The story carried on without it and still made sense.
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Starring Aaron Tveit, whose career encompasses Broadway, “Gossip Girl” and “Graceland”, and “Dancing With the Stars” star Julianne Hough, it was an exuberant, technically audacious staging of a work that ads in the run-up were pleased to call “America’s favorite musical”.
Surely an emotional experience for the star, her longtime boyfriend Austin Butler made sure he was close by-sitting in the audience in the gymnasium scenes for the taped rehearsals, and also tweeted throughout the experience. Which meant the on-set hair team needed a product that offered mega shine and hold – and basic Dep gel wasn’t going to cut it. Enter in the world’s most unexpected product: personal lubricant. The puddle skirts swirled, the T-Birds and Pink Ladies all had their moments to shine, and I’ll bet viewers at home were doing the Hand Jive along with the cast.
Brandon Griggs, CNN: On the down side, audio glitches interrupted Julianne Hough’s big solo number, “Hopelessly Devoted to You”, which was marred by static.
Maureen Ryan, Variety: “Grease Live!” won’t make anyone forget the original film any time soon, but that wasn’t the point.
Vanessa Hudgens, you are our hero.
Even Vanessa Hudgens, whose father died hours before the show aired – delivered an incredible performance as Rizzo, and dedicated the production to her father’s memory.
A dedication to her dad was also included in the show’s end credits.
From Vanessa’s breathtaking performance of “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”…
Celebrities have flocked to social media to praise the stars of the “Grease: Live” TV event for their flawless performances. Her mannerisms even evoke Newton-John – when she flits around the screen in that innocent-yet-oblivious way, it’s clear why Newton-John gave Hough her blessing. The former Saturday Night Live star Ana Gasteyer and Haneefah Wood, as Principal McGee and her much-maligned assistant, Blanche, acted as superb comic relief, although the script’s Cold War-era zingers about fallout shelters and “duck and cover” training possibly went over the heads of younger viewers who’d tuned in to see Joe Jonas.
We wish Hudgens the very best during this hard time. Tveit seemed to constantly be on the verge of a smile, so some of the scenes in which he’s supposed to be detached/standoff-ish about the whole Danny/Sandy relationship didn’t quite play out real.
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UPDATE, 8:27 AM: The Sound Of Music Live! still reigns supreme through the ratings hills by its fingertips but Grease Live has got some hydromatic fuel of its own and isn’t far behind – at all. The trio, campy and fun, belted out the cheeky track at Carly Rae Jepsen. “Summer Nights” 3. “Freddy My Love” 4.
