"GREASE"
Why do they keep reviving this show?
Why do people keep going to see it?
It remains one of the great money-makers in theater history. But it also remains a poorly constructed, sophomoric attempt at a musical.
The supposed "high-school kids" in the current revival look like the seasoned twenty-something performers they actually are. Yes, those performers do sing well. And dance even better.
But there's no real substance to this book. This is not a show that reveals more upon repeat viewings. It is just a dumb, rather pointless story (good girl falls for supposed bad boy) that has been told countless times, usually more artfully.
There ARE some cute, memorable songs. Which you can hear sung better, on the movie soundrack.The stars of this production were chosen by television viewers through an NBC TV reality show. Max Crumm won the role of Danny Zuko and Laura Osnes got Sandy Dumbrowski. Neither has anywhere near the power, conviction, or appeal of the film's co-stars, John Travolta and Olvia Newton-John.
And Crumm, playing supposed bad-boy Danny Zuko, the leader of the greasers, seems more like the kind of guy real-life gang members would be picking on than accepting leadership from. I'm sorry, but he is just no Alpha Male.
In a secondary role, Matthew Saldivar (from the cast iof "The Wedding Singer"), playing Danny Zuko's sidekick, Kenickie, upstages both of the supposed stars of this revival without even trying. Being voted by TV viewers as best singers on a reality show does not magically imbue performers with the chops needed to carry off a Broadway show.
--R.A.