Last but certainly not least was the director of the upcoming musical, Kathleen Marshall. Since everyone else so far has looked like the lovechild of two different celebrities, why stop with Kathleen? The best way to describe her would be the hybrid of Reese Witherspoon and Catherine O'Hara. Except paler.
We then watched a quick montage of crappy auditions, and then -- and this is pretty much inexcusable -- NBC actually played music so derivative of American Idol's theme that I actually thought maybe they had laid in a temp audio track that had somehow made it to the air. I rewound the moment about three or four times, certain that I was hearing that famous guitar track, but after further examination, I decided it was only a really, really, really obnoxious rip-off. This show was shameless.
Anyway, Billy Bush then informed us that in two weeks from tonight, a select number of people would be sent to "Grease Academy" where they'd be slapped with a singing, dancing, and acting regimen. From there, only twelve people would "graduate" from this esteemed institution, and they would then take center stage as the public then begins its process of whittling down the contestants one Sandy and one Danny. Oh, and if you've never seen Grease before, those are the lead roles, FYI.
At long last, we were finally ready to commence the auditions. Billy tried to infuse some sense of drama into the situation by insisting that all the judges' careers were AT STAKE over this. Yeah, not so much. Let's stop with the bombast and just move onto the singers.
First up was a bright young ingenue named Ashley (I think that's how her name is spelled -- NBC put up not one title card the entire show). Apparently Ashley spent all her money to come to the audition, and guess what? She wants it so bad! Never heard that one before. She sang "Hopelessly Devoted To You," and while I felt her voice was caterwaul-riffic, her Meg Ryan charm and pretty hair won over the judges easily. Ashley was sent through to the next round, which incidentally involved a dance audition. I guess it was a good choice. She'll go over especially well if the audience is predominantly FELINE.
Next up was an old hag named Robin Rosensweig. I'm fairly sure she was an actress hired by the producers to spice up this audition process, but either way, she was still kooky enough to warrant a place in my heart. She informed the judges that she was half a billion things from murder mystery writer to speed typist. My favorite, however, was when she described herself as a "beginning stand up comic" with a stable of "Harry Potter jokes." WELL! Consider this role yours! Everyone knows Grease is nothing without its Harry Potter one-liners!
Anyway, Robin sang for the judges, and while she was certainly awful, she wasn't as truly awful as I thought she'd be. Her voice was almost sweet in its own horrifying way. Didn't matter though. She was a goner.
"You say I look like who? Nakomis?"
After a montage of men auditioning, we then learned a little bit about Jim Jacobs's past (snooze), and then it was time for Kaitlyn Doubleday. She kind of looked like the long lost triplet to Sabrina and Kelly from 8th and Ocean, plus twenty pounds. (BTW, does anyone know if 8th and Ocean is coming back? Please say it is). Anyway, she pretty much sucked, what with her flat voice and all, but somehow she won over the judges. David Ian said she seemed to really connect with the material, which completely stumped me. But I guess you can never overlook the power of a pretty blonde girl.
Next was a girl named Fawn Ledesma. Again, not sure of spelling. If you're reading this, Fawn, and I've grossly butchered your name, please direct your complaints to NBC. Anyway, off the bat, we could tell one thing about Fawn: she never saw a belt that was too wide to wear. Yes, Fawn was rockin' one big-ass belt that seemed to be abnormally high for such an accessory (is it normal for girls to wear belts just under their breasts?). Anyway, David Ian found her first song to be boring -- clearly he was not as entranced by the belt as I was. Fawn then sang a livelier second song, which was better, but the producers will still unimpressed. And so America's hope for the next great Broadway star / belt enthusiast went down the drain. Or so we thought...
To belt, or not to belt. That is the question.
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Comments (21)
Wow! Speedy recap, B-Side! Thanks!
I think I'll keep watching, at least until after Grease Academy. I don't have any favorites at this time, but it's still a pretty fun time. My husband even kinda likes it, and he hates musicals!
