Episode 8 – Greased Lightning!
Grease: You're the One that I Want!, Episode 8 – Greased Lightning! by Teeuwynn Woodruff -- 03/05/2007 Last week was ladies night. This week it's the guys’ turn to strut their stuff! Meanwhile, one of our remaining Sandys has to go home. Will Max show he's tough enough for the role of Danny Zuko? “British Host” Denise Van Outen and “Goofy Host” Billy Bush greet us and immediately introduce the guys singing the ultimate guy song from Grease – “Greased Lightning!” The guys posture and ::ahem:: thrust their way cheerfully through the number. Oh my! The producers did sanitize the song a bit, cutting out the one “naughty” word from its lyrics... you all know what it is! After the number, Billy introduces the audience, band, and panel. He also reminds us that a Sandy will go home tonight. Our panel tonight has our three stalwarts, producer David Ian, director Kathleen Marshall, and auteur Jim Jacobs. After a brief recap of last week's results, which sent Kate and Kevin home, the other contestants say how surprised they were that Kate went home and Chad was in the bottom two. Apparently, the other guys gossip about Chad behind his back. How high school! But, I guess that's kind of appropriate here. With that, it's on to the performances. “Hot Danny” Austin Miller starts things off tonight. David Ian says that Austin has pretty much everything, but he hasn't made David laugh yet. He needs to do that. This segues into a clip of the contestants learning comedy skills. After that, it's time for Austin to show us some fun. “Hot Danny” Austin singing “Fun, Fun, Fun” by the Beach Boys: Austin sings while three blondes – oh, they're our blonde Sandys, Ashley, Kathleen, and Allie – tease him all over the stage. He's going for more of a nerdy, sexy look this week and seems to enjoy capering with the blondies. He clearly plays with both the camera and the girls on stage while singing and dancing – which isn't an easy thing to do. When he's done, the girls in the audience shriek with glee and Billy fondles Austin's chest in a somewhat creepy manner. David still isn't convinced that Austin has the fun twinkle he wants to see in his Danny, although he is a fantastic leading man type. Jim agrees. Kathleen disagrees, though. She thinks he was loose, fun, and she loves the attack and energy he brings on stage. Derek Keeling is up next. Denise says Derek's main battle tonight is with himself. After his voice cracked in his previous performance, he apparently worked with a vocal coach to try to stop that from happening again and increase his breath control. The voice coach prescribed yoga and swimming for him. “Wholesome Danny” Derek singing “Heaven” by Bryan Adams: I suppose this is an appropriate song for a “wholesome” Danny to sing. Derek sings and slow dances with Laura while he performs. He sounds much better than last time, although his voice does crack on at least one note. I think Derek still needs work at controlling his nerves. One week of yoga may not have been enough to help. Kathleen says that, with one little exception, it was a much better performance. She now wants to see more of his wild side. Jim says that Derek's voice has a bit of a Buddy Holly hitch feel. David says that Derek still cracked on one of the notes and he cracked last time too. He needs to seriously work on the vocals for them to be safe on Broadway with him. David thinks Derek's looks are keeping him in the contest right now. Max Crumm is up next. David says Max needs to work on his physicality so he can look more like a Danny and less like a class clown. Max says he's boxing to increase his strength and look more macho. David says they need to see macho Max tonight! “Slacker Danny” Max singing “Hard to Handle”: Kathleen and Allie are back dancing with Max. Max certainly does his best to show his sexy, tough side. He does a good job of acting and singing, although he's definitely fighting his look, which isn't perfect for Danny. David says Max is really transforming himself. It's unbelievable. He convinces you he's Danny through pure talent along. Jim says Max just keeps getting better. He doesn't have the “build of the Hulk,” but he's so talented! Kathleen loved seeing him “strut like a rock star,” and sees him becoming more and more of a Danny Zuko each week. Denise reminds us that Grease opens on Broadway this summer and that it's the first time America has chosen the leads in a Broadway show. After that, it's Chad's turn. Chad has been working on his acting by studying Shakespearean soliloquies with a UCLA professor. He wants to project his emotions better to the back of the theater. Kathleen says Chad has to dial up the charisma tonight! “Ambitious Danny” Chad singing “Don't Stop Me Now” by Queen: Chad alternates between singing to the audience and to Laura. He is very clearly working on projecting a bigger performance to the audience as Ashley joins him on stage for a sexy dancing bit. Although, I think Laura outdances her in the number. When he's done, Billy calls him a “big stud.” Kathleen says that Chad's performance wavered a bit vocally, but that he did look like a leading man out there. Jim says that he feels Chad's too pretty for the part. He wants to cut Chad's face or toughen him up somehow. But he says Chad brings it every week. David says it wasn't the best performance, but “that pretty looking guy” could sell him millions of tickets. We get a filler segment next about how hard the contestants have to work each week. Their schedule is undoubtedly grueling, but so is doing eight shows a week on Broadway. Laura says show days are crazy and very, very hectic. You never know what will happen. Ashley stresses about her