Grease was the word this last Sunday night as Fox debuted a live version of the 1978 smash musical hit, Grease. Overall, the diverse, star-studded cast did a phenomenal job bringing their own flair to the classic tale. However, as the judgmental theater fanatics that my friends and I are, we made sure to scrutinize every scene and ended up ranking the top performances of the night.
10. Keke Palmer as Marty Marashino
Palmer made her character, Marty, more relevant than she was in the original film, and contributed much diversity to the cast, which is awesome! However, her portrayal of Marty was not her best performance. I respect Palmer as a performer and was expecting much more from her than what she gave. Her over-dramatic acting was just too much and her vocals were pretty weak during her solo. She was ok, but I think she could have done a lot better.
9. Carly Rae Jepsen as Frenchy
Not going to lie, I was pleasantly surprised with Carly Rae Jepsen’s performance (I was expecting a lot worse). Her acting was actually pretty good, which comes to no surprise since she actually has a theater background. However, her singing voice is not my favorite. She sang “All I Need is an Angel” as if she was singing “Call Me Maybe”, as opposed to a theatric peace. I was also upset that her portrayal of Frenchy was a lot less…ditsy as the character was meant to be. I think that it is important that Frenchy is portrayed as a bit scatterbrained from the beginning, in order for her plotline (where she drops out of beauty school) to make sense. Since Jepsen played Frenchy more as friendly and less as an innocent dunce, the scenes where she joined in the group while they were teasing Sandy (in the sing “Look at me I’m Sandra Dee”) and when she declares that she is dropping out of school (twice) seemed out of character.
8. Elle McLemore as Patty Simcox
I could have sworn Elle McLemore was the original Patty Simcox! Her energy and facial expressions made the performance comedic and spot on! For such a seemingly small role, the show would be incomplete without the proper Patty, and McLemore definitely fit the role perfectly.
7. Ana Gasteyer as Principal McGee
The fact that Ana Gasteyer came back to live TV was one of the highlights of the show. Gasteyer was made for live theater/tv and her performance of Principal McGee was absolutely perfect! She sorta stole the show, especially on Twitter where she was raved about. Between her subtle, inappropriate jokes and her harmonies with DNCE, she was the greatest choice to revive the notorious role of Principal McGee.
6. Carlos PenaVega as Kenickie
Carlos has come a long way from his Nickelodeon days. He proved his dance skills on Dancing with the Stars, but he really showed himself as a triple threat in his performance as Danny Zucko’s right-hand man. His acting was fantastic, his vocals were on point (although hard to hear at some points) and his overall stage presence was amazing. It’s hard for Nickelodeon stars to be taken seriously as actors, but he has definitely proven himself as a force to be reckoned with.
5. Jordan Fisher as Doody
Where did this kid come from?! His voice. His acting, His dancing. EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT! He was an absolute natural. When he was singing “Those Magic Changes”, my jaw nearly dropped. Apparently, he was on Disney’s Teen Beach Movie, and after Grease, I can see him as a Broadway star soon.
4. Julianne Hough as Sandy
I think that Julianne Hough was literally born to play this role (next to her character in Footloose). Not only was her voice, dancing and acting great, but she played the role in the innocent, sassy, sweet, delicae way that it was meant to be. She was born to play Sandy and there was no better choice for the role (other than Olivia Newton-John)
3. Aaron Tveit as Danny Zuko
I have always respected Tveit as an actor, so I had no worries about him playing Danny Zuko. To be honest, I think there were many people capable of playing Zuko. However, I placed Tveit’s performance above Hough because, even though this is an unpopular opinion (don’t hate me for this), I almost liked him better as Zuko than John Travolta (There. I said it.). He really got into his role and absolutely dominated it.
2. Haneefah Woods as Blanche
Can we get this lady a Tony award or something?! Every scene she was in had me laughing out loud! Her chemistry with Ana Gasteyer was incredible and she truly stole the show! I personally would advocate for her and Gasteyer to have a show of their own (you heard it hear first!).
1. Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo
This may seem like the obvious choice, but I promise, this was not because of pity at all.
When I heard that Gabriela Montez, the sweet, innocent character (Fun Fact: her High School Musical was was based on Grease and Gabriela Montez was based on Sandy) I scoffed. I thought it was a dumb idea. I thought she would tank. Then I heard her dad died hours before, and I thought it would probably affect her performance.
If her performance was affected by her recent loss, it was in the best way possible. Every line was perfectly executed, every note was flawlessly hit, and when she belted out “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”, the emotion was powerful. The song about being brave in difficult times was definitely relevant for Hudgens and the lyric “but to cry in front of you, that’s the worst thing I could do” must have hit us all right in the feels.
To experience something so emotional and traumatic, and still give an outstanding performance, is the mark of a brilliant, artistic and passionate actress. I will never doubt Hudgens’ skills again. She has all of my respect.
