Grease: You're The One That I Want - Aired Jan. 14 - Partial Recap
New York. The Big Apple. The City That Never Sleeps. So nice, they named it twice. A bustling metropolis that was home to the final auditions. After this, it's on to Grease Academy. I mentioned last week that I'd love to get a Bachelor of Rizzo degree from this august institution. After some careful consideration on my academic future, it occurred to me that I'd then like to go back after that and get my MR (Master of Rizzo) or even branch out and get an MF (Master of Frenchie). If I do the former, I could just stay focused and get a PhR (Rizzo of Philosophy), but if I do the latter I could then work towards a thesis on the whole gang and get a PhPL (Pink Ladies of Philosophy).
All I know is that if you are one of the lucky few to get into Grease Academy, your future is wide open to all sorts of possibilities.
The first people we meet are Matthew Carpenter and Sarah Salvatore (as with last week, we didn't get to see any names so all spelling is my best guess). They are dating, but things are pretty rocky right now and oh boy, the show won't let us forget this. Sarah came to New York first, so they spent some time apart and they're hoping this experience will help bring them closer together. It'll be a while before we find out though, as their auditions are not up first.
Who is up first is a pretty, perky Hungarian named Tunda Something. My attempts at spelling surnames don't go as far as Eastern Europe. I'm sure I'd be tempted to throw in vowels where there aren't any, so I won't even try.
Now nothing says Sandy has to be played by an American. Olivia Newton John brought her Down Under charm to the role in the movie and people accepted the character as Australian. The problem with Tundra was that we couldn't tell if she had talent or not as she kept messing up the words. Lots of people learn to sing in other languages phonetically, but Tundra would have had to sing and talk in English, and to show she could have done that, she should have learned the song by heart before auditioning. Needless to say, she didn't make it.
Next up was Ashley Anderson. She had a good look, but many of the potential Sandys do, so can she bring the goods? She tried, but when she tried for too high a note, she lost it. Okay, try it a second time. Same thing. I don't know how much of range she's got, but it doesn't extend into soprano. Luckily for her, she talked them into giving her one more shot. She started lower this time, so when it came around to the note that was giving her trouble earlier, she hit it. Good for her, she moved on.
We then got a montage of a bunch of different Sandys that were all good. That's one of the flaws of this format. If any one of them make it past Grease Academy and end up going against someone who we've already met, they'll have a tougher time connecting with the audience.
We then met Robert Minatolli who had what so many of the men we've seen lacked, the right look. We'll forget his horrendous voice and the montage of bad Dannys and move on to more of Matthew and Sarah.
We're reminded of how rocky their relationship is, but they tell us if one of them doesn't make it, that one will support the other. They've both got the right look for the parts, so if they do get all the way through and end up winning the show together, what a story that will be!
Matthew is up first, and while his voice isn't the best, it's still good enough in a pool of horrible Danny wannabes that he gets to go to the dance round.
Sarah is next, and she has a better voice so she easily makes it to the dance round.
Yay, young love! This is going to be a romantic story for the ages that people will sing of for centuries to come! I can't wait for them to nail the dance audition and come closer together at Grease Academy!
Before that though, there are more people to meet, like Joanne Rizzo (awesome last name!), 42. Yes, 42, the exact same age as Dominic Fortuna who got through last week in Chicago. Her look and voice may not be classic Sandy, but they're good enough that if Gramps Fortuna makes it past Grease Academy and ends up winning the role at the end, they'll potentially have a Sandy that won't make people wince when they see them together! But instead of turning her down nicely, the judges had to be complete asses and insult her while rejecting her. No wonder so many women in show business have plastic surgery. The middle-aged man got approved, but all the middle-aged women got kicked around. I strongly suspect Dominic wouldn't have made it through at all if there were more Dannys to choose from, especially in Chicago where only seven people total made it to Grease Academy, but a little tact wouldn't have hurt. We don't need a Simon Cowell on every reality talent show.
Next was Anne Marie Somethingoranother who had quite a strong voice, but the judges were iffy on her look. She was blonde and pretty, but didn't quite look sweet enough for Sandy. However, she was going to get a chance in the dance round to show them something different.
Matt Nolan, an athlete in school and a secret fan of Broadway. He had a decent look and an okay voice, but he was having trouble hitting some of the higher notes. If he was a woman auditioning for Sandy, he wouldn't have made it to the dancing, but more leeway is given to the men because the judges have so few choices. But can he dance? We'll find out.
