Copious Notes

If you are a Derek Keeling fan who chose to bypass Grease: You’re the One That I Want on Sunday, in favor of the Oscars, you did not miss much. Despite his first stumble the week before, Derek did not wind up in the bottom four and the sing off.

That dubious distinction fell to Chad, Kevin, Kate and Kathleen, with Cincinnati’s Kate Rockwell and New Yorker Kevin Greene getting the fewest votes and the boot from the judges.
We were told that there was division over who to ultimately eliminate, which was understandable since Kathleen Monteleone’s (copyrighted photo, left, by Chris Haston for NBC) sing off performance was weak, and after being saved, her own number was dreadful. In a backstage interview, she appeared shaken from being cast in the bottom two Sandys and never quite pulled herself together. But, she apparently killed in the acting portion, so the judges kept her.

I say apparently, because we never actually saw much of these vaunted acting scenes, except a few bites. Apparently, they don’t think TV viewers would be up for watching a few scenes. Anyway, if Kathleen doesn’t pull herself together, she might as well not come back next week, because it sounds like she barely made it through this week. Yes, that’s a tough situation to be in on national television, but acting requires some composure. What is she going to do if Ben Brantley rips her in the Times opening night? Will she be able to go on the next day?

Anyway, the night belonged to the ladies, with Allie Schulz’s It’s Oh So Quiet (this is the last show I expected to hear a Bjork song on) and Laura Osnes’ Fever carrying the night. The judges kind of baffled me with their evaluation of Ashley Spencer. The said they wanted to see more innocence and vulnerability from her, but she was given These Boots are Made for Walking. Huh? How’s she supposed to show vulnerability with that ultra-confident anthem?

Anyway, only the women are in danger next week, and then it’s guy’s night. So we’ll tune in then to see Derek, with no distractions.

A quick Grease: You’re the One That I Want note: Despite a disappointing performance last week, University of Kentucky graduate Derek Keeling did not end up in the dreaded sing-off and is safe this week. Tonight, we are focusing on the Oscars, and taping Grease. We’ll post on that (our regular Sunday feature at Copious Notes) tomorrow.

Tonight’s (Feb. 18) episode of Grease: You’re the One That I Want started off with all of Derek Keeling’s competitors identifying him as the man to beat and ended with the UK grad looking quite mortal in this competition.

Paired with Kate Rockwell from Cincinnati, Derek opened their rendition of From This Moment On with a few cracks and warbles, and the two never really warmed up to each other, while other competitors were offering, "theatrical Viagra," on duets night.
That’s what producer David Ian called Chad Doreck (photo, right, by  Chris Haston for NBC) and Allie Schulz’s (photo, below, by Dean Hendler for NBC)  rendition of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, which started the show and set a standard.

One point that was raised over and over again was the choice of material. Julianna Hansen, who was sent packing tonight along with Jason Celaya, complained she hadn’t been able to show her fun side on the show. And frankly, tonight, some competitors were better served by their material than others.

Max Crumm and Ashley Spencer got playful with their number, It Takes Two, and Austin Miller and Laura Osnes were able to show some acting chops in I Don’t Know Much. But there was a downside for Austin in that number. Derek started the show saying he would be a better Danny Zuko  than Austin because he could bring more
"machismo" to the role — reflecting some comments that have been running around chat rooms and blog posts — and I Don’t Know Much isn’t a song that’s going to make anyone look very tough.

That was also a pretty cocky comment from Derek, and if there’s any overconfidence brewing there, maybe he needed an off night to bring him back down to earth. Let’s just not be like Tubby’s Cats and have two (or three) off nights in a row. Considering all the love Derek’s received thus far, you have to think that even if he ends up in the sing-off next week, Ian and the rest of the judges will save him once. But Chad, Max and, yes, Austin, are all looking like worthier competitors, so if we assume Kevin will be gone next week, this is no time for a losing streak.

There was a mild address of last week’s voting controversy with the announcement that judges would have a say until the semi-finals, so it sounds like the last two rounds will be decided solely on audience vote.

So that’s Grease. Bop over to Jamie Gumbrecht’s It’s All About for a rundown of Dave and Mary in Amazing Race: All-Stars.

In the mix tonight (Feb. 11) were a performance by the Georgia Guitar Quartet at the Singletary Center, the Police reunion on the Grammy Awards and the second live episode of Grease: You’re the One That I Want. To be blunt, the latter would not be in the mix, if it were not for University of Kentucky graduate
Derek Keeling, who is in the hunt to be the next Danny Zuko on Broadway. (The photo, right, is of Derek performing Jan. 28/by Dean Hendler, courtesy NBC.)

