'Grease' is the word; Chicago isn't the place
Chicago Sun-Times
January 26, 2007
BY DOUG ELFMAN Television Critic
Not a single finalist on "Grease: You're the One That I Want" is from Chicago. None of the 12 even auditioned here. But that's no surprise. After producers came looking for Broadway actors here, judges found our city so weak with talent, they breathed "a sigh of relief" when they got to other audition cities.
"We auditioned in Chicago first, and it just was not as strong in terms of quantity as New York or L.A.," says show judge Kathleen Marshall. "Once we got to New York and we saw all these really strong candidates, I think we all ... our shoulders all went down."
"Grease" also doesn't look as if it will be much of a Cinderella story. At first blush, it may have looked like the contestants were largely amateurs, but they were actually a mix of professionals, semi-pros and small-time nobodies.
"We've never pretended it's amateur night," producer Al Edgington said. "We've always said it's the biggest open-casting call in history. You don't just have to be a member of [an actors union]."
What's more, none of the 12 finalists is heavyset. And the dozen look about as lily-white as the movie and as many previous stage productions did.
This seems strange, particularly because last week, just before the finalists were announced, Edgington told reporters it wouldn't be a tough ticket to put an interracial couple in the lead roles. He said this knowing who the 12 would be.
"Things have changed since the late '60s and early '70s, and now we want to find someone completely new and fresh and that feels like 'Grease' is a new, burgeoning brand," Edgington had said. "It's been around for so long, it's time for change."
The Chicago shutout in the talent competition is notable mostly because "Grease" was birthed here. The first production was an amateur night at the Kingston Mines in Old Town.
For NBC's reality-competition show, "Grease" co-creator and Chicago native Jim Jacobs, along with other judges, auditioned to find a Danny and a Sandy to star in a Broadway revival set for staging this year.
"They've got to be better than John [Travolta] and Olivia [Newton-John]," Edgington said. On Sunday, Newton-John takes on the role of guest judge for a two-hour live episode.
Jacobs says newbie cast members hired through the TV show will leave the competition with bigger names, so they'll earn more money than New York veterans.
"They'll get paid around the level of the other experienced Broadway actors playing those roles. It's that plus a bit, I think," Ian says.
Jacobs is surprised by his musical's popular durability.
"Without trying to pat myself on the back, it's almost indestructible," he says. "You see productions in church basements and in community centers that neighbors drag me to, and then people jump to their feet when it's over and they scream and they applaud. I don't get it, you know, quite honestly."
"You're the One That I Want," like "Idol," began with auditions of bad performers, and a few good ones.
But Edgington -- who in 2004 produced a tour special called "American Idol: Life on the Road" -- says the winners of "Grease" have to do more than just "Idol" singing. They must sing, dance and act eight times a week on Broadway.
In "Idol," he says, "they can warble a little bit, and then someone records an album, and off they disappear. I used to work at 'Idol.' I know how it works. This is about a real job and a real prize."
TV viewers -- not the judges -- will vote for the winners out of 12 finalists. Is that a dicey proposition? Putting viewers in charge of Broadway?
"We had our input, and we had our choice down to these 12," judge David Ian says. "And now, what happens happens. We don't have a safety net."
Marshall says it's harder to cast Danny than Sandy, partly because more women than men try out for stage roles.
"It's easy to find a pretty young girl who sings well, but you want to have somebody who also has a little bit of toughness and spirit to her, and she has to transform into this sort of sexy siren by the end of the show," Marshall says.
"But Danny, it's a tall order to fill. You need somebody who has that kind of confidence to be the leader of the gang. That's a hard thing to find."
Too hard to find in Chicago, apparently.
January 26, 2007
BY DOUG ELFMAN Television Critic
Not a single finalist on "Grease: You're the One That I Want" is from Chicago. None of the 12 even auditioned here. But that's no surprise. After producers came looking for Broadway actors here, judges found our city so weak with talent, they breathed "a sigh of relief" when they got to other audition cities.
"We auditioned in Chicago first, and it just was not as strong in terms of quantity as New York or L.A.," says show judge Kathleen Marshall. "Once we got to New York and we saw all these really strong candidates, I think we all ... our shoulders all went down."
"Grease" also doesn't look as if it will be much of a Cinderella story. At first blush, it may have looked like the contestants were largely amateurs, but they were actually a mix of professionals, semi-pros and small-time nobodies.
"We've never pretended it's amateur night," producer Al Edgington said. "We've always said it's the biggest open-casting call in history. You don't just have to be a member of [an actors union]."
What's more, none of the 12 finalists is heavyset. And the dozen look about as lily-white as the movie and as many previous stage productions did.
This seems strange, particularly because last week, just before the finalists were announced, Edgington told reporters it wouldn't be a tough ticket to put an interracial couple in the lead roles. He said this knowing who the 12 would be.
"Things have changed since the late '60s and early '70s, and now we want to find someone completely new and fresh and that feels like 'Grease' is a new, burgeoning brand," Edgington had said. "It's been around for so long, it's time for change."
The Chicago shutout in the talent competition is notable mostly because "Grease" was birthed here. The first production was an amateur night at the Kingston Mines in Old Town.
For NBC's reality-competition show, "Grease" co-creator and Chicago native Jim Jacobs, along with other judges, auditioned to find a Danny and a Sandy to star in a Broadway revival set for staging this year.
"They've got to be better than John [Travolta] and Olivia [Newton-John]," Edgington said. On Sunday, Newton-John takes on the role of guest judge for a two-hour live episode.
Jacobs says newbie cast members hired through the TV show will leave the competition with bigger names, so they'll earn more money than New York veterans.
"They'll get paid around the level of the other experienced Broadway actors playing those roles. It's that plus a bit, I think," Ian says.
Jacobs is surprised by his musical's popular durability.
"Without trying to pat myself on the back, it's almost indestructible," he says. "You see productions in church basements and in community centers that neighbors drag me to, and then people jump to their feet when it's over and they scream and they applaud. I don't get it, you know, quite honestly."
"You're the One That I Want," like "Idol," began with auditions of bad performers, and a few good ones.
But Edgington -- who in 2004 produced a tour special called "American Idol: Life on the Road" -- says the winners of "Grease" have to do more than just "Idol" singing. They must sing, dance and act eight times a week on Broadway.
In "Idol," he says, "they can warble a little bit, and then someone records an album, and off they disappear. I used to work at 'Idol.' I know how it works. This is about a real job and a real prize."
TV viewers -- not the judges -- will vote for the winners out of 12 finalists. Is that a dicey proposition? Putting viewers in charge of Broadway?
"We had our input, and we had our choice down to these 12," judge David Ian says. "And now, what happens happens. We don't have a safety net."
Marshall says it's harder to cast Danny than Sandy, partly because more women than men try out for stage roles.
"It's easy to find a pretty young girl who sings well, but you want to have somebody who also has a little bit of toughness and spirit to her, and she has to transform into this sort of sexy siren by the end of the show," Marshall says.
"But Danny, it's a tall order to fill. You need somebody who has that kind of confidence to be the leader of the gang. That's a hard thing to find."
Too hard to find in Chicago, apparently.
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