“Grease Live!” made its grand debut on Fox network on Jan. 31 to many viewers who tuned in around the nation.
This rock- and jive-based musical was derived from the play that was first performed in 1971 in the original Kingston Miles Chicago Club. This led to its success all around the world, being the 15th longest running show. Later on came the debut film itself in 1978, which starred John Travolta playing Danny Zuko and Olivia Newton-John, who played Sandra D. (a.k.a. Sandy).
The movie is set at Rydell High in California with the storyline of the everyday teen love during the ’50s, with attempts to balance peer pressure and politics. With its beats and playful cast, it will always remain a huge hit in the film industry.
However, the cast of “Grease Live!” just made things a little more interesting. Although there was an energetic cast appealing to youth, at some points it lost my attention with the “High School Musical” feel.
I was drawn to the play from the moment that I heard “Dancing with the Stars” dancer Julianne Hough had the leading role of Sandy. Hough stole the audience’s heart while singing the solo and the crowd’s favorite, “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”
The “Grease Live!” cast did an outstanding job with its trendy looks and its high volumes of energy.
Although the show had a Disney Channel setup, the cast definitely stayed true to the movie with the energetic dance numbers, the preppy schoolboy sweaters and the goofy and sarcastic attitudes of the cast.
While doing this the cast brought a new flair to the movie with its modern blue and silver shiny costumes during the “Grease Lightning” number and the diversity among the characters, such as Keke Palmer. Vanessa Hudgens played Rizzo and she effortlessly stuck to the snobby and bitter role of the character with her lollipops, gum chewing and thunderous remarks to Danny Zuko.
Although it may have been hard for Aaron Tveit to win the hearts of all the ladies in this musical, he won the heart of the audience. With his slick-backed hair, smooth dance moves and his high pitched vocals,he performed similarly to John Travolta.
I definitely found Frenchy to be my favorite character throughout the whole show just like she was in the movie. I also loved how the original Frenchy from the movie made a guest appearance playing Vi the waitress.
It was great that the two were able to interact with one another in the diner scene. As a new spin of diversity, the male group Boyz II Men had the opportunity to sing the motivational song, “Beauty School Dropout” to help Frenchy make the decision on going back to high school.
With the live show being a huge hit, there were also some boring moments. The opening of the show started with a live performance of the song, “Grease Is the Word” originally by Frankie Valli. But Jessie J gave it an MTV feel, of which I was not really a fan. One good thing that sparked was the actual live audience. Although, there were some moments where I could not tell if the audience was a crowd in the gym that were paid actors, or if they were the actual audience.
At some points during the show, there were some technical difficulties with the sound/audio system. For example, during the school dance, there was a glitch where the sound went out for a few seconds. There was another one when Sandy sang her solo, “Hopelessly Devoted to You” and went mute for a few seconds.
One thing that made it a little repetitious was the showings of the cast members running to their dressing rooms to get changed. It was a bit impressive because of how fast they moved and their attempt to make the audience feel like it was right there. However, it became a little boring to watch over and over.
When the closing came up with the two most famous numbers, “We Go Together” and “You’re the One That I Want,” I can remember my boyfriend saying, “Well, if they don’t do this part right, it was all for nothing,” which was very true. It was a great way to end the play, although I did not understand why half of the school fair was set in the school gym while the other half was set outside.
Although there were some mishaps, I would definitely recommend it to a friend or someone who has never seen “Grease.” I am not really sure if it should be counted as a Broadway production, but the quality of the cast definitely brought me the Broadway feel.
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