Grease Live!

Grease Live! was a heck of a lot of fun, and that is its primary purpose.

Points go to both cast and crew for a highly energetic and creative evening. It is refreshing to see live television return, and this sort of entertainment needs to be encouraged.

Minus the two canted angles in "Greased Lightnin'", the cinematography was exciting and engaging and a positive sign of things to come. Same can be said about the choreography, notably in "Summer Nights."

Thomas Kail's ambitious direction is to be commended. There were, however, some moments when it felt that he was trying too hard. Grease has always been an intimate show, and creating a multi-dimensional environment is fun, but it can lose a lot of, well, intimacy.

The opening up of "Freddy, My Love" was as creative as it was initially distracting, especially since no one else really dissolved into a dream sequence.

Not sure if the race sequence was performed as well in person as it was on paper, but the effort was there. "You're The One That I Want" was more dizzying and less direct.

Carly Rae Jepsen delivered a beautiful performance of the enjoyable new song "All I Need is an Angel," which blended right in, and she reacted perfectly to Boys II Men who, quite frankly, could have connected with her a bit more.

Aaron Tveit was a smooth Danny whose sexy aloofness matched Julianne Hough's consistent over-the-top but controlled giddiness.

The combination of "Those Magic Changes" and Danny's initial attempt to change was a refreshing take on an already solid song.

The highlight of the evening was, fortunately, "Born to Hand Jive," as it is the biggest dance number in the show, and it was refreshing and clever to see the audience be part of the action.

Overall, Grease Live! was an exciting, enjoyable addition to the current parade of live performances, but instead of striving for big-bigger-biggest, it is sometimes okay to sit back on the bleachers and chill like the T-Birds.

B