1 of 21 | Posted by Lyndsay
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Posted on January 8, 2007 6:25 AM
The fact that 42 year old Dominic made it through to Grease Academy makes this show lose a lot of credibility for me. No way does he look young enough to play Danny, and if he can look younger then the fat girls can lose weight. I won't make it a point to watch it anymore unless nothing better is on.
2 of 21 | Posted by zoobabe
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Posted on January 8, 2007 7:17 AM
B-Side, this is one of your most, nay the most, hilarious recaps ever! Much better than the show.
"You say I look like who? Nakomis?"
Classic!
3 of 21 | Posted by SaveFerris
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Posted on January 8, 2007 7:19 AM
I was all about the Dancing Cupcake but now I'm going to have to find myself a new Sandy to cheer for. I'm guessing the best will come out of New York next week.
As far as Danny goes, the guy who sang "Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love" is probably my favorite simply because he's hot and did pelvic thrusts.
4 of 21 | Posted by Chris
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Posted on January 8, 2007 7:45 AM
This show is so much like Idol it's hard to think of a reason to watch both, but I may just have to if only to fully enjoy B-Side's recaps.
Billy Bush is a really poor man's Seacrest. I'm liking D-Vo, though.
Rebecca the pharmaceutical rep was especially yummy. Very sorry she didn't make the cut.
One thing really bothered me: the claim that "Grease" made Travolta and Newton-John huge stars. Travolta at least was already a pretty huge star when "Grease" came out, having already been in "Welcome Back Kotter" and "Saturday Night Fever".
"Bang-A-Thon on her forehead" . . . heh heh heh.
5 of 21 | Posted by JasonR
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Posted on January 8, 2007 8:07 AM
As an obsessive fan of Grease the movie as a child - I have been waiting for this show for weeks.
I must say I was very disappointed, and rolled my eyes and wanted to turn the TIVO off at least a dozen times while watching.
I am going to stick it out because I think it could get better once they narrow it down to those with some talent.
Oh and on a side not...for the Reality TV junkies like myself there is nothing better than finding a Reality TV crossover on a new show...there was a gal that made the cut for Sandy that also went pretty far on I Want to be a Soap Opera Star. She was the blonde girl and has an Australian accent, but they didn't show too much of her last night.
6 of 21 | Posted by eellsinoc
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Posted on January 8, 2007 8:38 AM
Why was that deaf old woman trying out? The characters are in high school.
I thought the black chick was pretty good and she'd make for an interesting take on the musical.
Oh well, I couldn't sit thru the whole, it was boring.
Great recap though.
7 of 21 | Posted by soflat
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Posted on January 8, 2007 10:17 AM
The fact that Deja got to stay even though none of the judges appeared to like her that much ticked me off. It reminded me of The Bachelor (or Bachelorette) where the African American guy only makes it past the first round.
Cupcake cracked me up, and I too thought Rebecca was sweet and very Olivia Newton John-ish (without the scary Botox). I've actually been in Grease before, and I'm sure they're planning on revamping the production (hence the inclusion of You're the One That I Want, which was written for the movie, not the play), but Sandy really doesn't dance in the play, and she didn't dance much in the movie (if you look closely, you'll see that the heavy choreography belonged to John Travolta, who was a dancer). Again, I'm guessing that Sandy will dance more in the revival.
I know a lot of it's edited, but I was kinda sad that they didn't find more talent in my sweet home Chicago. My roommate and I met while doing a local production of Grease six years ago (he played Eugene, the nerdy guy), and he thought about auditioning, except that he doesn't have the vocal range for Danny.
Danny favorite so far: Hunka Hunka Burnin Love guy. He's the only one I saw who had the right charisma for Danny. Dominic's great, but too old to make it much further. 17-year-old girl (I forget her name) would need a really young Danny, and I don't see that happening either.
And though I felt bad for Sunshine, America's not ready for an overweight Sandy. Sorry. She'd be a great Jan, but they're not casting supporting characters.
The other thing I worry about is that they'll be fixated on a blonde Sandy, when the original Broadway Sandy was a brunette. Same with Danny--Barry Bostwick did NOT look like John Travolta at all.
Yes, I'm addicted already. I'm such a dork.
