Getting The Grease Out: And Another One DownWhat is it with this economy and Broadway shows? They don't seem to go together these days.
Today,
Playbill.com announced that
Kathleen Marshall's revival of
Grease is closing January 4, 2009. It will have played 554 regular performances.
Regular readers will recall that
I didn't have very many nice things to say about the show that had its dubious beginnings in a 2007 reality television show called, "
You're The One That I Want." The low-rated program launched
Max Crumm and
Laura Osnes into their fifteen minutes of fame. They were replaced this past July by runners-up
Derek Keeling and
Ashley Spencer.
Despite a bit of a boon at the box office last week, when its capacity skyrocketed to 85.6% -- no doubt thanks in part to the Thanksgiving holiday -- the show has been hovering, appropriately enough, between the mid-fifties to mid-sixties in other recent weeks.
For fans of
Grease, there's always the national tour, which launched just yesterday at the
Providence Performing Arts Center with
Taylor Hicks as Teen Angel.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Ashley Spencer, Broadway, Closing Notices, Derek Keeling, Grease, Kathleen Marshall, Laura Osnes, Max Crumm, Musical, Revival, Taylor Hicks, Touring Production
Grease (The SOB Review) - Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York, NY*1/2 (out of ****)Turns out the reality show casting of
Max Crumm and
Laura Osnes was the least of
Grease director
Kathleen Marshall's problems.
Given the fact that the stage version of
Grease is really more of a vignette-heavy ensemble piece with nominal leads, the truth is, Crumm and Osnes are just fine.
While their talent suggests that they could very well be more than just a flash in the pan, the accompanying
Grease has lost its sizzle and relevancy.
Yes, Marshall has tried her best to give this a fresh kick. Her trademark choreography helps, especially in frenzied, spirited numbers like "Summer Nights," "Greased Lightning" and "Born To Hand Jive."
But in an age when messages are emanating throughout Broadway about the importance of being true to yourself and embracing who you are -- whether through the green power of Elphaba in
Wicked or the triumphant self-love of Celie in
The Color Purple or even in the omigod girldom ode of Elle in
Legally Blonde (not to mention throughout theatres nationally via the highly successful
High School Musical tour) -- the underlying message in
Grease sets women back fifty years.
And the worst part of all this? It's clearly being marketed as a
family musical. The SRO audience during my performance was about half pre-tween.
No matter that
Grease was written by
Jim Jacobs and
Warren Casey in the pre-AIDS hedonistic halcyon days -- Rydell High's students are freely imbibing, chain-smoking, graffiti-desecrating and backseat-carhopping without any consequence (in stark contrast to this year's Tony-winning Best Musical
Spring Awakening). Sure, there's the moment where Betty Rizzo thinks she's preggers, but it turns out to be a false alarm. When originally penned, the tuner was aimed squarely at those who lived through the period. Now it's aimed at those who aren't yet capable of having one.
There are worse things the show can do, and it does. It tells the prepubescent girls in attendance that if you want to keep your guy, you must conform to your boy's ideal as epitomized when Sandy relents to peer pressure in becoming the antithesis of
Sandra Dee. What may have seemed satirical just a few short years into the
women's liberation movement when
Grease first debuted on Broadway back in 1972, now rings hollow.
Contrary to
Ben Brantley's brilliantly funny review, the show doesn't look as cheap as he claims (
Derek McLane's set design is much more innovative than that offered in Kathleen Marshall's acclaimed retelling of
Wonderful Town, and the costume and lighting designs created by
Martin Pakledinaz and
Kenneth Posner, respectively, serve to enhance the production). It's just that the characters actually are. Cheap, that is. They're all drawn so narrowly that nuance is most definitely not the word for the show.
The largely capable cast does what it can given the material. That includes Crumm and Osnes, who at least look like they could be high school students and hold their own among a sea of decidedly grown-up, standout faces, including
Jenny Powers (Rizzo),
Matthew Saldivar (Kenickie),
Kirsten Wyatt (Frenchie) and
Robyn Hurder (Marty).
As noted above, the original
Grease was written as more of an ensemble piece. I dare say that without the additions of the film's score -- "Sandy," "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and "You're The One That I Want" -- the characters of Danny and Sandy would essentially have been marginalized.
Regardless of those additions,
Grease just doesn't seem worthy of being revived. And that's the word from SOB.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Grease tickets.Related Stories:How To Get Out Grease (August 24, 2007)
Grease: Slimed By Critics (August 20, 2007)
Tonight, Grease Is The Word (August 19, 2007)
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, Film, Grease, Kathleen Marshall, Laura Osnes, Max Crumm, Musical, Revival, The SOB Review
Grease: Slimed By CriticsThe second Broadway revival of
Grease opened yesterday to dismal reviews. Most critics took shots at the way in which the tuner was cast: via
a television reality series.
Proclaiming this a "mixed bag," the Associated Press'
Michael Kuchwara offers perhaps the most positive review: "As Danny,
Max Crumm gives a cautious performance, vocally OK but short on swagger and sex appeal.
Laura Osnes nicely gets Sandy's transformation, morphing with enthusiasm from good girl to bad babe. Check out her skintight outfit in the last scene, courtesy of designer
Martin Pakledinaz. Osnes also sings well and throws herself into (
Kathleen) Marshall's spirited choreography."
