This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In its first attempt, Fox got the live musical format right. The network's presentation "Grease Live!" on Sunday captured the energy of a live stage show magnificently. It wasn't perfect — what stage show is? — but it came off like, ahem, "Greased Lightning."
Turned out that "Grease Live!" had more of a tie to Utah than just its lead actress. Not only is Julianne Hough a Utah native, but her character, Sandy, was from Salt Lake City.
Hough was great — this could turn out to be a break-out performance for her. The show's greatest flaw was that she and the male lead, Broadway star Aaron Tveit (who played Danny) had little chemistry, but Hough came off better every time they were on camera together.
But, overall, the cast was exceptional. Vanessa Hudgens, performing the day after her father's death, stood out as Rizzo, and a dozen or more other cast members had their moments to shine.
And Fox's "Grease Live!" was significantly better than NBC's presentations of "The Sound of Music," "Peter Pan"and "The Wiz" because of (a) the use of multiple soundstages and sets, and (b) the addition of an audience — actually, different audiences on different soundstages on the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, Calif.
It sounded like a crazy idea when director Thomas Kail announced it, but it worked extremely well. "Grease Live" was wonderfully staged, with plenty that was familiar to fans of the 1978 John Travolta-Olivia Newton-John movie and a number of surprises.
"Grease Live!" was exactly what it was supposed to be. It was fun. It was entertaining. It was well worth watching.