If tonight’s performance was any indication, we’ll probably be tuning in to the bitter end, because Keeling offered another knock-’em-dead performance, this week of Footloose, and earned universal praise from the judges, again. Kathleen Marshall, director of the revival, told Keeling she’d be happy to have him on stage opening night, and producer David Ian said, "You’ve really got what it takes to be a leading man on Broadway." In addition to singing and dancing chops, Derek’s sleeveless button-down showed a well-sculpted physique that must have been good for a few audience votes.

Have the producers taken back a little power? Tonight’s show featured a sing off between Jan. 28’s bottom two Dannys and Sandys in audience votes, and the judges picked who was axed. Predictably, that spelled curtains for the pair they brought back from elimination last week: Matt Nolan and Ashley Anderson. Honestly, wasn’t it a tad cruel to give these two a glimmer of hope that they could make it to opening night? OK, I’m complaining about cruelty in reality TV, like that ship didn’t sail years ago.

Anyway, I did not make it to the second hour because I assumed this was a one-hour show after the two-hour live opener Jan. 28, and my VCR (I know, how 20th Century) was scheduled to catch the Cops on the Grammys. By the way, for all the talk of friction between the band members, Stewart Copland looked like he was having a blast sitting at the drum kit during a rousing rendition of Roxanne. Wow.

But I digress. Is NBC really giving two-hours a week to this Grease show?! One is frankly trying enough, and the ratings are underwhelming — 46th for the week of the 28th broadcast. The formula is really wearing thin, as are Billy Bush’s little teasers like, "Will it be a musical masterpiece or massacre." Gag me with a Playbill. Then it’s really funny when he greets a performer who just sang with a line like, "Amazing performance," and the judges essentially say, not so much. And why was Juliana Hansen dubbed "Rock Chick Sandy," while the judges keep complaining she isn’t tough enough? Wouldn’t a rock chick, by definition . . . oh, stop analyzing it.

But, for Derek and our Ohio Sandys, Ashley Spencer and Kate Rockwell, we’ll keep tuning in . . . even for two hours, if we must.

UPDATE: At least a few fans were pretty torqued off about the apparent change in rules. Check the NBC Grease: YTOTIW message board and Raven Snook’s blog for TV Guide.

Here’s the deal: You’re singing on national television for the first time ever, live. And you’re singing in a national competition for your dream job: a starring role on a Broadway show.

Not a problem, apparently, for Derek Keeling, who more than did his hometown of Charleston, W.Va. and alma mater the University of
Kentucky proud on the first night of live competition on Grease: You’re the One That I Want. Keeling, class of ‘03, killed with his confident rendition of Queen’s Crazy Little Thing Called Love, to open the show. He was  belting, gyrating, falling on his knees at the edge of the stage to grab hands with the ladies like he was Elvis or something and doing it all while showing a great voice. Derek (Copyrighted photo, left, by Mitch Haaseth for NBC) and Texan Austin Miller got the show off to a tremendous start. Derek’s evening ended well with producer David Ian selecting his performance as the best among the guys. (For the record, I was out at the beginning of the show, but when I got home, my wife was raving about one of the first contestants. When we rolled the tape back, it turned out to be Derek, and she didn’t even know he was the guy from UK.)

The object of the show is that viewers will vote for the Danny and Sandy in an upcoming Broadway revival of Grease, with seven contestants in the running for each role.

Seven?

Well, YtOTIW producers pulled that tired reality-competition show trick of bringing back someone who’d been booted. It’s usually an empty gesture, because the second-chance contestants usually just reaffirm why they were dumped in the first place, which is what happened when Matt Nolan and Ashley Anderson came back. In sometimes painful performances, they showed they are well-behind their more experienced and talented competitors. I can’t imagine either of them being ready for a Broadway debut this summer anymore than I can imagine myself getting prepared to go play guitar for U2 by then. They both seem like sweet, earnest people who need a lot more preparation before they hit the big leagues.

Derek and Austin really look like the class of the guys. Original writer Jim Jacobs tapped Chad Doreck, but his  voice wasn’t quite there and his performance of Signed, Sealed, Delivered went over the top toward the  end.  The Sandys were abit more diverse, really leaving the question open of what would you want in a Sandy. Laura Osnes of Minnesota had the sweetness, maybe too sweet. Kate Rockwell had a serious, well-rounded voice, while Juliana Hansen had more of a pop star personality. My personal favorite was Ashley Spencer (copyrighted photo, right, by Haaseth for NBC), who is highly touted for her dancing skills, though she showed the pluck and perk of a Broadway actress in her performance that reminded me of Kristen Chenoweth or Laura Bell Bundy.

