I think there was a thread about changes since the first preview somewhere but I can't remember which one it was, so sorry if this thread is redundant.

Anyways, after stuffing ourselves too much at my favorite little Thai restaurant (mango pineapple dumplings for dessert - it's like a tropical version of apple pie), I took my mom to her first broadway show for her birthday. She loved it! I had to crack a smile watching her literally bop along in her seat to all of the tunes :)

The transitions and staging have been cleaned up considerably since the first preview, and some of the choreography has been altered so that it didn't look as crowded on stage as it did the first show. In Greased Lightning, Kathleen changed the choreography, where instead of having the main cast members doing a lot of prop changes on the car while singing and dancing, it looks like the ensemble has taken over most of that role. I think some of the staging may have been changed on Summer Nights as well, though my memory is a bit fuzzy on that one. I don't remember the rest of the Pink Ladies coming on to sing Beauty School Dropout, so that may be new, or I may have just forgotten, given that most of my attention was directed at Stephen Buntrock's hilarious performance.
 
Max and Laura are still getting loud entrance applause, but it was definitely a different audience from the one on the first night. Obviously the ratio of diehard Max and Laura fans to theatergoers who hadn't seen the TV show is changing 2 months into the production. (There was one lady behind me in line who, the minute she saw pictures of Max and Laura, literally said, "Oh NO! Sandy's not blonde! Oh this isn't right at all! And Danny doesn't look like Travolta! That's so disappointing.")

There's not much new to say about the cast, but everybody seems to have settled down into their roles. Kirsten is cute and funny as ever as Frenchy, Dan and Lindsay are still as charming as before as Roger and Jan, but Matt (who I thought was a bit lackluster after the first show) has really turned into a great Kenickie, though he is still not quite convincing as a high schooler. Jose is even more of a class clown as Sonny, and Robin is hot as ever. Jenny still isn't convincing as a high schooler either, but again, has such wonderful stage presence with a fantastically strong voice. Ryan is still not the most impressive singer (Magic Changes still just isn't quite the showstopper it could be), but does fine in the rest of the scenes. Allison and Jamison are as enthusiastic as ever.

Max has been given even more strenuous choreography to handle, and I'm pretty sure Laura's Rockette-like kickfest at the end of You're the One that I Want is a new addition. I'm also pretty sure they're using a new arrangement, or at least a different tempo for "Sandy," which you can hear a part of in that Fox video posted today by greatwhiteway. It's a bit faster than I remembered it, and suits Max's voice well. He was in top form vocally last night. The two of them are having even more fun with the drive-in scene. The scene starts with them watching the movie with 3-D glasses on. Sandy looks horrified that her date took her to a scary movie instead of a romantic comedy, but Danny is totally digging the special effects. What I like about Laura's Sandy is that she has this little fire inside that sweet liitle girl, like when she nearly mauls the much tougher-looking Rizzo and looks like she's ready to punch Danny too when he tries to pull her out of the fight. She really belted out Hopelessly Devoted last night, I think more so than the first night, and holds her own next to Jenny. (I had to hush my mom up after both Hopelessly Devoted, Sandy, and There Are Worse Things because she was whispering raves about the 3 of them in my ear right after the songs.) 

The new finale medley was a nice touch, and got the whole audience clapping along. The audience didn't give a standing ovation this time until Max and Laura came out, unlike the first night, but I was very happy to see that nearly everyone stayed to rock out with the band until the very end, and Kimberly and the band got lots of applause. I caught a glimpse of Kathleen Marshall slipping out of the theater with the audience, so she's apparently still floating around. We didn't get to stage door as we were unfortunately in a rush, but all in all a fun night, and it's definitely a stronger, more coherent show than the first preview. If I had to point out the weakest point of the show this time around, it would definitely be the book.