“Grease: Live,” had me a blast, “Grease: Live” happened so fast!
With NBC serving up several live TV musicals over the past several years, including “The Sound of Music” in 2013 and “The Wiz” in 2015,Fox decided to get into the game with its own version of “Grease.” Impossible to “hate-watch,” as viewers have done to many of the other live TV musicals, “Grease: Live” was almost non-stop fun. Even die-hard fans of earlier adaptions could appreciate the energy and wave of nostalgia that was present throughout the full three-hour event.
Drawing primarily from the 1978 film adaptation of the 1971 Broadway hit and the 2007 Broadway revival, “Grease: Live” starred Julianne Hough (Sandy), Aaron Tveit (Danny) and Vanessa Hudgens (Rizzo), and featured other well-known names as well, including Keke Palmer (Marty), Carly Rae Jepsen (Frenchy), Mario Lopez (Vince Fontaine) and Boyz II Men (collectively as the Teen Angel). There even was an appearance from the original Frenchy, Didi Conn, as The Frosty Palace waitress Vi.
After a short scene of Sandy and Danny saying goodbye in front of a green screen that featured some unconvincing waves, the show got off to an energetic start with Jessie J singing “Grease” and roaming through the various sets and sound stages,even stopping backstage to take a quick selfie with The Pink Ladies. Right away, it was clear that this was no ordinary live TV musical. The set designers took advantage of the fact that this performance was on TV and not limited to a typical musical's single stage to create a set that was a hybrid of the two media. There were several sound stages scattered through the lot, and before commercial breaks, cameras showed actors running between them, with some even hitching rides on golf carts. And for the finale, the actors jumped onto the carts and drove themselves from the gym set to the outdoor carnival set, all the while belting out the lyrics to “We Go Together.” Though this could definitely be considered cheesy and gimmicky, it mostly felt cute. Plus, watching the actors enjoying themselves was its own form of entertainment, as was catching a glimpse at their terrified faces when they almost crashed a golf cart.
Hough’s portrayal of Sandy closely resembled Olivia Newton John’s in the 1978 film. Save for Newton John’s Australian accent and a last name change from Olsen to Young, the two Sandys were nearly identical. Hough’s dancing was expectedly amazing, and her singing, more surprisingly, was excellent as well. Tveit impressed vocally as Danny, and his biceps surely impressed viewers across the country, but he ultimately did not have the same Zuko swagger John Travolta possessed in the movie. And, unfortunately for Tveit, high-definition TV made his 32-year-old face hard to pass for 18.
Hudgens was unsuccessful in capturing the same grit that Stockard Channing mustered as Rizzo in the movie, but she was nonetheless a convincing leader of the Pink Ladies. Her performance of “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” was also a highlight of the night. Another standout was little-known actor Jordan Fisher as Doody, and he crooned his way into viewers’ hearts with his rendition of “Those Magic Changes." The cherry on top of this already-great number was an ending that featured soaring harmonies between Fisher and Tveit.
While there were no true weak links in the cast, invariably, some actors’ performances were weaker than others. Palmer flawlessly sang “Freddy My Love,” a typically overlooked song that is only in the stage musical, but her acting was exaggerated and a little grating. Palmer also ran into a similar problem as Jepsen — both chose to attempt some sort of 1950s accent that ultimately ended up sounding quasi-British and was completely distracting. Jepsen also provided the worst three minutes of the entire show, by way of the original song written for her, “All I Need is an Angel.” Not only did her vocals leave something to be desired, but also the song lagged and did not match the tone of the other numbers. Probably the most unpleasant overall, however, was Elle McLemore as Patty; the shrillness of her voice and her over-the-top acting, particularly in the cheerleading tryout scene, is something the show probably could have done without.
Although “Grease: Live” was not a flawless three hours, the weaker points are easily forgiven. Between the energy of ensemble numbers, particularly “Summer Nights,” the comedic strength of supporting players like Haneefah Wood as Blanche and Kether Donohue as Jan and the perfectly corny car chase scene — complete with flames and wind machines — “Grease: Live” was an absolute pleasure to watch. Grease (live!) is the word.
