What Did You Think Of “Grease Live”, Julianne Hough, And The Cast? (Video Highlights, Reviews)
So, who watched “Grease Live” and what did you think? Let us know in comments.
The show isn’t quite over here yet, but, I have loved every single minute. Julianne Hough was the perfect “Sandy”! In fact, I thought all the actors picked have been just perfect!! All the performances have just been excellent!!
Also, if you weren’t able to see the show, note that @Idolxfactor is putting up some highlights as I type. To see them, go Idolxfactor.com HERE! Below is one to get you started. Thanks Al!
ETA: Wow, I have not seen one bad press review of “Grease Live” (so far). I’m not going to post them all, but, here are a few that sum it up. Be sure to go to the links to read more….
Fox’s highly anticipated Grease: Live aired Sunday night and, despite the many, many ways it could have been a total train wreck, the performance went off without a hitch.
In fact, it wasn’t just well-executed, it was spectacular! From the complex orchestration to the huge ensemble cast, everything was pulled off to perfection, and accomplished with the sort of enthusiastic ambition that people have been looking for from prior live televised musicals that have been staged in recent years.
….Aaron Tveit’s Danny Zuko, Julianne Hough’s Sandy and (perhaps most of all) Vanessa Hudgens’ Rizzo made Fox’s three-hour production faster, funnier, sweeter and more instantly iconic than it was possible to imagine.
Buoyed by tremendous camera work, fleet-footed choreography, a kicky cast in which no one laid claim to “weak link” status, and a sound mix that was fuller (or less tinny) than any comparable production that’s come before it, Grease built on the live (but not in front of a live audience) musicals championed by rival NBC over the last three years.
Right from Jessie J.’s opening “Grease Is the Word” — in which the pop star managed to trek through seemingly two miles of backstage passageways and show sets — the tone was set: There wasn’t a minuscule detail that director Thomas Kail (Hamilton) overlooked. OK, there were about 30 seconds of lost audio during “Born to Hand Jive” — but that just reinforced the fact that everything happening was terrifyingly of-the-moment.
Mashable thanked FOX for raising the bar and this….
But the wait was worth it.
The ensemble for the performance — directed by Thomas Kail (Hamilton) and Alex Rudzinski— was full of talented actors including Broadway babe Aaron Tveit (Les Miserables) as leading T-Bird Danny Zuko, Keke Palmer (Scream Queens) as the sassy Pink Lady Marty Maraschino, Carlos PenaVega (Big Time Rush) as Danny’s tough-guy sidekick Kenickie, and Grammy-nominated pop artist Carly Rae Jepsen as beauty school dropout Frenchy.
Hough and Tveit had natural chemistry that was electrifying (sorry, had to get another Grease pun in there). Palmer’s performance — and speedy outfit change — in “Freddy My Love” was equally as mesmerizing.
Meanwhile, Hudgens, who had announced the death of her father just hours before the final show, gave everyone chills with her solo “There Are Worse Things I Could Do.” Her show stopping number, and poise amid such a heartbreaking loss, proved she has certainly grown up from her Disney Channel roots.
Grease: Live threw down the gauntlet early and often—opening with a quick scene of lovestruck teens Sandy and Danny at the tail end of their summer romance before pulling back the camera to show stars Julianne Hough and Aaron Tveit backstage on the show’s massive soundstage. For her opening performance of “Grease”, Jessie J (and a talented steadicam operator) traveled through the production’s byzantine sets—including a rainy outdoor locale—while interacting with the cast and acknowledging that, yes, what you’re about to see is highly theatrical.
Peter Pan Live! made stabs at adding cinematic movement to its camera work (something neither The Sound Of Music Live! nor The Wiz Live! really did), but it doesn’t hold a candle to Grease: Live’s truly impressive cinematography, which made the entire production feel more like a movie musical than a stage play. Some of the big ensemble numbers were just stunning to watch, particularly the high school dance sequence that culminated in an exhilarating performance of “Hand Jive” (sung by none other than Joe Jonas). The camera fluidly weaved among the cast as they threw themselves (quite literally) into Zach Woodlee’s dazzling choreography.
CNN said “it’s a hit”. Here’s more….
Fox’s live TV musical overcame technical glitches, a rare Los Angeles rainstorm and the death of a key cast member’s father to score rave reviews on social media and elsewhere.