But this is just the beginning. The show skips next week, presumably because of the Super Bowl, though You’re the One That I Want could be great counter programming.

In the meantime, you may want to take a look at the show’s web page for a little more on all the hopefuls.

UK graduate Derek Keeling made it through to the final rounds of Grease: You’re the One that I Want, the NBC reality show in which Broadway producers are picking the Danny and Sandy for a Grease revival.

Derek got a little bit of screen time, but didn’t draw the focus on Sunday night’s episode the way a few of the more borderline cases did, such as Matt, an ex-jock with little-to-no theater experience, and Max, a talented guy who didn’t quite look the part of Danny. "He’s an idiot for coming in with his hair like that," producer David Ian said, during the final selection.  But, despite the hair, which looked more Danny Partridge than Danny Zuko, he made it through to the live rounds, in which the audience will have the final say as to who are Broadway’s next Danny and Sandy.

The final selection did seem to say that Ian, director Kathleen Marshall and original Grease writer Jim Jacobs were more inclined to go with proven talent than a good story.

"Whether you can take someone with very little training and get them up to speed to go on Broadway in six months, that’s a tall order," Marshall said, around the half-way point of Sunday’s show. Later, Ian allowed the misgiving, "If America chooses the wrong Danny and Sandy . . . "

Read: They were leaving nothing to chance, like the possibility the audience latches onto a feel-good story like Matt, or 17-year-old Kelli, and they end up with someone extremely difficult to get ready by opening night.

And there is nothing wrong with that. Talking about the show last week, Actors Guild of Lexington artistic director Richard St. Peter made the point that people work for years, decades, to get the kind of opportunity the winners of this show will get.

We just wrote about some of those people last month, in Kentucky-born talents Laura Bell Bundy, J.C. Montgomery and Lyndy Franklin. All have paid serious dues to get their shots on the Great White Way.

"Wow, this is going to be work," one of the Sandy hopefuls said, in the first segment. Duh. I didn’t roll the tape back yet to see if the contestant who made that comment made it through, but the fact that this was a new revelation to her, alone, should disqualify her.

It is doubtful the work involved is a revelation to Derek. As we mentioned a few days ago on this page, the 2003 UK graduate has been on tour in Grease with Frankie Avalon and played the part last summer at Stages St. Louis. Curiously, that was not mentioned in the last two episodes, while we were told several times Austin Miller has been on a Hairspray tour and done soap work.

Well, starting next Sunday (Jan. 28) at 7 p.m., Derek will have more of the spotlight to himself, and viewers will be the ones in charge of deciding who moves on. Copious Notes will be watching and updating each week until he’s eliminated or — cross fingers — those producers tell Derek he’s the one that they want.

If one of the faces on Sunday night’s episode of Grease: You’re the One that I Want looked familiar, that’s because it belonged to UK graduate Derek Keeling. Sunday night, the 2003 grad made the cut for Grease Academy, the Broadway boot camp from which the 12 finalists will be selected. An NBC spokesperson said the network will not confirm who is or is not on the show until after this Sunday’s (Jan. 21) episode, at 8 p.m. on NBC, which will focus on the academy and conclude with the selection of the finalists.

Derek does have one big thing going for him in the competition: He has played Danny on a Grease tour with Frankie Avalon, and received mostly rave reviews. He reprised the role last year at Stages St. Louis (He’s pictured, above, with Hollie Howard as Sandy in a photo by Bill Stover for Stages St. Louis). So, there’s little chance of him forgetting the lyrics to Greased Lightning. If he makes the final 12, you’ll be able to vote for him in the competition to see who plays the leads in the Grease revival that opens on Broadway in July.

Many apologies for being late on the week two You’re the One that I Want (photo, below, by Chris Haston for NBC) post. The premier of 24, The Golden Globes and rearranging my daughter’s room were running interference.

Anyway, gotta say I liked the show a lot more in NYC than L.A. or Chicago. The contestants seemed much more like legitimate contenders and the
judges seemed more mellow and in their element. David Ian, in particular, seemed to have dropped the Simon-wannabe act, even delivering a gentle dismissal to 16-year old hopeful Meghan Jardean (we’re taking our best stabs at name spellings here, since they don’t display them on screen), "We hope it runs for 35 years, and you may end up in it one day . . . well done." Writer Jim Jacobs had a low moment, telling spunky middle-ager Joanne Rizzo she needed to get some mirrors for her house after it was already clear to her she was not right for Sandy. But then, he had an intriguing moment of insight, contradicting his fellow judges to pass "soulful Sandy" Anna Marie through because he saw some of the woman Sandy was based on on the young hopeful.

