Grease revival pulls a slick one
Musical’s deceptive marketing tactics a new low for Broadway
By Christopher Zara
What does it take to defile an iconic Broadway show? Just ask the producers of
the latest revival of Grease.
First there was “Grease: You’re the One that I Want,” the lackluster NBC reality
show in which the revival’s leads were cast through an “American Idol”-esque
process of elimination. Critics were universally unkind to the program, while
the Broadway community was downright offended by its cheapening of the audition
process. The show lost close to half its audience by season’s end and had execs
at the Peacock wishing they had opted to revive “The Gong Show” instead.
Nevertheless, “You’re the One that I Want” successfully cast unknowns Max Crumm
and Laura Osnes as Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski.
This month, Grease opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre to largely unflattering
reviews. The New York Times’ Ben Brantley summed up general consensus, calling
Grease a “musical set in a high school that feels like a musical put on by a
high school.”
Unwilling to take the negative press in stride, the publicity machine behind
Grease cooked up an ad for the New York Post to convince theatergoers that the
show was a critical success. The ad, created by the Serino-Coyne agency,
attributed the glowing quote “The one that I want” to various outlets like New
York magazine, Entertainment Weekly and AP, none of which raved about the show.
Critics were outraged by the deception, and AP even demanded its name be removed
from the ad. Serino-Coyne did not return a phone call requesting a comment.
The ad marked a new low for the entire Grease franchise, one that hasn’t been
seen since Donny Most played Frenchy’s guardian angel in the touring production.
It remains to be seen whether or not Grease will be forever associated with this
hapless revival. One can only hope we’re spared a future film adaptation
featuring Clay Aiken as Kenickie.
(c)
2007 Show Business Weekly