BWW Reviews: 'GREASE' National Tour

The new production of "GREASE" kicked off its National Tour at the Temple Buell Theater on Tuesday evening October 12th in pretty good shape. As with any first performance before an audience it did have a few problems. The first is the pre-curtain appearance of Eddie Mekka on the bare stage. Approximately ten minutes before the start of the show Mr. Mekka appears, waxes nostalgic a bit and teaches the audience the Hand Jive. For myself and some of the people around me, this destroyed the "anticipation" of seeing Mr. Mekka, known to us as Carmine from "Laverne & Shirley", later in the show. If this is to be kept in the "show", it would best be done with the curtain down. Mr. Mekka also takes on the roles of Vince Fontaine (The DJ) and the Teen Angel in Act Two. This turns out to be a bit too much of him onstage. The two roles for him in the actual show would be just fine. And who knew he can sing like he does?! His "Beauty School Dropout" is definitely a highlight in the show and you can tell he is having a blast of a time singing it.

Other problems will hopefully be fixed. The biggest being, and I was told that they are working on it, the sound. It sounded as if someone was sliding the volume up and down on the individual mics worn by the cast. At times it became a bit annoying. There are dead spaces that need to be tightened up. The band sounds a little drab and there was, for me, a bit of a disconnect having them in the wings instead of the pit. The musical numbers didn't seem to "pop" as the music almost sounded piped in. This also caused the cast to be out of synch with the music at times. Monitors may be a good thing to add so that the cast can see the conductor.

This is a semi stripped down production. No big special effects or big sets. For me, that is fine. It is how I remember the original production from the 70's and it works well.

Leading the rest of the cast are Alyssa Herrera and Matt Nolan, whom you may recognize as a finalist on NBC's "Grease: You're the One That I want", the reality show that cast the leads for the 2007 Broadway revival of the show. Both actors do fine jobs with the leads and sing them beautifully. Ms. Herrera's "Hopelessly Devoted to You" was quite beautiful as was Mr. Nolan's "Sandy". I would like to have heard him sing the original number in the show, "Alone at the Drive-in Movie", which is a fun little song.

It is hard to call the other roles in the show "supporting" because over the years each character has become just as popular as the show and the movie themselves. If comparisons are to be made, then it would most likely be to the movie and its iconic performances. Gladly, this cast does not try to copy those performances. Most notably Ashley Rubin and Lauren Elaine Taylor as, respectively, Frenchy and Betty Rizzo who bring just enough of the performances we are so familiar with from the movie but with their own take on them.

The entire cast has energy to spare. When the tour gets going and they become more comfortable that energy will come through. Tuesday was their first night as a cast in front of an audience. There seemed to be a sigh of relief for the cast along with the band as they cut loose during the curtain call mega-mix. (Keep your eye on Kelly Teal Goyette as Miss Lynch). If this enthusiasm spread s throughout the show it will be even more enjoyable.

So yes, I will say it, "GREASE" is still the word and I suspect it will be for a long time to come.
"GREASE" starring Eddie Mekka plays the Buell Theater until Sunday October 17th.

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