Then finally we meet the man who just might end up being Danny, Austin Miller. He's a stage professional, and this is an open audition. I can see people arguing against him online after he gets past Grease Academy (and he was so good with the singing I've no doubt he will), crying that Austin has been on stage and we should make an amateur's dream come true! No. We should vote for whoever is best for the role. Austin also has a great look, but the one change he should make is to his hair. He's blonde. I have no problem with a blonde Danny, but as I've argued with Sandy, the audience has a set perception of what he should look like. Dye your hair black, Austin. It will increase your chances.
The last person we meet is a 16-year-old girl who I won't name because she's been crushed enough by some of the reactions she's received. She did have the wrong look, was too young, and was a little overweight, so she didn't make it anyway. I'll leave it at that.
It seemed like more time was spent showing us the dancing this week, and I appreciated that. We still didn't get to see an awful lot though, and the camera cut around quite a lot. Because of this, I don't feel comfortable judging based on what I saw, so I'll leave that to the judges.
Ashley... was the one they wanted to go to Grease Academy. If there is any reason to be extremely thankful that the auditions only lasted two weeks, it's that we'll never have to hear that ridiculously awkward phrase again.
Anne Marie didn't make it through, but Matt Nolan and Austin both did.
And our love story that's so touching it makes grown men weep? Sarah didn't make it through. She was crushed, but at least she'll have Matthew to commiserate with. He's not as good as her, so he'll easily be rejected. Except, as I've mentioned ad nauseum, there aren't a lot of potential Dannys, so Matthew passes through to Grease Academy. Oh no! Our love story hit an unexpected bump! Luckily she's going to support him through all this and they will live happily ever after. Right?
Wrong. She couldn't even bring herself to look at or talk to him. She grabbed her stuff and stormed right out of there. Wow. I don't watch American Idol, so the only auditions I ever see are on So You Think You Can Dance, and I've never seen anything as pathetic as this. I've crazy people get even crazier, but not on somebody they supposedly love. Sure enough, we're informed, that was the end of the relationship.
The good news for Sarah is that the ratings for this show aren't that hot, so there are still lots of men out there who don't know how selfish, bitter and self-centered she can be.
The good news for us is that this was a twist we didn't see coming! Okay, maybe we suspected that one or both of them weren't going to make it through, but this? Wow. You got us good, producers!
Next week: GREASE ACADEMY!
All I know is that if you are one of the lucky few to get into Grease Academy, your future is wide open to all sorts of possibilities.
The first people we meet are Matthew Carpenter and Sarah Salvatore (as with last week, we didn't get to see any names so all spelling is my best guess). They are dating, but things are pretty rocky right now and oh boy, the show won't let us forget this. Sarah came to New York first, so they spent some time apart and they're hoping this experience will help bring them closer together. It'll be a while before we find out though, as their auditions are not up first.
Who is up first is a pretty, perky Hungarian named Tunda Something. My attempts at spelling surnames don't go as far as Eastern Europe. I'm sure I'd be tempted to throw in vowels where there aren't any, so I won't even try.
Now nothing says Sandy has to be played by an American. Olivia Newton John brought her Down Under charm to the role in the movie and people accepted the character as Australian. The problem with Tundra was that we couldn't tell if she had talent or not as she kept messing up the words. Lots of people learn to sing in other languages phonetically, but Tundra would have had to sing and talk in English, and to show she could have done that, she should have learned the song by heart before auditioning. Needless to say, she didn't make it.
Next up was Ashley Anderson. She had a good look, but many of the potential Sandys do, so can she bring the goods? She tried, but when she tried for too high a note, she lost it. Okay, try it a second time. Same thing. I don't know how much of range she's got, but it doesn't extend into soprano. Luckily for her, she talked them into giving her one more shot. She started lower this time, so when it came around to the note that was giving her trouble earlier, she hit it. Good for her, she moved on.
We then got a montage of a bunch of different Sandys that were all good. That's one of the flaws of this format. If any one of them make it past Grease Academy and end up going against someone who we've already met, they'll have a tougher time connecting with the audience.
We then met Robert Minatolli who had what so many of the men we've seen lacked, the right look. We'll forget his horrendous voice and the montage of bad Dannys and move on to more of Matthew and Sarah.
