'GREASE' Sans Taylor Hicks - Is it Worth It?

True, it's not a great musical. True, they used a television show to pick the leads for Broadway. True, you've probably seen the 1978 movie and perhaps some incarnation of the musical somewhere since its debut in 1971. True, Taylor Hicks will not appear anymore in Baltimore. So...why see this production at the Hippodrome which runs through Sunday, Feb. 15?

Let me start with the wonderful director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall. Whenever the ensemble has their big numbers, the joint is jumping.  Marshall does a terrific job. I did, however, notice the lack of diversity on stage.

Another problem I had with this show is the theme. Can you spell SEXIST?  Does it glorify assimilation when a young girl must shed her conservatism to be accepted? And how often do the men in the cast attack the breasts of the women actors? Is this really necessary? 

Whenever I see a show that requires a 15 minute warm-up act (a la the old Tonight Show with Johnny Carson), I begin to wonder what's next.  That's what you'll observe at the Hippodrome as Dominic Fortuna (Vince Fontaine) leads the audience in games and sing-a-alongs to pump them up. I will admit the audience seemed to enjoy this.

Now back to the show. The strength of the tour, without a doubt, is the talented ensemble who do a fabulous job saving this tired and old musical brought back to life with inspired choreography by Marshall.

Standouts are Will Blum (the mooning Roger) and Brian Crum (Doody) who almost steals the evening singing "Those Magic Changes" in a dream sequence pretending to be a rock star.

I also adored Bridie Carroll as Jan. She has a great presence on stage and sings a great duet with Emily Padgett (Sandy) in "It's Raining on Prom Night".

While Taylor Hicks has left the tour to promote his latest album, unless you are a huge fan of the so-called "Silver Fox" you won't miss much. He was in the show for just one number (about ten minutes) during "Beauty School Dropout".  He did return for a solo after the bows (I've never ever seen this done following a Broadway show).

So...if you're looking for some fun over Valentine's Day week-end, consider Grease.

For tickets, 410-547-7328 or visit www.france-merrickpac.com.

For comments, write to cgshubow@broadwayworld.com.

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