Grease is the word, that I heard, it’s got a move, it’s got a groove….After being snowed in for 5 days, I was itching to get out of the house. My first post Snowpocalypse event was taking in an odd, but stellar performance of Grease at The National Theater here in Washington, DC. I didn’t even know Grease was still on Broadway, but it is and apparently is still a hit. DC Audiences usually aren’t the most rowdy bunch, perhaps it was being cooped up or the power of the two American Idols – Taylor Hicks and Ace Young, not only was it a packed, nearly full house, but the audience was hot.
I own the soundtrack to Grease but I’ve never actually seen the movie. So attending this performance was a brand new experience for me. The revelation for me was how good Ace Young actually is. I used to think of him as the no talent American Idol pretty boy but he takes on the roll that John Travolta made famous and handles himself well. His singing, dancing, and acting were spot on.
The cast consisted of a bunch of talented “unknowns,” headed up by Lauren Ashley Zakrin who gained fame by being a finalist on an MTV Reality Show called Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Wood. She takes on Olivia Newton John’s iconic roll of Sandy and does Olivia proud. Laura D’Andre is Rizzo and Will Blum is Roger. Also worth mentioning is the show’s MC Dominic Fortuna who plays Vince Fontaine. He does a great job of keeping revving up the crowd in the beginning.
Now the oddness of the night came in the form of Taylor Hicks. I’m a member of the Soul Patrol; the very first episode of American Idol that I ever watched was the Taylor Hicks audition moment. I’ve always thought he had a weak voice but he had so much enthusiasm that it was infectious. His name and face are all over the marketing materials; he’s being billed as the star of the show, I was curious to see how he does. He’s Teen Angel, never having seen the show I thought this was a major role. No, he does one song. It was odd he’s being billed as being the star but he’s only on stage for about 5 minutes.
The audience went crazy when he finally showed up and his rendition of the classic “Beauty School Drop Out,” was pretty awesome. All the trademark Taylor Hicks “spastic” dancing and “ticks” and “harmonica” were on full display here. He’s taller in person than I would have thought and he really does have that weird electricity that makes you want to watch him.
Taylor’s 1998 Performance on Regis and Kelly
For the final curtain call Hicks came out and took the lead on the Grease Reprise, but it looked weird the cast where doing a dance routine and in synch and Hicks was off in his own world doing his thing. Then came the oddest moment where once the cast left the stage Hicks came back out and performed one of the songs from his new album. It was a decent song, but again it was as if he “stole” the spotlight from everyone else in the show – especially poor Ace, always the “runner-up.”
If you are looking for a fun time, check out Grease when it comes to your area. It’s playing at Washington, DC’s National Theater through Feb 21.
Final Grade A-
EM Review by
Michelle Alexandria
Originally posted 2.16.2010