Next was a montage of people who were just too darned old to be auditioning, which provided a nice contrast to the next hopeful, a seventeen year old boy named Vince. The funny thing about Vince was that he still seemed to be waiting for puberty. Plus, he kind of looked like a girl. A young Greta Scacchi, to be specific. He was actually very good in terms of singing, but that whole androgynous, undeveloped thing kind of worked against the Danny Zuko mystique. He was unceremoniously dropped, causing his little chin to quiver backstage in his interview with Billy Bush. Hey Vince, just remember: Danny Zuko wouldn't have cried. Personally, I was shocked that Billy didn't march on stage and demand Vince get a second shot. But then I remembered that Billy was probably trying to have sex with Fawn and not Vince. Sorry, kid. You're out of luck.
"I guess I have no other option but to turn to gay porn."
One of my favorites of the night was Cara Hilly, an energetic girl who learned about the auditions because her father had called her up and told her. Now she was just trying to "make Daddy proud." Grrrowl! Well, I think she made Daddy proud and then some. Cara was great; although, she seemed slightly more Frenchy than Sandy. Either way, she easily made it to the next round.
Next was yet another fat girl, but this one came with big, curly hair. Her name was Sunshine (groan), and I just assumed she'd be terrible. After all, there could only be one talented fat girl on a show like this, and Patricia had already taken that spot. However, Sunshine was actually really good too, eliciting a veiled compliment from Kathleen Marshall: "I don't know if I exactly see you as a Sandy [translation: you're fat], but I think you've got a lot of chutzpah to come down here and sort of push yourself out here in this way [translation: it takes a lot of nerve to show your fat ass around these parts]." Ultimately, Sunshine was sent to the next round, causing Billy to remark, "Sunshine is a surprise Sandy." He then added, "On account of her being fat." Okay, okay, he didn't say that. But still, the implications these people are making are kind of extremely rude, yes? Not that I disagree with them. Hey, I never said I wasn't rude.
"I plan to spend my mid-thirties as a fag hag."
Some guy named Phil was next. He was a substitute teacher, and if anything, he had the Danny look. But that's about all he had. The doofus got on stage and attempted to croon out a Green Day song; however, his inability to hit a single note really worked against him. With Billy Bush cracking up backstage, Phil was quickly axed. He took the rejection well, saying this was all for his students. For a moment, my heart warmed -- until I remembered that he was just a sub. Dude, you have no students.
In a shocking turn of events, an actual black girl showed up to audition. Yes, Deja arrived on stage wearing pants so tight, NBC had to literally blur out the camel toe (look closely -- you'll see a blur). Anyway, she sounded okay at best, but the judges sent her through anyway. The producers probably told them that the prospect of an entirely white group of finalists might not be the best thing ever. Hence, Deja and her blurred out crotch advanced to round two.
As the Los Angeles auditions continued on, Billy informed us that the panel needed more "workable Dannies." Enter Jason Rice. He may or may not have been a "workable Danny," but he had the sort of sentimental story that would ensure him a spot in the next round. You see, Jason's brother wanted to be Danny -- it was his dream -- but he was too sick to audition back in the day. He implored Jason to go out and audition for him, but Jason didn't heed his dying brother's wishes. Now he forever regrets not fulfilling his brother's request and was hoping to make things right by auditioning for this show. Seriously.
Well, when David asked, "What brings you here today?", Jason laid out the whole "My brother died" card, which did exactly what we expected: ensured him a spot in the next round, despite some dubious singing abilities. Can't deny the dead brother.
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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