performance this past week and says it's worse because she's getting so close now. Laura says she had a lot of praise this week, but she doesn't want to get caught up in it. Kathleen says she'll fight if she's the underdog. With that, it's time to find out which Sandys are in the bottom two this week. Last week I saw the Sandys as follows: Sandys Laura Allie Ashley Kathleen Laura is... safe! No surprise there. Kathleen is... in the bottom two. Ashley is... safe. So, Allie is in the bottom two. Allie got the lowest number of audience votes last week – hmmm..., I can't help but wonder if Kathleen got some pity votes. The two girls sing “It's Raining on Prom Night” from Grease. Kathleen does act the song much better, but Allie does a better job with the singing. Does anyone else out there think that Kathleen looks a lot like Beverly D'Angelo? We get to see brief interviews with Allie and Kathleen. Allie is practically hysterical, she's so upset. Kathleen says it's disappointing, but she's fighting as hard as she can. Will it be enough? David Ian says that the vote this week was split and that Jim and Kathleen voted for this girl to stay... and majority rules. The girl who's staying is... Allie. So, obviously David was fighting for Kathleen. Denise asks the panel who their Danny is this week. David, Kathleen, and Jim all say Max was their Danny tonight – and I agree! Kathleen then sings us out to the reprise of “Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee.” She's crying while she sings, but it doesn't keep her from singing well. The other girls totally lose it though and can barely sing they're crying so much! Kathleen must be popular with the other contestants. Wow! She definitely does herself proud with her goodbye song. Good for her. This week I see the Dannys as follows: Dannys Max Austin Chad Derek That's twice in a row that Derek's voice cracked during a performance. Not good. You need some strong nerves to make it on Broadway. Next week we'll have our final three Sandys and Dannys. From here on out, the results are based entirely on audience voting (well, once our fourth Danny is booted after tonight's performance). It's getting close!
Grease: You're the One that I Want!, Episode 8 – Greased Lightning! by Teeuwynn Woodruff -- 03/05/2007 Last week was ladies night. This week it's the guys’ turn to strut their stuff! Meanwhile, one of our remaining Sandys has to go home. Will Max show he's tough enough for the role of Danny Zuko? “British Host” Denise Van Outen and “Goofy Host” Billy Bush greet us and immediately introduce the guys singing the ultimate guy song from Grease – “Greased Lightning!” The guys posture and ::ahem:: thrust their way cheerfully through the number. Oh my! The producers did sanitize the song a bit, cutting out the one “naughty” word from its lyrics... you all know what it is! After the number, Billy introduces the audience, band, and panel. He also reminds us that a Sandy will go home tonight. Our panel tonight has our three stalwarts, producer David Ian, director Kathleen Marshall, and auteur Jim Jacobs. After a brief recap of last week's results, which sent Kate and Kevin home, the other contestants say how surprised they were that Kate went home and Chad was in the bottom two. Apparently, the other guys gossip about Chad behind his back. How high school! But, I guess that's kind of appropriate here. With that, it's on to the performances. “Hot Danny” Austin Miller starts things off tonight. David Ian says that Austin has pretty much everything, but he hasn't made David laugh yet. He needs to do that. This segues into a clip of the contestants learning comedy skills. After that, it's time for Austin to show us some fun. “Hot Danny” Austin singing “Fun, Fun, Fun” by the Beach Boys: Austin sings while three blondes – oh, they're our blonde Sandys, Ashley, Kathleen, and Allie – tease him all over the stage. He's going for more of a nerdy, sexy look this week and seems to enjoy capering with the blondies. He clearly plays with both the camera and the girls on stage while singing and dancing – which isn't an easy thing to do. When he's done, the girls in the audience shriek with glee and Billy fondles Austin's chest in a somewhat creepy manner. David still isn't convinced that Austin has the fun twinkle he wants to see in his Danny, although he is a fantastic leading man type. Jim agrees. Kathleen disagrees, though. She thinks he was loose, fun, and she loves the attack and energy he brings on stage. Derek Keeling is up next. Denise says Derek's main battle tonight is with himself. After his voice cracked in his previous performance, he apparently worked with a vocal coach to try to stop that from happening again and increase his breath control. The voice coach prescribed yoga and swimming for him. “Wholesome Danny” Derek singing “Heaven” by Bryan Adams: I suppose this is an appropriate song for a “wholesome” Danny to sing. Derek sings and slow dances with Laura while he performs. He sounds much better than last time, although his voice does crack on at least one note. I think Derek still needs work at controlling his nerves. One week of yoga may not have been enough to help. Kathleen says that, with one little exception, it was a much better performance. She now wants to see more of his wild side. Jim says that Derek's voice has a bit of a Buddy Holly hitch feel. David says that Derek still cracked on one of the notes and he cracked last time too. He needs to seriously work on the vocals for them to be safe on Broadway with him. David thinks Derek's looks are keeping him in the contest right now. Max Crumm is up next. David says Max needs to work on his physicality so he can look more like