
Which Upcoming Broadway Musicals Will You See? (June 15, 2007)
Max And Laura Go Together (March 26, 2007)
Behind The Grease Paint (March 24, 2007)
Grease: The Ones That I Want (March 22, 2007)
Apparently Grease Is The Word At Ticketmaster (January 9, 2007)
Sandy And Danny: Who Are The Ones You Want? (January 6, 2007)
The Sound Of Praise (November 16, 2006)
It's A Reality: The Sound Of Music Revival Comes Alive In London Tonight (November 15, 2006)
I've Got Chills, They're Multiplying: NBC Reality Show to Cast Grease (August 8, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Grease, John Farrar, Kathleen Marshall, Laura Osnes, Max Crumm, Musical, Opening Night, Reality Television, Revival, Televsion, You're The One That I Want
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Sunday, August 19, 2007
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