Charitably calling it "likable but lackluster entertainment,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News strives to find the good: "Crumm and Osnes' chemistry is more sibling than sizzling. He holds his own singing and dancing, but is short on the sexiness and swoony swagger that's part of Danny's DNA. Osnes might be the prettiest Sandy ever, and she can belt. But she's a limited actress, even playing a cardboard character....Chills don't start multiplying, antsiness does."
Citing the "lack of wit, charisma or original presence on the stage,"
Ben Brantley of
The New York Times is anything but charitable: "With
Grease...you sit through more than an hour of a musical set in a high school that feels like a musical put on by a high school -- and I don’t mean a high school of performing arts....But there’s the numbing sense of performers of undeveloped talent conscientiously doing what they have been told to do and failing to claim their parts as their own....(Osnes) approaches Sandy the good girl with the earnestness of a first-year acting student doing Juliet....Every time Danny pulls up the collar of his leather jacket in a cooler-than-thou gesture, it feels as if Mr. Crumm is actively remembering this is something he needs to do."
Labeling this
Grease "a rickety revival,"
Eric Grode of
The New York Sun also dismisses: "The overall impression, then, is of a 10-year class reunion at a performing arts high school, one where the seasoned alumni strut their stuff in the solo scenes, then take breathers during the group numbers. And as a bonus, the top male and female seniors at the school get to join in as the leads, no less....Ms. Osnes offers all the cleavage and high kicks she can muster, while a delighted Mr. Crumm holds on for dear life."
Arguing that the reality show has done "little to validate the democratic election process,"
Variety's
David Rooney zeroes in on Crumm and Osnes: "[T]hey'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."
Saying that "this crass musical makes
Legally Blonde seem like
West Side Story" in his one-star review,
New York Post's
Clive Barnes blasts: "All told, I've seen worse -- but then, I've been attending the theater for more than 65 years, so 'worse' is a very well-thumbed comparative. This is where the TV show hits the Broadway fan. The main trouble with the elected stars, Osnes and Crumm -- she being a great deal better, especially in spandex, than he -- seems that the kind of chemistry between them could well discourage hydrogen from getting together with oxygen to make water."
Will all these reviews matter, given the estimated $15 million advance in ticket sales? Or will those sales dry up more quickly than spilled grease?
I'll be in the audience for this tuner on Sunday and will provide my own review shortly thereafter.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Grease tickets.Related Stories:Tonight, Grease Is The Word (August 19, 2007)
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, Critics' Capsule, Grease, Laura Osnes, Max Crumm, Musical, Revival
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
Broadway Grosses: Greasing The SkidsSay what you want about the dubious manner in which
Grease cast its Danny (
Max Crumm) and Sandy (
Laura Osnes), but it doesn't seem to matter at the box office.
Last week, for the second week in a row, the tuner -- which is still in previews -- was nearly sold out. Reaching 99.3% capacity,
Grease also had the second highest average ticket price at a whopping $104.21 -- second only to longtime champ
Jersey Boys. In total, the musical earned a very respectable $887,564, up about $5K from the week before.
Presumably, producer
David Ian is laughing all the way to the bank, while distinguished director/choreographer
Kathleen Marshall -- whose reputation is on the line -- is enjoying a laugh at all the naysayers' expense.
But will she also enjoy the
last laugh? Find out after
Grease opens at the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre on August 19 when many expect critics to inveigh with their reviews.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories: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: Box Office, Broadway, Grease, Kathleen Marshall, Laura Osnes, Max Crumm, Musical, Revival
Max And Laura Go Together
As I revealed last Thursday, the
two were my personal picks for the upcoming $10 million
Kathleen Marshall-helmed
Grease revival that will land at the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre on July 24; opening night is currently set for August 16. For once, it appears that a production of
Grease will enjoy near age-appropriate talent -- for the first time, I'm actually considering buying a ticket for the show.
What do you think? Are you now compelled to visit Broadway this summer to see Max and Laura? Or will you avoid the show altogether? I invite you to vote in my latest SOB Poll on the right hand column of this site and then weigh-in with your comments.
So what were they saying in the hometowns of the dynamic duo this morning? Here are links to today's
Arizona Republic (Phoenix) and
Star Tribune (Minneapolis) stories.
Beyond the announcement of who captured the most votes to win the roles, one of the more interesting aspects of last night's show was the introduction of the new cast members. Unfortunately, we were only told the cast members' character names, so I'm still waiting to see the list of bona fide actors/chorus members who have been selected.
But a nice touch was showing the new stars their names in lights over Times Square. I'm genuinely excited by the selections of Max and Laura. Congratulations to you both!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:
Labels: Broadway, Grease, Kathleen Marshall, Laura Osnes, Max Crumm, Musical, Revival, Television
Behind The Grease Paint
As you might expect, local media from the contestants' hometowns are providing plenty of coverage of their favorite sons and daughters. Here are links to local stories that have been written about each of them on the eve of the big evening that will propel two of them to a Broadway stage this summer:
- Max Crumm, Arizona Republic (Phoenix) first and second stories, March 24.
- Laura Osnes, Star Tribune (Minneapolis), March 23, and Pioneer Press (St. Paul), March 19.
- Austin Miller, Houston Chronicle, March 22, and The Facts (Brazoria County, TX), March 8.
- Ashley Spencer, The Independent (Masillon, OH), March 18, and Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 18.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Grease, Kathleen Marshall, Laura Osnes, Max Crumm, Revival, Television