“This production wasn’t about hitting notes or taking breath, but rather about making things breathtaking. And time after time, ‘Grease: Live’ succeeded,” wrote Daniel Fienberg in The Hollywood Reporter.
“In this moment overrun with must-see TV events, Grease wasn’t just live. It was alive,” gushed Entertainment Weekly’s Darren Franich.
Some other critics were less kind, citing the sometimes-clunky acting between the big musical numbers. But in the court of popular opinion — Facebook and Twitter — the show was a worthy successor to the classic John Travolta-Olivia Newton-John movie.
Also, don’t miss seeing Pure Derek Hough as Derek Hough couldn’t be more proud of his sister. So much so, he was in tears.
Be sure to let us know what you thought of the show in comments if you haven’t yet. I still haven’t recovered from what I saw last night. And the dancing…..I’m passing out and can’t wait to watch it all again.
I was afraid this show might be as big a disappointment for me as the recent live TV productions of “Sound of Music” and “Peter Pan”. I frankly had little hope for “Grease Live”. Wow, was I proved wrong!!! I enjoyed it very much. I thought Julianne did an absolutely fantastic job! Her characterization of Sandy was spot-on (and put to rest my previous opinion of her sometimes wooden and lackluster movie acting); her vocals were just terrific, probably the best I’ve heard her sing; and of course, her dancing was flawless. I thought everyone else in the cast was great as well, some better than others, but everyone gave it their all with energy and enthusiasm. I loved seeing the inimitable Didi Conn as the waitress – what a treat! The only thing I was unsure of was whether the songs were really performed live or was it lip-synching, because I saw some occasional delay between the words and lip movements. Anyway, a huge Bravo to the cast & crew of “Grease Live”!!
I absolutely loved it! The folks at Nbc need to step up their game cos Fox has really shown them how it’s done tonight! Grease Live is the best live TV production we’ve seen so far if you ask me!
The casting was on point! Julianne absolutely killed it & so did Aaron Tveit! Both are so beautiful & talented! Triple threats for sure!
Vanessa, Carlos & the rest were great as well! And everyone who worked behind the scenes!
Superb production all around!
Nothing compares to the original of course BUT it was a great production and I enjoyed it a lot.
Very impressed with all of them. I am hard of hearing so the sound did pose some problems for me at times especially in the outdoor scenes. I will probably watch it again online and use headphones like I do with DWTS. Besides Julianne of course I was especially impressed with Vanessa’s Rizzo especially since her Dad had died the night before. She was amazing. Would love to see some of these actors on DWTS.
DW, I think you are right. I thought some of the performances (or part of them) were filmed too and I wondered about lip syncing as well. But, wow, it was so good. When I first heard they were going to do this, I had my doubts of them pulling it off. I also wasn’t sure I’d like the lead, but, wow, every inch of this show was so good. They really did their homework in all areas to make this a success.
Audrey, I couldn’t agree more with everything you wrote. FOX showed NBC how to do it.
Oh and huge kudos to Carlos. He really gave it up. I enjoyed him so much!!
Narice, I would love to see some of the actors on DWTS as well….especially Vanessa and Aaron. Carly too! I’d take any of them!
I thought it was terrific. Julianne gave a great singing performance that surprised me. Miss Hudgens was phenomenal and was Like Palmer. Aaron Tveit is a very talented man but I wanted more edge to the character. He was too nice for Danny Zucco. I also thought his voice, which is amazing, was a bit on the operatic side. Ana Gasteyer and he her sidekick Blanche stole the show.
I enjoyed it, but mostly just the music and dance. The acting felt rushed and lacked some of the nuance that’s so familiar in such an iconic show. Plus, some of the casting felt awkward to me. So, I guess I’m still not a huge fan of the live shows. All of that said, to execute something on the scale they did is crazy impressive.
My kids and I enjoyed the show very much!!
I thought Julianna was the perfect Sandy even if some critics were unnecessarily harsh towards her.
In other DWTS news, Val is being sued for $6 million for posting an offensive meme of a ten year old girl with downes syndrome. Cant say I’m surprised…
Grease is the word for me in any way, shape or form! I have seen the movie countless times. I know I will dig out my DVD and watch the movie again. I have seen it in play form twice, once at the Hershey Theater tour show. Taylor Hicks was Teen Angel and I had the pleasure of meeting him after the show.
