Fame or Famine

…because having your leads chosen by mass audience voting, a la American Idol, means that you are going to probably not have the strongest ensemble.
I had a theory, back when the contest was going on, that they’d very carefully phrased the winning result: “the winners will star in the opening of the new revival of GREASE! on Broadway.” I can’t help but wonder if there are a couple of solid gypsies waiting offstage, ready to step into Max & Laura’s shoes as the show continues to tank…
Thanks to beckyloooo for the heads up on this. If you’ve not read “TV …read more

Comments Off

It made what I consider to be some of the most egregious offenses in terms of manufacturing drama & suspense ("You’re…(wait for it…wait for it..falling asleep…tension mounting…tension dismounting…hey, I need eggs…and some baking soda…is that a crack in the ceiling?.) not the one that we want.") but it did hold true to its word, and the Revival of Grease will be opening with Max Crumm and Laura Osnes as the leads. Broadway World has the beginning of a "getting to know the cast" feature up; I’m wanting to actually hear and see some of the re-staging, and hope that it’s …read more

1 Comment

Misery loves company. And enduring the next Grease was much easier with the company of several members of the BroadwayWorld.com chat room.
Some really disappointing things–no minority Danny or Sandy, for example. And the showcase was unbearable–Cyndi Lauper songs and Avril Lavigne songs for a Broadway show? WTF? And not only was there one horrendous "Danny and Sandy massacre" when they cut the group in half based on a group singalong, but they had the producer doing the cutting! Since when is a Producer the one who decides these things?
Honestly, none of us were really impressed. there were people we liked. …read more

Comments Off

I really wanted this show to be a big, fun hit. I really was hoping that we could all watch it and enjoy it and feel like we were a little part of the Broadway magic.
Instead, apparently $1 million in ticket sales was just not enough to actually make it all worthwhile. According to this New York Post online article, Michael Riedel echoes the feelings of my Chicago actor friend Jeffrey Stringer:

"Working actors think it demeans their profession, while the industry’s movers and shakers say it makes the theater business look tacky and cheap.A group of theater people who winced …read more

Comments Off

Last night my girlfriend and I weren’t able to catch the second episode of Grease: You’re the One. However, it’s on TiVo, so I’ll have my critique later on.
On the main website there’s a really neat video of a beautiful singer…but she’s treated really foully by the writer judge. In fact, it’s almost revolting how he treats her. "Buy a couple of mirrors…" This is after she does such a beautiful job singing…if they can let Dominic go through, they should have let Rizzo go on.
I also talked with a Chicago actor (and full-time performer at Branson) Jeff Stringer . …read more

Comments Off

"The upcoming Broadway revival of Grease – in which the leads are being cast via NBC’s "You’re The One That I Want" – has already sold $1.3 million in ticket sales in just two days."–Playbill

There must be some VERY pleased producers out there. And I’m excited, too–mainly because this kind of takes us a step closer to my dream, Showtime’s original production of "Rocky Horror Picture Show Ultimate Reality Casting Show!"
Tags: grease, broadway, tv

Comments Off

I’m talking, of course, about the producers of “Grease: You’re the One.”
Let’s get one thing out of the way first: I liked the show. I’m going to watch it all the way through, not the least simply because I really like the music. I also have immense respect for the choreographer/director, and I find it fascinating that the judges are actually the writer, the producer, and the director. I’m interested in what they have to say.
That being said…I’m sort of looking at this from a meta-perspective, looking at how they tell the tale as much as the tale itself. Moreso, …read more

Comments Off