Next was Rebecca, a 23 year old pharmaceutical sales rep, and man did she look it. She was dressed in attire that seemed to say, "Courtyard by Marriot is my friend!" The good news was that she was not totally the corporate drone that she appeared to be. Rebecca was in town the night before for a business dinner and learned of the auditions then. As a result, she only had this one scant outfit to wear. I don't know why, but I loved the backstory and gave myself over to Rebecca's pharmaceutical charms. She was a great singer and earned herself a spot in the next round. The only question was whether or not she could dance (or find another outfit). I was doubtful on both counts.
Last but not least (for this round in Los Angeles, that is) was Chad, a dreamy soccer coach. The good news for him was that if he didn't earn the role of Danny, I was fairly sure he could carve out a lucrative career as Donny Osmond's stunt double. Anyway, he was a shoe-in. The guy could sing and gyrate, a double whammy that easily won over Kathleen. Looked like they'd finally found a workable Danny!
With that, Day One finally came to an end, and guess who came back out of hiding? None other than Denise Van Outen! Or as I like to call her, D-VO. I was wondering if maybe she'd take the baton from Billy and cover the dancing rounds, but I was wrong. She simply disappeared as quickly as she came. Oh well. It's been fun, Denise!
The next day, it was time to dance, dance, dance! A quick survey of the kids revealed that Cara Hilly was nervous, Max Crumb was even more nervous, and some former naval officer was the most nervous of all! To paraphrase Cowboy from Big Brother 5, this entire process was most nervousing.
Anyway, the boys and girls were each given one hour to learn a dance routine. Amidst this, we saw Patricia do her tap routine, which was fairly awesome. I decided that she was my favorite. I also decided I was a glutton for punishment because there was no way she'd make it past this round.
As for Rebecca the pharmaceutical sales rep, the good news was that she had found some striped shirt to prance around in. The bad news was that the girl had no rhythm. She couldn't get any of the steps. But maybe this was all misdirection. I sure hoped so. Even though Rebecca had that midwest, semi Paige Davis hairstyle that I hate so much, I couldn't help but root for her. I mean, look what she has to go back to: pharmaceutical sales. So sad...
Of course, when it came to the guys, there were plenty of clunkers there too. That naval officer was especially slow with the choreography. Plus, he kind of looked like a troll; so that was bad too. All in all, I didn't see Broadway success in his future.
Finally, it was time to dance for the judges. Everyone seemed to like Cara Lilly. Our blurry-crotch'd Deja, however, received a stern "no" from the judges (but that didn't mean she was cut, as we later found out). Patricia the Cupcake, meanwhile, gave it her all, vamping up as best she could, which it made it all the more painful knowing that she'd most likely be going home while the bland, vaguely pretty blond girl would probably be heading out to the Grease Academy.
And then, of course, there was Sunshine, a.k.a. the other Fat Girl. She kind of reminded me of Ugly Betty. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Probably good, I guess?
Afterwards, everyone bounced off stage, and no one seemed to be more unhappy than Jason, the guy with the dead brother. He made all sorts of frustrated noises that immediately made me hate him. I really hoped he got cut. Hey, his brother's dream was only for him to audition, not to land the role.
Finally, it was time for the judges to deliberate. None other than D-VO showed up to spy on the panel, but of course, her appearance lasted about as long as Diddy Conn's career (which is not long at all). Eventually, the judges were ready to make some cuts. David Ian had the glorious task of telling contestants either "You're the one that we want to go to Grease Academy" or "You're.... not Sandy/Danny." But of course, the real result of all this was that we heard him say, "Yooooou're...." about half a dozen times.
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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