Grease Live rivaled any Broadway show type of performance. I did not expect it to mirror the movie exactly. In a live setting with sets and having to do the logistics of everything, that wasn’t possible. But, it surely served up a brilliant show!
My favorites are the production numbers like Greased Lightning, Hand Jive, etc. Those were dynamic and fabulous! The ending production was simply fantastic and fun!
Sure there were a few glitches but it wasn’t meant to be perfect. But, it came close to it.
The only complaint I really had was not being able to understand the dialogue at times. It seemed some were just speaking too quietly or something, including Julianne. I think they could have miked up the sound.
I loved Grease Live! My favorite live production so far. I simply love musicals so much, old fashioned types like Oklahoma, etc. Present types like Grease. They are my happy place. I have seen many of them as plays. I love the dancing, singing and everything!
Carlos and Mario, former DWTSers were fantastic! They stepped up to the plate and hit a home run! I was not familiar with Aaron and both he and Julianne filled the bill as Danny and Sandy just fine! Vanessa was spectacular. I thought the entire cast was!
I understand NBC is taking on another favorite of mine Hairspray, coming in December. I can’t wait for that one too!
I don’t think there was any lip syncing going on at all, DW. Just watch Julianne sing “Hopelessly Devoted”. Flawless.
I absolutely LOVED this show – and I didn’t expect to be so involved and SO impressed. Not by Julianne – I already knew she was a hell of a singer – but Vanessa Hudgens broke my heart with her “There were worse things I could do.” Just beautiful. Amazing show.
What was REALLY amazing was the number of stages used. If you were watching their snapchat during the commercials, they had golf carts they were using to race between sets, in addition to moving the audience from one location to another. Just an amazing production all the way around. Loved the live audience as well, although one guy in the audience said they were told to tone it down because they were drowning out some of the line.
Nah, Vogue, it was all live – you had to watch the snapchat to realize how they were doing it.
Aaron Tveit was very, very good – but you could tell he’s a Broadway actor because he played some of the parts too large for a TV role. I loved him though.
I loved it! I was disappointed in Sound of Music and Peter Pan so I didn’t even bother with The Wiz. But I loved Grease the movie and had to at least give it a try and I was glad I did.
The cast couldn’t have been more perfect. Each one was the perfect one for the part they played. And I heard how hard it was raining that afternoon and had my doubts that the outdoor scenes would work, but the rain stopped and the show went on without a hitch. Loved how they drove the trams to carnival at the end.
Loved Grease Lightning! I liked Hand Jive too, but would have like to see more of the original hand movements from the dance.
Fox certainly has set the bar high for live shows. NBC, and any other network wanting to do a live show, should watch this and see how it’s done right. If NBC is attempting to do Hairspray, they have to do much, much better than their past shows.
My condolences to Vanessa Hudgens for her Dad. She was outstanding! Her Dad was watching and she has to know how very proud she made him!
I don’t know that the rain stopped, Cindy – you could see a huge tarp over the front of the school on the snapchat, so that area would stay dry.
I agree also on the handjive. If I was disappointed in anything, it was that one thing.
One more thing, with Val posting that meme, he has lost what little respect I had left for him and don’t want to see him back on the show. That was heartless and cruel. He makes uncalled for comments all the time and nothing has been done about it. Enough is enough. TPTB surely have to do something now.
Awesome. I’m glad to know that.
Anybody else notice the Derek Hough homages in the choreography? Especially in the use of the grease rags in the Greased Lightening number! Grease is the word, and Derek is the man!
LibbyL, I noticed influences of Derek’s choreo too!
I’m so happy for Julianne & everyone involved how much of a success Grease Live is! The press & everyone on social media are raving over it! And they are rightly doing so!
It would be absolutely spectacular to have Aaron Tveit on DWTS – he’s one hell of a performer & dancer! And very handsome as well 😉 Imagine him with Julianne as his pro partner, they would make one hot couple (yes, I know-that’s never going to happen)!
But like Vogue & Narice said – I would love any of the actors on DWTS!!
I love Derek as much (or more) than the next person, but most of the moves are not unique to Derek.
