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NYC9758


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More food for thought
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Apologies if anyone was bored to tears by my dissertation last night, but before I head to work, here's a decidedly more light-hearted argument. It goes something like this.

1) Danny Zuko is supposed to be irresistable to teenage girls, correct?

2) Most of the reviewers complaining that Max Crumm is not sexy enough for the role are middle-aged men (and in the case of the NY Post, self-proclaimed 65 year veterans of watching the theater...SIXTY FIVE YEARS, wow), correct?

3) At least at the preview I saw, teenage girls were shrieking as if Max were Elvis the minute he stepped on stage (and more than a few middle-aged woman and grannies as well). I almost thought half the audience collectively ovulated at that moment (and sorry ladies if that sounds crass, but it's the thought that popped into my head at the time, given the major decibel-overload going on in the theater)

4) Who is more qualified to be the judge on this particular point - old men or all those teenagers having panic attacks at the stage door at the mere sight of Max? Who knows, maybe the archetype of who's sexy has changed since the old days...I remember even when I was in high school, and we had to watch the movie version of Streetcar Named Desire, girls in my class were thinking, what? Marlon Brando was supposed to be hot? Eeew.

Anyways, with all due respect to Matt Saldivar, who's obviously a very talented guy, I think he would be miscast opposite Laura as Danny. He looks like he's in his thirties, while Laura actually looks like a high schooler. The drive-in scene would go from "Inexperienced high school boy screws up royally with his high school sweetheart" to "sleazeball tries to screw sweet little girl half his age"

With that thought, this guy must leave you for bleaker pastures, namely work...have a nice day :)

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MrE1111


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Funny, I remember watching Streetcar in high school and all the girls swooning over Brando.

NYC, this is a significantly less self-serving thread and I'm glad you were able to justify your feelings in such a manner.

Regarding the critics not finding Max sexy, it was more of "we don't find him to be a charming leader of the pack. He's more of a Doody." Not all the critics are "old men." Joe Dziemancowiz, Ben Brantley, Matt Windham, Elyssa Gardener, Eric Grode, Linda Winer, Michael Kuchwara, Roma Torre...are all young, vibrant folks who still have a good 30 years ahead of them. Clive Barnes and John Simon are the exception.

Who's more qualified to judge the show? The critics, of course, most of whom have seen either the original production, the revival, or both. They know theater. They eat, sleep, and breathe theater. Tween girls going to see their first Broadway show can't judge it - they're going to see Max and are happy at his mere appearance.

The audience can shriek all they want. The critics didn't like it, nobody expected them to like it, get over it and move on.  If everyone is having a good time, who cares what the critics think?

What gets on my nerves is the fact that Kathleen Marshall has said in numerous interviews that they're planning for bad notices. If you're planning for bad reviews, why even do the show in the first place? Wouldn't you expect the director not to have such a defeatest attitude?

-- Edited by MrE1111 at 14:37, 2007-08-21

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Kait


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NYC,
I, too, have noticed that the ones complaining loudest about Max are usually men. All the girls in our family LOVE Max. He's the one who will draw us to NYC and the show. I think we're one of many families who feel this way, which makes me wonder what it is that WE saw that the critics missed. And why did they all miss it completely? Wouldn't they have at least tried to figure out why the audiences were screaming their hearts out? That's the part that doesn't add up.

Brando always seemed like a sleazy old man to me.


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Kait


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Mr. E.,
Why do the show if the critics won't like it?
Because audiences do, and they pay for the tickets.

I think when Ms. Marshall talks about expecting bad reviews, she's saying that she has prepared her young cast for such an event. She's not saying she set out to do a show that critics won't like.

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MrE1111


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But if you're expecting to get bad reviews, wouldn't you do all you can to make it a show that the critics will like?

There's no use debating anything anymore. The show has opened, the reviews (the ones that count) were poor, the advance sale is $14 million, most of the audience likes it. What's done is done.

Now it's up to fate. And the hope that there are still people who want to see it that haven't bought tickets.  But that's a whole 'nother story.

-- Edited by MrE1111 at 15:19, 2007-08-21

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Kait


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Well, we're going but haven't worked out the timing. The NBC show finished in, what?, January? By that time, we had our summer vacation scheduled and couldn't change our plans. I think it's reasonable to believe that others among the millions who watched devotedly are in a similar situation. We'll see.

Another factor to consider: I've heard SO many fans speak about going to the show numerous times. In some cases, they are going twice in one day.

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NYC9758


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MrE1111 wrote:

Funny, I remember watching Streetcar in high school and all the girls swooning over Brando.

NYC, this is a significantly less self-serving thread and I'm glad you were able to justify your feelings in such a manner.

Regarding the critics not finding Max sexy, it was more of "we don't find him to be a charming leader of the pack. He's more of a Doody." Not all the critics are "old men." Joe Dziemancowiz, Ben Brantley, Matt Windham, Elyssa Gardener, Eric Grode, Linda Winer, Michael Kuchwara, Roma Torre...are all young, vibrant folks who still have a good 30 years ahead of them. Clive Barnes and John Simon are the exception.

Who's more qualified to judge the show? The critics, of course, most of whom have seen either the original production, the revival, or both. They know theater. They eat, sleep, and breathe theater. Tween girls going to see their first Broadway show can't judge it - they're going to see Max and are happy at his mere appearance.

The audience can shriek all they want. The critics didn't like it, nobody expected them to like it, get over it and move on.  If everyone is having a good time, who cares what the critics think?

What gets on my nerves is the fact that Kathleen Marshall has said in numerous interviews that they're planning for bad notices. If you're planning for bad reviews, why even do the show in the first place? Wouldn't you expect the director not to have such a defeatest attitude?

-- Edited by MrE1111 at 14:37, 2007-08-21


haha, well my teacher certainly liked Brando...not true for my classmates I'm afraid! ;)



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MrE1111


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Hehe.

Yeah, Guys and Dolls is a favorite among my female friends.

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reniefran


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I am enjoying reading the posts here although I don't have a lot to comment on I just wanted to say that I am going to do whatever I can to go and see Max and Laura in Grease. It may not be for a good while, like maybe next Spring but I am going to go. And one little comment about Max being sexy.I just remember when he did his duet with Laura and he looked into her eyes, it was the kind of look that would have buckled my knees if I received a look like that. Also what makes Max attractive to me is about more than how he looks on the outside. I just think that he is a nice, caring sensitive young man with a million watt smile. I hope to get to see for myself sometime soon!smilesmile

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Kait


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I loved this little blurb I found in my inbox this evening, from ticketnews.com:

... Grease holds its position ... at number three on the Top New York City Theatre chart despite a slew of unflattering reviews. While critics are unimpressed with the quality of the production, the leads Max Crumm (Danny Zuko) and Laura Osnes (Sandy Dumbrowski), who were chosen by television viewers tuned in to NBCs talent contest Youre the One That I Want, are enjoying rockstar status among young theatergoers. Fortunately for the cast, their rowdy fans are probably not scouring The New York Times theater reviews for insight on the emotional depth of the characters or an exposition on evocative set design, and would likely disregard the assessments anyway.

-- Edited by Kait at 00:55, 2007-08-22

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