We're reminded of how rocky their relationship is, but they tell us if one of them doesn't make it, that one will support the other. They've both got the right look for the parts, so if they do get all the way through and end up winning the show together, what a story that will be!
Matthew is up first, and while his voice isn't the best, it's still good enough in a pool of horrible Danny wannabes that he gets to go to the dance round.
Sarah is next, and she has a better voice so she easily makes it to the dance round.
Yay, young love! This is going to be a romantic story for the ages that people will sing of for centuries to come! I can't wait for them to nail the dance audition and come closer together at Grease Academy!
Before that though, there are more people to meet, like Joanne Rizzo (awesome last name!), 42. Yes, 42, the exact same age as Dominic Fortuna who got through last week in Chicago. Her look and voice may not be classic Sandy, but they're good enough that if Gramps Fortuna makes it past Grease Academy and ends up winning the role at the end, they'll potentially have a Sandy that won't make people wince when they see them together! But instead of turning her down nicely, the judges had to be complete asses and insult her while rejecting her. No wonder so many women in show business have plastic surgery. The middle-aged man got approved, but all the middle-aged women got kicked around. I strongly suspect Dominic wouldn't have made it through at all if there were more Dannys to choose from, especially in Chicago where only seven people total made it to Grease Academy, but a little tact wouldn't have hurt. We don't need a Simon Cowell on every reality talent show.
Next was Anne Marie Somethingoranother who had quite a strong voice, but the judges were iffy on her look. She was blonde and pretty, but didn't quite look sweet enough for Sandy. However, she was going to get a chance in the dance round to show them something different.
Matt Nolan, an athlete in school and a secret fan of Broadway. He had a decent look and an okay voice, but he was having trouble hitting some of the higher notes. If he was a woman auditioning for Sandy, he wouldn't have made it to the dancing, but more leeway is given to the men because the judges have so few choices. But can he dance? We'll find out.
Then finally we meet the man who just might end up being Danny, Austin Miller. He's a stage professional, and this is an open audition. I can see people arguing against him online after he gets past Grease Academy (and he was so good with the singing I've no doubt he will), crying that Austin has been on stage and we should make an amateur's dream come true! No. We should vote for whoever is best for the role. Austin also has a great look, but the one change he should make is to his hair. He's blonde. I have no problem with a blonde Danny, but as I've argued with Sandy, the audience has a set perception of what he should look like. Dye your hair black, Austin. It will increase your chances.
The last person we meet is a 16-year-old girl who I won't name because she's been crushed enough by some of the reactions she's received. She did have the wrong look, was too young, and was a little overweight, so she didn't make it anyway. I'll leave it at that.
It seemed like more time was spent showing us the dancing this week, and I appreciated that. We still didn't get to see an awful lot though, and the camera cut around quite a lot. Because of this, I don't feel comfortable judging based on what I saw, so I'll leave that to the judges.
Ashley... was the one they wanted to go to Grease Academy. If there is any reason to be extremely thankful that the auditions only lasted two weeks, it's that we'll never have to hear that ridiculously awkward phrase again.
Anne Marie didn't make it through, but Matt Nolan and Austin both did.
And our love story that's so touching it makes grown men weep? Sarah didn't make it through. She was crushed, but at least she'll have Matthew to commiserate with. He's not as good as her, so he'll easily be rejected. Except, as I've mentioned ad nauseum, there aren't a lot of potential Dannys, so Matthew passes through to Grease Academy. Oh no! Our love story hit an unexpected bump! Luckily she's going to support him through all this and they will live happily ever after. Right?
Wrong. She couldn't even bring herself to look at or talk to him. She grabbed her stuff and stormed right out of there. Wow. I don't watch American Idol, so the only auditions I ever see are on So You Think You Can Dance, and I've never seen anything as pathetic as this. I've crazy people get even crazier, but not on somebody they supposedly love. Sure enough, we're informed, that was the end of the relationship.
The good news for Sarah is that the ratings for this show aren't that hot, so there are still lots of men out there who don't know how selfish, bitter and self-centered she can be.
The good news for us is that this was a twist we didn't see coming! Okay, maybe we suspected that one or both of them weren't going to make it through, but this? Wow. You got us good, producers!
Next week: GREASE ACADEMY!
Labels: Grease: You're the one that I want, NBC, recap
posted by Tabby at 12:21 p.m.
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