I loved it.
The staging was really inventive and completely and utterly awesome.
Vanessa Hudgens blew me away with There Are Worse Things I Could Do. I’vet rewatched her sing that 4 or 5 times now and it still gives me the chills.
I also loved Ana Gasteyer as the principal, Carly Rae Jepson as Frenchy and the T-Bird who sang a song while strolling about playing the quitar. What a cutie!
Oh, and the woman who played Blanche. Her reaction shots were hysterical!
I thought Julianne’s performance got better the longer the show went on. She seemed a bit timid at first to me. Part of the problem is that Sandy is such a bland character to me compared to The Pink Ladies.
The energy level of the whole cast during the school dance in the gym was incredibly infectious and exciting.
I missed the comments about the lip syncing the first time. I thought a couple of the songs felt like they were being lip synced also. A few times I thought it was lip synced and a few times it just felt like the video and audio weren’t synced properly. That might have been why it felt like it was lip synced.
I thought it was very enjoyable. Miss hough singing voice was spot on to Olivia Newton-Johns.
OK I got a chance to re-watch with my headphones so I could hear everything better. Loved it even more. I have read something that there were sound issues during Hopelessly Devoted to You. I didn’t notice them as much while re-watching it, but it did seem at times that Julianne was kind of shouting over something. Her voice quality was different than the other songs she sang Still loved every minute and I like others keep replaying There Are Worse Things I Can Do and waiting for someone to hug Vanessa and tell her It’s OK to cry.
I enjoyed it and Julianne was pretty darn good. She made a good Sandy. Even though we have been in love with the original Grease and the props were real live outdoor settings, I still enjoyed this version.
For me, while “Hopelessly Devoted to You” was going on there was terrible static to the point of where you could barely hear Julianne sing. I started jiggling my tv cord thinking it was my tv but it was not. And then they cut out to a commercial and back in and back out again; it was a mess. I thought all the girls did great, but I didn’t like any of the guys. They were just missing something that the original guys had. Not sure what. Especially the guy who played Danny. I didn’t like the stuff they added with the cheerleading tryouts or the song they added for Carly/Frenchy, and I’m still confused about the TBird strumming a guitar and singing. A TBird would never have done that. Anyway, I guess I just love the original too much to be able to appreciate what all they did.
I was glued to the TV and had none of your problems, April. I had one moment during the Hand Jive scene where the audio cut out, but that was it. In fact, the staging and direction of that show was stellar and will likely win a few emmys.
The “original” was a stage musical on BROADWAY (1971), NOT the movie (1978). Technically, Grease started on the stage in Chicago, before moving to Broadway. It was also on West End in London. This tv version used both the musical and the movie to dictate what was shown, hence the differences from what you’re used to seeing. “Hopelessly Devoted” was shown in the musical’s position, where as the movie put it much earlier.
As for the guitar playing Doody – he’s from the musical, not the movie. A Tbird most certainly DID do that, and according to wiki, the musical was actually grittier than the movie.
April, I loved the guys as much as the girls. In fact Jordon Fisher’s (the guitar guy) performance of “Those Magic Changes” was one of my favorites. I loved I loved Carly’s performance “All I Need Is An Angel” too. Just an FYI, this morning, the album was at #5 and right now it’s at #3 on the iTunes album chart. “Those Magic Changes” is at #29 on the itunes singles chart. Amazing.
Anyway, like Heidi, I was glued from the beginning to the end.
I really enjoyed Grease Live. The music is so great and the staging was very impressive. Sandy is kind of a boring character to me. Not much depth. Julianne certainly looks the part. I thought her performance was a little uneven, though improved as the evening went on. Her singing was not as good as other cast members IMO. I thought Vanessa Hudgens had a “star turn” – especially on “There are Worse Things I Could Do.” Singing an iconic song about putting on a brave face while doing just that! It was a true moment of life imitating art.
Thanks for the name of the boy playing Doody. He was really wonderful.
I finally got a chance to watch Grease Live and I loved it! Julianne and Aaron were adorable together, and I am a fan of Andrew Call as well. My biggest Broadway idol is Lin-Manuel Miranda and he said Julianne nailed Hopelessly Devoted which to me is a huge endorsement. Loved the whole show.