8 of 21 | Posted by maybeimamazed02
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Posted on January 8, 2007 10:21 AM
I was a little excited about this show too. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. I found myself rolling my eyes out of annoyance.
I suppose we can thank American Idol for allowing people with NO TALENT to even be televised on a crappy audition. Although I enjoy some of the American Idol antics, this show can do without it. I am watching specifically for the love of the musical and I suspect most of the viewers are too. It's a waste of time to allow crappy auditions into the televised show for a quick gaffaw.
Hopefully the New York auditions will be better.
9 of 21 | Posted by MTV4ME
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Posted on January 8, 2007 10:45 AM
I wonder how the producers of the show are going to work in the legitimate Broadway cast with their Danny and Sandy unknowns? Is this show also casting the Danny and Sandy understudies as well?
10 of 21 | Posted by Foxbase Alpha
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Posted on January 8, 2007 10:51 AM
Once again, all "good" reality shows are remakes of successful british versions (pop idol, big brother, dancing with celebrities etc)
There was a british version of this show where the winner got the part of Maria and the in the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of The Sound of Music in the West End. So I'm guessing that the producers already have a system in place for working the rest of the cast in.
11 of 21 | Posted by Laurie
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Posted on January 8, 2007 11:22 AM
According to a broadway website, there is a former castmember of a off-broadway musical in this show --
http://www.broadway.com/gen/general.aspx?ci=536203
I suspect that the New York auditions will be amazing.
I felt sorry for some of the people that were let go. I wish that they would also let them audition for the other characters like Jan and Doody. They could go to Grease Academy and put through the ringer for those other characters - like a Miss Lynch boot camp
12 of 21 | Posted by augustburns2
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Posted on January 8, 2007 11:37 AM
The good thing about this show is that, unlike "Idol", these are open auditions, so when we get to NY auditions, we should be seeing some stage pros on a par with or surpassing what we saw from L.A.
13 of 21 | Posted by JasonR
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Posted on January 8, 2007 1:41 PM
Put me down for being disappointed in the first show. But surely things will get better at Grease Academy - according to the previews, there are at least TWO hookups!
I really liked that perky Cara Kelly. I liked Sunshine buuuut...I mean, not to be mean but if this is your "dream" then you should probably lose weight. It's a cruel industry based on looks.
And I like Max Crumb! Leave him alone B-Side!
14 of 21 | Posted by BSL
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Posted on January 8, 2007 3:03 PM
notice that when Robin said she has written mystery novels she didnt say "published" so I'm assuming these novels were written in her own menstrual fluid on her bedroom wall.
An hour and a half premeire was pretty tough to take. This show needs some serious editing. But heck, it wont be around long anyway.
15 of 21 | Posted by EdHill
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Posted on January 9, 2007 8:26 AM
EdHill! EEEEEWWWWWW!!!
16 of 21 | Posted by LuvzSunshine
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Posted on January 10, 2007 8:59 AM
Olivia and John T. weren't made famous by the musical version of Grease anyway.
17 of 21 | Posted by suebee
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Posted on January 10, 2007 9:44 AM
Here is a link to the gal I mentioned made the cut for Sandy. She was previously on I Want to be a Soap Star.
Any other career reality star spottings?
18 of 21 | Posted by eellsinoc
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Posted on January 11, 2007 8:05 AM
http://soapnet.go.com/shows/soapstar3/bio.html?contestant=lindsey
Well here it is I guess...the first time didn't work.
19 of 21 | Posted by eellsinoc
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Posted on January 11, 2007 8:07 AM
Suebee, you are right, I noticed that mistake too.
In fact, it's my understanding that Travolta and Newton-John were cast in those roles BECAUSE they were already big stars. That's actually why Danny sings Grease Lightning in the movie and not Kenickie (as in the play)...John Travolta used his clout to take that song away from Jeff Conaway, who was playing Kenickie and who had been in the show on Broadway.
My roommate went to school with Jacqueline from Chicago.
20 of 21 | Posted by maybeimamazed02
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Posted on January 11, 2007 8:47 AM
whoa.....I went to school with her too!
Small. World.
21 of 21 | Posted by kelsee422
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Posted on January 15, 2007 5:03 PM