Good evening everyone~

This is DANA: I never dreamed that my sister's opinions would get such reactions! She saw the show last week (at this time) and has registered to come on to this board. Her registration has been pending for several days now (?), and I never thought it would be so confusing to people. I introduced her, she introduced herself, signed the review as Terri, and even included a disclaimer. She is not familiar with the "mother bear" attitude of so many of Ashley's family and friends, and only wanted to give her review. Maybe I should have warned her about the reactions, but why - wouldn't you welcome an "outsiders" opinion of the show? Sometimes we all get a little too insulated and can't see things with fresh eyes or recognize the fact that we are not all of the same view.

I have never seen Ashley's performance as Sandy, but I am a big fan of hers, starting with the reality show, of course. I especially loved her rendition of "Take That Look Off Your Face" - I thought it was great and have watched it over several times since. And I treasure that she sent me an autographed photo. I thought that this would be apparent now that my private e-mail to Ashley has been made public - my e-mails are very complimentary of her, and completely honest. I am a fan of both of the girls, but I just happened to prefer Laura for the role of Sandy, hence the name of my avatar! Why do we always pit one against the other? From my understanding, Ashley and Laura like each other and keep in contact. I think Ashley is sweet and talented, and I loved what she said during the last show - that she has a belief in God, and that she knows that whoever would win the role would be ok with her, if Laura won then she believed that the role would be in good hands. I applaud her for her success on Broadway, and I would think that there is more than one lead role at any given time, so there's room for lots of talented ladies!!

Now, as to my sister's (Terri's) review: What did she say that was so bad? She said that Ashley was tall and pretty, had a nice voice, and was sweet to her fans at the stage door. Just because she didn't think she was perfect for the part, does that qualify as hateful? Wow. If you want to see negativity, go to you tube and read the very anti-Laura posts from people such as missbaltimorecrabs, cornycollinsgirl, and choderman. Some of those posts can't even be shown! I hope that actors on broadway are able to handle criticism better than some of the people on this board. None of it was meant personally, just objectively.

I think we can all agree that Grease is fluffy fun, and not Masterpiece Theater. It's about a group of teenagers from the 50's and most people are going to the show based on wanting to hear the music from the movie, and to see the actors from the reality show that we have grown to know and love. The actors/singers/dancers in the show have all been great, and the review was mainly a reflection of the show, not the performers. She pointed out some of the changes in the show, including the observation that Rizzo was written as a more sympathetic character in the movie - nothing whatsoever against the current actresses' portrayal of her. Rizzo just seems harsher in the play - and BOTH actresses who have played her have been great and extremely talented.

Some people are going to like some actors more than others, and some shows will be better than others, and I'm sure will even vary from one night to the next. It may have been a slower night, that's all. There were several empty seats, judging from the pictures of the auditorium right before the show, and based on the fact that she got half price tickets 2 days before the show. I have been to several Broadway shows on all different nights (weekends and weekdays) and have never seen more that one or two empty seats.

And I'm sure Ashley and Derek to some people, fit their roles perfectly and had great chemistry, just not in her opinion, OK? To my knowledge, this is still a free country, and people can still have their own opinions. For one last time: I am a big fan of Ashley and will continue to watch her career with interest!!!

Have a great night Grease fans!:

DANA