Grease - December 12th!

Max Star · Veteran Member

Grease - December 12th!

Eris · Guru

I was in the city last week and ended up having some extra time on my hands so I headed over to the Grease stage door. It was cold and there was barely any crowd. But Max and Laura still made time for their fans. They didn't dawdle and make too much small talk but they signed for everyone in spite of the cold.

Max Star · Veteran Member

Thank you Eris. Do you know how long it took for them to come out?

-- Edited by Max Star at 05:32, 2007-12-06

Eris · Guru

My goodness...I forget exactly. I know it took longer than usual because of the BC/EFA. One of the things you can buy is a picture with Max and Laura after the show. Or at least I think so. I saw a lot of people coming out with polaroids and the guard said that Max and Laura were taking longer because of it. I know it was 9:50 when I go out of Drowsy Chaperone and it was 11:15 by the time I got to Penn Station. So it was probably after ten-thirty by the time Max and Laura came out.

koko3 · Veteran Member

Max Star,
Have a blast!!! So glad you finally get to go!!! Stay warm and report back soon!!!!

Laura Mom · Senior Member

Max Star, if you fly over Minnesota, I'll airlift you up some winter gear so you can endure the wait at the stage door. You can just "drop it off" on your way home then you won't have to buy things you'll never wear again. In exchange, you can let me come and visit you in Southern California for some cold weekend in our winter! Ha! Have a great time and give Max and Laura hugs from Rachel and me! Actually, I guess Rachel will be there already, so hug Laura twice!

Jane

Max Star · Veteran Member

Jane,

Thanks so much for the "warm" wishes. Any time that you would like to come to So Cal just let me know, it's a deal!

How proud you must be of Laura. Laura has realy grown on me--she is so talented and beautiful. I read your message about Grease Academy a year ago and I truly believe that this is just the beginning for Laura and you. What an exciting time. I hope I can get some pictures for you and all our GOB fans.

We're leaving on Saturday morning for New York. Maybe we can get a wing dip over Minnesota!

Eris · Guru

I'd love to come back to SoCal myself! lol You know, I still haven't been to Dodger Stadium...lol

Hopefully we'll get a "warm snap" while you're here and you won't feel so cold. Who knows though...snowed yesterday and the roads were so slick that I ended up doing a 180 when some guy cut me off. I'll hope for ya though!

Maxismylove · Senior Member

Laura Mom wrote:
Max Star, if you fly over Minnesota, I'll airlift you up some winter gear so you can endure the wait at the stage door. You can just "drop it off" on your way home then you won't have to buy things you'll never wear again. In exchange, you can let me come and visit you in Southern California for some cold weekend in our winter! Ha! Have a great time and give Max and Laura hugs from Rachel and me! Actually, I guess Rachel will be there already, so hug Laura twice!

Jane

We leave the 17th of December and are seeing the show on the 21st and the 28th, so I think I will miss Max Star. I will hug Laura for you too. It is funny that I miss her too when I leave. Mothers!!!!

Max Star · Veteran Member

Rachel, We leave for home on the 17th, so we may pass in the skies! So glad that you and your family will be able to spend Christmas with Max. Give him and Laura all our Best Wishes. Have a wonderful time.

Zuko Fan · Member

If if you want to meet another greaser before hand I believe Matt is working now at Ruby Foo's Time Square!!

Maxismylove · Senior Member

Zuko Fan wrote:

If if you want to meet another greaser before hand I believe Matt is working now at Ruby Foo's Time Square!!

Matt? Is Ruby Foo's a restaurant?

Zuko Fan · Member

Yea I saw him in there one night the last time I saw the show, nice two for one treat to get to talk to him about the show, what he is doing now and then get to see Max and Laura right after !!

Yes its an excellent restaurant

Eris · Guru

Ruby Foo's

Maria15 · Veteran Member

have fun and enjoy it!!!!

Eris · Guru

Today's actually fairly warm for December. But it's not supposed to last too much longer. I did hear the dreaded "s" word may be coming along soon.

Max Star · Veteran Member

Well, we're back from NY and our Grease expedition!

We absolutely loved the show. It seemed to go by way too fast (maybe I'm just too used to hitting rewind on the YouTube clips!). (I was pretty busy watching Max and felt like I probably missed a lot. Ha!) I would love to see this again!

The entire cast was exceptional. It really seemed like a collage of intertwined stories showcasing the different performers and each performer was excellent.

Max: I just love this guy. He was consistently excellent throughout the entire performance. The biggest impression I was left with overall was astonishment at how much confidence Max exudes on stage. And he was most definitely the leader of the pack. He also portrayed a "sensitive" and "intelligent" side as Danny that I found endearing. Max singing Sandy was a huge highlight for me. Max is so talented.

Laura: Wow! Based upon all I have read on this board my expectation was that Laura's role was so small that it would be lost in the shuffle. Not true. I felt the Danny/Sandy story was the biggest story being told and Laura's part was significant. The best individual performance of the night was Laura's Hopelessly Devoted. I was shocked that there was no standing ovation at the finish. She was fabulous! The Raining on Prom Night duet with Jan was also very good.

