Grease Live Review

When Grease Live was announced and the names of the cast members began to trickle in, I was very skeptical. I felt that some of the actors were miscast, namely Aaron Tveit, Vanessa Hudgens, and Carly Rae Jepsen. The original Grease, the movie not the Broadway musical, is a very nostalgic movie for me. It was hard for me to picture some of the actors in their respective roles because you can’t replace the brilliance of the original cast. By the end of the three hour show, only one of the main actors felt like a miss to me –Aaron Tveit. I just don’t think he has the bad boy swagger that Danny requires. I also felt that his romantic chemistry with Julianne Hough and his bromance with Carlos Pena Vega just wasn’t working. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John will always be Danny and Sandy to me.

The casting choice that bothered me the most was Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo. She will forever be Gabriella from High School Musical to me, so it was hard for me to see her playing a baddie. My skepticism was shot down by her performance. I thought she was great and her acting ability just keeps getting better and better.  I was also extremely proud of her after reading that her father had died from cancer just a few hours prior to the start of the show and yet she still went on. That’s what her father would’ve wanted and I know that he would’ve wanted to see her doing what she loves.

I was very surprised with Carly Rae Jepsen’s performance as Frenchy. She was very quickly my favorite! I think Carly has proven that she is a great actress and I think she’ll get future gigs in musicals. It was clear that she wanted to give a faithful homage the iconic role that was brought to life by Didi Conn. Speaking of Didi, SHE MADE A CAMEO! I was so thrilled to see her come back in the role of Vi. That was the perfect way to give her a cameo. The talk between Frenchy (Carly) and Vi (Didi) before Beauty School Dropout was one of my favorite moments of the show. The nostalgia felt so wonderful and I’m so happy that Didi continually strives to keep the integrity of Grease alive.

A few members of the supporting cast made me very happy as well. It was great to see Eve Plumb in this! About a half an hour in, I decided to check the cast list because I couldn’t figure out who was playing Patty. I squealed with joy when I saw that it was Elle McLemore. I originally discovered her when I watched Heathers the Musical. I think she is a wonderful performer and has a huge career ahead of her in the world of theatre.

Not to be nitpicky, but I wasn’t super happy with the choice to have a racially diverse cast. I know that it’s 2016 and that they felt the need to modernize the show a bit, but Grease is a period piece. You wouldn’t see mixed couples back in the 50s. I felt that they were trying to do Hairspray a decade too early with this choice. I do have to give Fox props for the sets. NBC needs to step it up if they want an equally positive response for their next musical. The sets and costumes for this show were fantastic and I think the positive response regarding Grease Live will lead to other live musicals on Fox.