A very strong hopeful was Austin Miller, who played Link Larkin on a Hairspray tour (photo, right). A blonde Danny? Hey, Blonde Bond worked. Miller was indicative of the talent the show picked up in NYC it didn’t find much of in L.A. and Chicago: Experienced, professional actors who know how to audition and what they are right for. Part of the drama that the show was trying to build up was that maybe the producers won’t find their Danny and Sandy. That was pretty much put to rest by this episode.

This actually sparked an interesting discussion in the office, here: After being billed as a show that tried to find undiscovered Danny and Sandy in the Heartland, so to speak, would America be happy with winners who the producers may have found in a much lower-profile casting call on Broadway? Dunno, but in two weeks, America will get to start voting on the hopefuls, Idol style.

~ I just finished watching American Idol with my daughter, and one thing that stuns me in both of these shows is many of the contestants’ lack of preparation. This is the preparation standard I often hear from professional singers when they talk about pieces they’re doing in auditions and performances: If someone woke you up at 3 a.m. and said sing, you should be able to perform the song flawlessly (after a few minutes to warm up, of course). But some of these folks walk in, and it seems like they expect the words to come down from a deity on high. If you walk in front of national TV cameras, and you don’t have the words and tune down cold, of course they will melt away from you.

The idea was intriguing enough for me to shake off my natural avoidance of reality TV: A national, open casting call for the lead roles in the forthcoming Broadway revival of Grease. So, I tuned in You’re the One That I Want to see what it was like.

The most visceral reaction was that I wanted to sit the three judges — David Ian (a Simon), Kathleen Marshall (a Paula) and Jim Jacobs (What the
. . . ?) (seated left-to-right, respectively, in the photo to the left by Dean Hendler for  NBC) — and give their little show an upbraiding similar to the skewering they gave  some of the Grease hopefuls. The only thing different from American Idol here is the endgame, that the winners will play Danny and Sandy on Broadway, and probably several million viewers. Billy Bush — who, amazingly, I could actually stand on this show — was basically doing a Ryan Seacrest impersonation as he gabbed with contestants and even became an advocate for one. As for co-host Denise Van Outen . . . uh . . .  it says she was on there. I don’t quite remember.

A while back, NBC announced it was eliminating original scripted programming in favor of lower-cost reality and game shows in the 8 p.m. time slot. In a big way, YTOTIW is a depressing example of TV as pure commodity: take a tried-and-true concept, a tried-and-true title, slap ‘em together and hope the Nielsens are huge. There is absolutely nothing original here.

The premier episode (Jan. 7) covered auditions in Los Angeles and Chicago. It elicited very similar feelings to watching an Idol casting episode, as you just sat in amazement at how not self-aware many people are. We saw numerous people who didn’t fit the parts of Danny and Sandy in any way shape or form, and at a real casting session probably would have been sent home without singing a note. But this is reality TV, where some lambs must be sent to the slaughter. Some of them did show talent. Patrice, who becomes known as The Dancing Cupcake, comes across a genuine triple threat who could probably be in the chorus or do a great Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray. She expresses hope that maybe the producers will take a nontraditional view of Sandy, but this is all way too formulaic for that. At least she got a few minutes to show America she’s got talent. For a while, you wondered if anyone in L.A. had talent, as the show solely focused on the awful and inappropriate.

But they did find some genuine potential stars who will be sent to Grease Academy, the pool of 50 from whom the 12 finalists will be selected. This selection is done with Ian uttering the awful attempt at a catch phrase, "You are the one that we want to go to Grease Academy." Auditioning in Chicago was more of the same. Next week’s show is supposed to cover the New York auditions, which you would expect and the promos seem to promise will yield a stronger pool of hopefuls. After all, New York is where most legitimate Broadway aspirants live and audition.

Something more like a real Broadway audition process would be more interesting. Writing about Lyndy Franklin, the Lexington talent in A Chorus Line, I learned HBO cameras had been following the revival for an upcoming program. That’s something I want to see.

This is essentially glorified free publicity for the Grease revival and cheap product for NBC that will likely produce a perky blonde Sandy and oily handsome Danny from central casting. But, Copious Notes will go through the New York show to see if You’re the One That I Want is something we want to follow.