Theatre and Staging: The Brooks Atkinson is beautiful. It was smaller than I expected and the stage did seem a bit small for the production but the sets were great and seemed to work very well. The transition between scenes was very smooth. My only disappointment was the opening when the T-Birds "bust" open the locker doors for Grease is the Word. The music didn't seem to provide the dramatic punch I would have liked.

Audience: I was a bit disappointed in the audience. They seemed to enjoy it very much but seemed much too subdued. I estimate that the theatre was only at 70% capacity (a Wednesday night). My recommendation would be to try to get tickets for the weekend nights (which clearly must be near 100% capacity for the overall weekly attendance to be in the high 80's). On the other hand, it was very cold and had snowed the day before and the effects of the strike may still be in play.

Stage Door: In spite of the cold, there was a small crowd of brave fans waiting at the Stage Door (approx. 40 people). We waited a few minutes thinking we could tough it out but gave up. Of course I'm regretting that right now. If you are coming from the warmer climates, bring the warmest clothing you have!

Seeing Max and Laura in Grease was every bit the thrill I expected. Anyone still waiting to see this--you will love it! I expect that Max and Laura have great careers ahead of them.

MrE1111 · Guru

Glad you enjoyed it.

I've always felt the Danny/Sandy storyline is obviously most important, but Sandy's stagetime is lacking. They've done what they can with this production, adding "Hopelessly," but I still say they added it in the wrong place. Don't get me started.

Unless you want to hear it.

Laura Mom · Senior Member

MaxStar, the last time my husband and I were in New York together, we saw a Wednesday evening show and then the Friday evening show the same week. Friday was entirely more lively and fun! I think mid-week does draw an older and mostly local crowd (excepting holiday weeks, of course), and that audience is just more conservative in their enthusiasm and applause than the weekend crowd. In addition, Wednesday is a two-show day for the cast and I think it's possible at times they may also be a bit more tired at that evening show (I know they're professional and give their all each show, but two show days do demand a lot of energy). Anyway, each performance of live theatre can be unique and it would indeed be fun for you to see it again. I'm sure glad you enjoyed it and hope it might be possible for you to get out to see it again in warmer weather. A couple of times I have attended the show with a group of people we know and I prepped them ahead of time to hoot and holler and be an energetic, participating audience. I can't believe how much a group like that can set the tone for the whole night! All it took was for us to get it started and the whole room came to life! Everyone seemed to want to be as enthusiastic as we were, but also wanted to demonostrate appropriate theatre etiquette and not annoy others around them. So once someone in effect "gave permission" to be enthusiastic, everyone joined in. It was very contagious and super fun and the cast responds just royally to a lively audience. Thanks for your kind comments about both Max and Laura's performance and again, I'm glad you had a great time!

Max Star · Veteran Member

MrE, I would love to hear your take on how the arrangement could have been better. I suspect that we are both analytics at heart.

Honestly, I was a little concerned that my huge expectations would not be met and I was going with all kinds of preconceived ideas. Thankfully, I was in no way disappointed. Somethings were different than what I expected but all in all the show was fabulous. Had Max and Laura not been in the show I'd certainly be less enthused but we all knew from the start that watching them "successfully" perform was the biggest goal here. I know that you don't favor this production of Grease but your insight and opinions are most welcome. I think they did a good job of trying to present the characters as real rather than campy. Fact is "campy" may be more entertaining to some since it can be more flashy--but I don't prefer it. (And frankly I did not care for that in the movie.)

And BTW thanks for all you have shared with us over the months.

Max Star · Veteran Member

Jane, thanks so much for your insight on the audience. You are absolutely correct when you described the mood as conservative and "polite". You could tell that everyone was quite pleased, I just couldn't quite figure out why no one was getting up to cheer. You know I want to see it again!

How proud you and Rachel must be!

MrE1111 · Guru

I proudly say that I analyze (and perhaps over-analyze) everything I see. I'm also a big Grease-o-file, having worked on it more times than I can remember.

Grease is structured like a vaudeville - Dialogue, song, blackout. Dialogue, song, blackout. And so on. In fact, the first act has no real "plot." It's only in the second where there's a story that goes from scene-to-scene.

By the end of the first act, Sandy, who is supposedly the "central character," has had a half of one song (Summer Nights) and a quarter of a cheer (Rydell Fight Song), and has been in, I think, three scenes.

I, in my infinite wisdom, would have added "Hopelessly Devoted to You," to the pajama party scene, like in the movie. It increases Sandy's Act I stage time, gives her a song, and makes more sense than where it is now.

And where is it now? Sandy sings on the front steps of the school after she sees Danny and Cha-Cha leave the prom. In the next scene they're in, Sandy and Danny are at the movies like nothing happened. It makes the audience question, "didn't Danny just leave with Cha-Cha? What happened?"

koko3 · Veteran Member

So happy for you MaxStar!! So glad you enjoyed the show and that it worked out you finally got your chance to see it!!! Thanks for sharing your story!
Happy New Year!