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You can't deny he's greasy
"Grease' at the Academy of Music
Jim Rutter
Grease was not the word when I saw it at the Academy of Music Tuesday night. Then again, neither was reticence, decency or respect.
The story and songs of Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey hadn't changed. Danny Zuko (played by understudy Mark Raumaker) and Sandy Dumbrowski (Emily Padgett) still struggled against peer pressure and '50's era inhibitions to find true love, and the stereotyped T-birds and Pink Ladies suffered all the problems of adolescence (unplanned pregnancy, gang-fights, failing grades), in a manner whose opening number, at least, matched the intensity of the recent Spring Awakening.
But Grease wasn't the focus of this touring production. Instead, the producers baited the hook of this musical with Taylor Hicks— the grey-haired crooner who won TV's "American Idol" contest— as the big sell. Even the scalpers outside the venue were pawning Idol memorabilia for Hicks to sign afterward.
A massive shadow
Though Hicks played only the bit role of Teen Angel to sing "Beauty School Dropout," Kathleen Marshall's direction chipped away comically at the plot, laughing or winking throughout to set the ground for Hicks's five-minute appearance. After ridiculously faux-conducting as he descended from inside a giant ice-cream cone, Hicks sang listlessly while hamming it up in a manner that would make even a self-respecting pig blanch. Frenchy (Kate Morgan Chadwick) even stopped him mid-song to say, "Hey, I voted for you." When Hicks began to riff on his harmonica, I wondered why they even put him in a costume.
The rest of the cast tried hard to escape the massive shadow cast by Hicks's name on the marquee. As Jan and Roger, Bridie Carroll and Will Blum sang their songs with aplomb, and both Doody (Brian Crum) and Kenickie (David Ruffin) exerted a kind of mellow force that spread itself like a 3-D gauze over their numbers. Marshall's choreography added some nice flourishes (especially by Joseph Corella on "Hand-Jive"), and Padgett sang sweetly even if she was outshone by many in the ensemble.
A team player (not)
Despite the goofy antics and buttery Southern gentility he oozed as a contestant on "Idol," here Hicks was anything but the humility of a team player. Sure, the producers hired him to capitalize on his now flagging fame— of all "Idol" winners, his debut album sold the fewest copies—but I didn't expect the snub that followed the show's final number.
After their final melody of songs— minus Hicks, who left after a verse-long interpolation of the title number to change costume and grab his guitar and blues harp— the cast dispersed into the wings for Hicks's grand return. Here he serenaded the audience with "Seven Mile Breakdown," a tune from his new album, The Distance. In one fell swoop he erased the memory of the classic musical that had just ended. Like dogs on a hot day, the fans lapped it up. I can understand signing autographs and even hawking albums after a show. Such is the detritus of an "Idol"-driven culture.â—†
To read responses, click here.
The story and songs of Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey hadn't changed. Danny Zuko (played by understudy Mark Raumaker) and Sandy Dumbrowski (Emily Padgett) still struggled against peer pressure and '50's era inhibitions to find true love, and the stereotyped T-birds and Pink Ladies suffered all the problems of adolescence (unplanned pregnancy, gang-fights, failing grades), in a manner whose opening number, at least, matched the intensity of the recent Spring Awakening.
But Grease wasn't the focus of this touring production. Instead, the producers baited the hook of this musical with Taylor Hicks— the grey-haired crooner who won TV's "American Idol" contest— as the big sell. Even the scalpers outside the venue were pawning Idol memorabilia for Hicks to sign afterward.
A massive shadow
Though Hicks played only the bit role of Teen Angel to sing "Beauty School Dropout," Kathleen Marshall's direction chipped away comically at the plot, laughing or winking throughout to set the ground for Hicks's five-minute appearance. After ridiculously faux-conducting as he descended from inside a giant ice-cream cone, Hicks sang listlessly while hamming it up in a manner that would make even a self-respecting pig blanch. Frenchy (Kate Morgan Chadwick) even stopped him mid-song to say, "Hey, I voted for you." When Hicks began to riff on his harmonica, I wondered why they even put him in a costume.
The rest of the cast tried hard to escape the massive shadow cast by Hicks's name on the marquee. As Jan and Roger, Bridie Carroll and Will Blum sang their songs with aplomb, and both Doody (Brian Crum) and Kenickie (David Ruffin) exerted a kind of mellow force that spread itself like a 3-D gauze over their numbers. Marshall's choreography added some nice flourishes (especially by Joseph Corella on "Hand-Jive"), and Padgett sang sweetly even if she was outshone by many in the ensemble.
A team player (not)
Despite the goofy antics and buttery Southern gentility he oozed as a contestant on "Idol," here Hicks was anything but the humility of a team player. Sure, the producers hired him to capitalize on his now flagging fame— of all "Idol" winners, his debut album sold the fewest copies—but I didn't expect the snub that followed the show's final number.
After their final melody of songs— minus Hicks, who left after a verse-long interpolation of the title number to change costume and grab his guitar and blues harp— the cast dispersed into the wings for Hicks's grand return. Here he serenaded the audience with "Seven Mile Breakdown," a tune from his new album, The Distance. In one fell swoop he erased the memory of the classic musical that had just ended. Like dogs on a hot day, the fans lapped it up. I can understand signing autographs and even hawking albums after a show. Such is the detritus of an "Idol"-driven culture.â—†
To read responses, click here.
What, When, Where
Grease. Musical comedy by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey; directed by Kathleen Marshall. Touring production through July 19, 2009 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.kimmelcenter.org/broadway.
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