"Grease Live" TV Musical

So the West Coast showing of the Grease Live TV musical just happened. This is one of my favorite musicals, one the I grew up singing along to since I was literally a little girl--I'd dress up as Sandy and wear my hair in curlers, and I have high expectations for any rendition of it. The highlight of the entire three-hour show was Danny Zuko played by Broadway star Aaron Tveit.

**Just a fair warning, this is not going to be the nicest of reviews, so if you're expecting "Everything was great!" ... might wanna move along.

My only stipulation, I have to admit...was most of the casting for this production, which wasn't on point. I won't ramble on every nit-picky casting choice, but I will touch on the ones that got to me the most. Granted, all of the performers are definitely talented as individuals, but they didn't do their characters justice, save Tveit, who seemed the most natural, spirited and charismatic.

Tveit effortlessly lit up the screen and kept me engaged every second he was on the screen. In addition, his duet with Jordan Fisher's Doody character was one of the highlights of the show. They harmonized quite nicely to the point that I wished that Fisher could have been Sandy in some way. Fisher was the biggest surprise of the night with his guitar playing and beautiful vocals.
Julianne Hough looks the part of Sandy, has a nice voice (as a country singer), is a phenomenal dancer, but her acting as Sandy was not that great....and I couldn't feel the chemistry between her and Danny (Tveit). I really did like that heartbreak ballad "Hopelessly Devoted" made its appearance later on in the story--after Danny wins the dance contest with Cha-Cha as opposed to after calling him a phony after the pep rally. It makes much more sense for Sandy to be singing that tune after the dance, and Hough sang it pretty well. No chills or goosebumps, but it was good.

Carlos Pena, formerly of Big Time Rush, playing Kenickie wasn't convincing to me either. Again, talented singer, but to me, Kenickie is supposed to be an intimidating character--one who is partners in crime with Danny and leader of the T-birds--but I couldn't take him seriously as that role.

There's no denying that Carly Rae Jepsen has made a successful career for herself as a pop star, but I'm really iffy on her branching out to Broadway. She can sing, but during her solo before "Beauty School Dropout" (by the famous trio Boyz II Men), she didn't have the strongest nor resonant voice.
I can't decide if I liked Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo. She had her moments, for sure, where I was into it, but then there were other moments where I wasn't. For example, I wasn't feeling her performance for "Sandra Dee," but she did a good job giving me goosebumps with "There Are Worse Things I Could Do." She definitely does better in Broadway singing than pop star singing, and she did awfully well considering her father passed away right before her big performance. Sending thoughts and prayers for you and your family, V xoxo

Overall, I'm rather impressed they did everything live, AND with the special surprise guest El Nino, as host Mario Lopez joked at the beginning--and he plays a rather sleezy, creepy Vince Fontaine (another let down). One setback, which is probably influenced by the time restraint and commercial breaks, is that all of the dialogue felt rushed, and the comedic timing didn't feel right. I think one decent beat of dramatic pause for some of the punchlines would have done good for them. Conversely, all the choreography was actually pretty great--captivating and clean, which was enhanced with the flowy, flirty costumes!

Going back to Rydell High in the 21st century was nice. It brought together a talented group of the stars of today--including Joe Jonas' new band outfit DNCE--and the always-great nostalgic feeling of the classics--including before-mentioned Boyz II Men. In all honesty, I probably will not watch this particular production again unlike the Travolta-Newton film rendition that I grew up on, but I really do appreciate them bringing Grease back.