a Danny and less like a class clown. Max says he's boxing to increase his strength and look more macho. David says they need to see macho Max tonight! “Slacker Danny” Max singing “Hard to Handle”: Kathleen and Allie are back dancing with Max. Max certainly does his best to show his sexy, tough side. He does a good job of acting and singing, although he's definitely fighting his look, which isn't perfect for Danny. David says Max is really transforming himself. It's unbelievable. He convinces you he's Danny through pure talent along. Jim says Max just keeps getting better. He doesn't have the “build of the Hulk,” but he's so talented! Kathleen loved seeing him “strut like a rock star,” and sees him becoming more and more of a Danny Zuko each week. Denise reminds us that Grease opens on Broadway this summer and that it's the first time America has chosen the leads in a Broadway show. After that, it's Chad's turn. Chad has been working on his acting by studying Shakespearean soliloquies with a UCLA professor. He wants to project his emotions better to the back of the theater. Kathleen says Chad has to dial up the charisma tonight! “Ambitious Danny” Chad singing “Don't Stop Me Now” by Queen: Chad alternates between singing to the audience and to Laura. He is very clearly working on projecting a bigger performance to the audience as Ashley joins him on stage for a sexy dancing bit. Although, I think Laura outdances her in the number. When he's done, Billy calls him a “big stud.” Kathleen says that Chad's performance wavered a bit vocally, but that he did look like a leading man out there. Jim says that he feels Chad's too pretty for the part. He wants to cut Chad's face or toughen him up somehow. But he says Chad brings it every week. David says it wasn't the best performance, but “that pretty looking guy” could sell him millions of tickets. We get a filler segment next about how hard the contestants have to work each week. Their schedule is undoubtedly grueling, but so is doing eight shows a week on Broadway. Laura says show days are crazy and very, very hectic. You never know what will happen. Ashley stresses about her performance this past week and says it's worse because she's getting so close now. Laura says she had a lot of praise this week, but she doesn't want to get caught up in it. Kathleen says she'll fight if she's the underdog. With that, it's time to find out which Sandys are in the bottom two this week. Last week I saw the Sandys as follows: Sandys Laura Allie Ashley Kathleen Laura is... safe! No surprise there. Kathleen is... in the bottom two. Ashley is... safe. So, Allie is in the bottom two. Allie got the lowest number of audience votes last week – hmmm..., I can't help but wonder if Kathleen got some pity votes. The two girls sing “It's Raining on Prom Night” from Grease. Kathleen does act the song much better, but Allie does a better job with the singing. Does anyone else out there think that Kathleen looks a lot like Beverly D'Angelo? We get to see brief interviews with Allie and Kathleen. Allie is practically hysterical, she's so upset. Kathleen says it's disappointing, but she's fighting as hard as she can. Will it be enough? David Ian says that the vote this week was split and that Jim and Kathleen voted for this girl to stay... and majority rules. The girl who's staying is... Allie. So, obviously David was fighting for Kathleen. Denise asks the panel who their Danny is this week. David, Kathleen, and Jim all say Max was their Danny tonight – and I agree! Kathleen then sings us out to the reprise of “Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee.” She's crying while she sings, but it doesn't keep her from singing well. The other girls totally lose it though and can barely sing they're crying so much! Kathleen must be popular with the other contestants. Wow! She definitely does herself proud with her goodbye song. Good for her. This week I see the Dannys as follows: Dannys Max Austin Chad Derek That's twice in a row that Derek's voice cracked during a performance. Not good. You need some strong nerves to make it on Broadway. Next week we'll have our final three Sandys and Dannys. From here on out, the results are based entirely on audience voting (well, once our fourth Danny is booted after tonight's performance). It's getting close!
The four remaining Dannys opened the show by performing “Greased Lightning” for the audience. The guys were looking more and more like Danny Zuko and the girls in the audience loved their performance.
Austin started the competition by singing the song “Fun, Fun, Fun”. David had only one request of Austin’s performance and that was make him laugh and show Danny Zuko’s playful side. In the end, David didn’t feel Austin showed off his humorous side and was a bit out of his element.
Derek followed Austin with a performance of the song “Heaven”. All three judges thought Derek redeemed himself from his last performance, but still thought he had to work more on strengthening his vocals.
Max sang the upbeat song “Hard to Handle” and had all the dance moves to go with it. Afterwards, Billy wanted to know what was going between Max and Allie. Max played it coy and just commented on how cute she was. Jim felt Max was getting better and better with time and the judges all agreed.
Chad performed “Don’t Stop Me Now” in hopes to show off his ambitious side. Kathleen wanted Chad to make the performance more of his own instead of just going with the moves. Jim wanted Chad to look tough on stage and compared him to a teen idol.
Kathleen and Allie were in the bottom two from last week’s performances from the Sandys. In the end, the judges decided to save Allie and send Kathleen home.