Left ot Rt. Matt Wood, Bobby Conte Thornton, Taylor Louderman (Photo Credit: Jerry Dalia)
It's a well established fact that a critic's endorsement of a show is no guarantee of its success or popularity. My personal response to Grease for the past forty-two years has been one of tolerance. That the Paper Mill Playhouse has chosen to close the season that commemorated its 75th anniversary as one of the outstanding regional theaters in the country with this apparently widely adored popular 50s rock 'n' roll gives me pause to ask myself "What I may have been overlooking?" In a word . . . nothing.
Daniel Goldstein has directed this production with verve and the choreography by Joann M. Hunter has the required vitality — just about all the surface embellishments that make me realize that the show is not likely to ever get any better no matter what is done to it. The colorfully mobile settings based on the 2007 Broadway revival by Derek McLane and the period-perfect costumes based on those by Martin Pakledinaz for the same production are first rate. The current cast is attractive, but possibly not as youthful looking as one might hope, .considering that not one looks even close to being a teenager.
There is no denying that the Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey musical somehow found its way into the hearts of many, even as it made its way into American musical theater history. This, mostly by right of its original record-breaking Broadway run (February 14, 1972 - April 13, 1980) of 3,388 performances, a record that would stand until it was overtaken by A Chorus Line! in 1980.To read the complete review please go to: http://curtainup.com/greasenj14.html
No comments:
Post a Comment