Well, what a relief that the reviews are over and done with. Now the cast can get on with doing what they do best without the 800lb gorilla in the room. All in all, it's what I expected. If you go into the show expecting the raunchy satire of the original, as many of the critics seemed to long for, you're absolutely going to leave the theater unfulfilled. Is there room one day far into the future for a revival based on that vision of the play? Perhaps - but I'm sure some, if not a good amount of it would be lost in translation. It's harder to spoof the 50's if your audience isn't all that familiar with the 50's and the songs of the 50s to begin with - that was half a century ago, and the target audience of this current revival might leave the theater with a "what was THAT?" plastered on their young faces.

On the other hand, the enduring aspects of the show that have allowed the show to remain popular even among people born after the movie version are very much the qualities that Kathleen Marshall obviously wanted to focus on. Populist? Yes. Bound to leave critics puzzled? Probably. But Grease is at its heart a populist show. The audience laughs at characters like Eugene, Patty Simcox, and Roger in part because we remember people like that from school (or perhaps even a little of ourselves).

In that sense, Max's version of Danny is actually a lot more relatable to this generation of theatergoers. While Ben Brantley of the NYTimes found Max's tendency to pop his collar self-consciously as problematic, I actually saw it as a plus to the character. Most of us, even the popular kids, remember adolescence as being a time of self-doubt, and there was a lot of acting cooler than you (deep down inside) actually thought you were. Incidentally, popping collars on polo t-shirts seems to be the latest incarnation of that 50's stylized gesture, though that fad seems to have died down a bit. A lot of reviewers also seemed fixated on the idea that Max did not look like or exude the qualities of a leader of the pack. No, he didn't exude "leader of the pack," if by "leader of the pack" you mean too-old-to-be-in-high-school (a few critics seemed to think the older Matthew Saldivar looked more like a Zuko), or 50's caveman-gang-leader-caricature as the role was originally acted. That kind of Danny worked perfectly in the old versions of Grease. In this more modern take on Grease, it wouldn't make sense, since Kathleen Marshall was going for the more naturalistic take on high school life. Looking at your average suburban high school today, you're more likely to come across a Max-type being Mr. Popular and ruling the social hierarchy (I mean, he did in a sense win a national televised popularity contest, didn't he?). Does this violate the original spirit of Danny Zuko as the prototypical 50's guys' guy? Sure. But does he more reflect today's idea of a guys' guy? I would say yes. Even Brantley found this a "refreshing" change.

But wait? Isn't Grease supposed to be about the 50's??? Yes and no. In the popular imagination, it has become less and less a show about the 50s and more and more a show about high school and the awkwardness of teen romance. With that in mind, and given that the TV reality show's audience was overwhelmingly a "family-friendly audience," I think Kathleen Marshall's interpretation of the show works. It's a bunch of high school students, all acting cool, but in reality all actually a bit insecure, but certainly with big dreams and bigger imaginations (as Ben Brantley points out - hence the imaginary sequences like Doody's rock star turn, the transformation of Greased Lightning, etc.). Sweet as saccharine and domesticated? Yes - but you know the audiences are gonna love it because it means a feel good night out at the theater.

All in all though, many but certainly not all of the critics seemed to at least give Laura and Max their dues by saying however grudgingly that they are capable performers. (The same couldn't be said for the London duo). Most of the harsh criticism seemed more directed at Marshall's interpretation of the show. Max and Laura do a more than admirable job fulfilling Marshall's vision of what Danny and Sandy should be, and many of the criticisms of their performances stem ultimately from a disagreement over that vision of the two high school lovers. So in that sense, it wasn't the worst case scenario for our two young leads.

Bottom line, if you're looking for Laura's version of Sandy and Max's version of Danny rather than a Bostwick/Demas or Travolta/Newton-John Danny and Sandy, you'll love the show anyway. If you didn't watch the reality show, but go into the theater with a blank slate of what Danny and Sandy should be, you'll have a good time too, and you may well fall in love with Laura's endearing sweetness and Max's ever slightly goofy charm. If not, there's plenty to love in the rest of the cast if you subscribe to Kathleen Marshall's vision. If you don't, you'll never get what all the fuss is about, and this just won't be the show for you.

Also, I did not find this production lacking in energy. If you want limp, go see the latest incarnation of Hairspray - which I really, really enjoyed the first time. But Lance Bass has managed to suck the life out of even a cardboard character like Corny Collins, and Jerry Mathers as Wilbur Turnblad can't sing. Even the formerly perky Shannon Durig seems to have lost a bit of steam after all these months. Oddly enough, Ashley (as in 2nd-tier boy-band Ashley) outsings the ex-NSyncer as Link Larkin. And Ashley (as in Ashley Spencer of Grease YTOTIW fame) is having a helluva lot of fun with playing the part of the bratty airhead Amber. It's a shame she has to waste her beautiful voice on a screechy song like Cooties. On the other hand, she is luckier than Max and Laura in her Broadway debut circumstances in that she doesn't have to face a barrage of reviews gunning for the stars to fail.

Anyways, that concludes these thoughts, from someone who obviously has too much time on his hands this evening. Bored to tears? Sorry. Liked what you read? I'll have more to say after August 31st - I'll be bringing my mother to her first Broadway show as a gift for her b-day, and she's as excited as any youngster going to the show. It'll be interesting to see how the show has changed since the first preview. Cheers everyone.