Grease
Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta needn't lose any sleep over this revival of "Grease." But Max Crumm and Laura Osnes, the nation's favorites as determined on that least private of auditions, NBC's "Grease: You're the One That I Want," are the very likable and talented leads of the latest revival of this paean to 1950s adolescence. Some have decried the practice of casting a big Broadway show in the style of "American Idol." Despite the unconventional approach (also used to cast Maria in London's current revival of "The Sound of Music"), however, the public seems to recognize talent when it spots it.
Since its premiere in 1972, "Grease" has been cast with adults, a plausible tradition as the show was always framed by a 10th-anniversary reunion, a device eschewed here. Though Crumm and Osnes are hardly oldsters at 21, the supporting cast veers older.
The original production ran an incredible eight years and, after the success of the film, the 1994 revival ran nearly four more. Clearly, the public can't get enough. The present version, sharply directed by Kathleen Marshall (who also provided the lively period choreography for Jim Jacobs' and Warren Casey's pastiche rock'n'roll score), is enjoyable.
Though Derek McLane's attractive production design is relatively lean by Broadway standards (all the better for later touring), the show's modest charms come across. Just about everyone knows the story: would-be hipster Danny Zuko and sweetly innocent Sandy Dumbrowski ("Is she a Catholic?" someone asks, one of several Catholic references, by the way), who fall in love over the summer, then find their romance a bit awkward in front of the critical eye of their high school friends, Danny's Burger Palace Boys, and Sandy's Pink Ladies.
Though the Catholic references unfortunately tend to imply repression of youthful high spirits, there is one rousing gospel number that has a Guardian Angel (Stephen R. Buntrock) admonishing the frivolous Frenchy, who's become a "Beauty School Dropout."
Though the story precludes the youngsters with its passing suggestion of a possible pregnancy among one of the girls, and some other crass elements -- some crude words, mild innuendo and a character with a proclivity (we're told) for "mooning" passers-by -- the show is, on the whole, unobjectionable, and should appeal to fans of the film. (Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 256 W. 47th Street, (212) 307-4747; www.ticketmaster.com)
Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic
merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating,
the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief
synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
- A-I -- general patronage;
- A-II -- adults and adolescents;
- A-III -- adults;
- A-IV**
- L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
- O -- morally offensive.
** Discontinued classification. All archived movies that were originally in the A-IV category are now classified as L.