![]() ![]() For a split second, she reveals a look of insecurity and uncertainty of what she should do next. It is the moment during the penultimate song " You're the One that I Want" where Olivia Newton John's re-imaged Sandy struts out confidently in her skin-tight outfit and red heels while John Travolta's Danny goes crazy in reaction. One interaction from the movie, which I thought was really important for authenticity and staying true to character, is missing from Grease Live. Similarly, at the end of the Sandra Dee song, instead of the line "Fongool, I'm Sandra Dee" which invokes an Italian vulgarity, Rizzo sings "Be Cool, I'm Sandra Dee". Provocative references to "getting off my rocks", "she's a real pussy wagon" and "You know that ain't no shit, we'll be getting lots of tit" have all been replaced with more PG13 lyrics. If you compare the original lyrics of Greased Lightning to those performed on prime-time television, you can see that the latter has been bowdlerized to death! In describing the sexual magnetism of the car, the words "The chicks will cream" have been changed to "The chicks will scream". Bowdler who decided to publish an edition of Shakespeare without any sexual references or double-entendres, to bowdlerize means to edit out the offensive parts of something to the point of making it bland. The musical's version of Greased Lightning provided many examples of a new verb that I just learned - to bowdlerize. Maybe it was because he has such long arms, but the kung-fu like moves that Tveit was making while standing on the car reminded me of a chicken flapping its wings. Tveit's performance in the live musical was energetic enough but lacked the erotic, raw animal-magnetism that Travolta's exuded. In the movie version, Travolta's Danny Zuko was sexy and sensual, channeling Elvis Presley with his gyrating hips and crotch-grabbing. The one song that was a bit of a disappointment for me was the iconic "Greased Lightning" where the T-Birds fantasize about turning Kenickie's old junker car into a gleaming, "systematic, hydromatic, ultramatic" speed machine that could be used in a drag race against a rival gang. ![]() ![]() I'm not sure which was worse? IMDB reviewers weighed in on this, giving the former a 5.8/10 rating and the latter an even lower 5.1 rating. I cringed while watching stilted and wooden acting in the Sound of Music Live, and actually fell asleep while watching Peter Pan Live. A similar fate awaited the much panned (pun intended) live performance of Peter Pan starring Alison Williams from the TV show Girls as Peter, and Christopher Walken (who can't seem to sing or dance) as Captain Hook. So much for stunt-casting to take advantage of popular celebrities to attract viewing interest. While her singing was fine, Underwood's acting abilities left much to be desired. The first attempt at this format was with The Sound of Music starring former American Idol winner and country star Carrie Underwood. Since I love anything related to musicals and show tunes, it was with wary anticipation that I prepared to watch the third attempt at a new form of musical presentation–the live stage performance filmed and broadcast real-time to television audiences nation-wide. ![]()
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