My wife and I went to see the national touring company of "Grease" at the Durham Performing Arts Center, and we both came away a bit disappointed. The show's marketing efforts are built around having former American Idol winner Taylor Hicks play "Teen Angel," but you may recall that his character appears only once (to sing "Beauty School Dropout"). Aside from a hot harmonica riff, Hicks' performance wasn't memorable, and his one-song-from-his-latest-album encore tacked on to the end of the show was, well, obviously tacked on.
The touring cast seemed more like the "B Team" than what one would expect of a first-rate touring company, and few of the actors -- who portray high-schoolers -- appeared to be less than 30 years old. An understudy who played sleazy radio disc jockey Vince Fontaine was the most convincing of the lot.No matter who's acting, however, I confess that my biggest gripe about Grease has always been the ending, in which formerly wholesome Sandy primps and pimps herself into a beer-drinking, cigarette-smoking vamp in order to win over her jerky heartthrob, Danny Zuko. I suppose it would have been harder to get a rollicking musical finale out of having Danny get a job or hit the books, but even so ...
I wonder if the show hit a nerve because there seems to be an increasing shift toward the acceptance of cussing and quaffing as normative aspects of a Christian lifestyle, and I'm too straight-laced to be comfortable with it.
I resonate with many aspects of postmodernism, and I understand the importance of trying to be relevant to society, but I'm just old-fashioned enough to think finding the lowest common denominator should remain in the domain of junior high math.
[Photos from www.greaseonbroadway.com]
5 comments:
Well said.
I agree with your assessment in as much as people look to the film/play as a moral exemplar. I also agree that current trends in Christianity, while "relevant", are a little disturbing. That said, I think that in a way Grease is a beautiful story because Danny does attempt to change for Sandy's benefit. In the end, her attempt to change for him shows some reciprocity that I can appreciate. I personally think that the musical is more about teenagers finding an identity than their antics; sadly Sandy the international student has to reimagine herself in a new environment. In the end, when they realize the importance of their small community and pledge to sustain it, I think we all can applaud the sentiment. I'd like to think that the booze, cigarettes and drag racing are attempts to depict real teenagers who are really groping for a sense of who they are (Rizzo most of all).
I understand the disappointment with Sandy's conversion, but I think that a lot of folks miss the social commentary Grease was/is making.
The portrait of the 50's pre-Grease was Ozzie and Harriet and Leave it to Beaver. Grease was amnong the first (American Graffiti, et al) to expose the hypocrisy of such a uni-lateral depiction. Fast Times at Ridgemont High and John Hughes films did it in the 80's, DAzed and Confused did it about the 70's--arguably the Judd Apatow "obscene with a heart" films are doing it for the 200's--certainly Juno did.
The moral is that the kids ARE up to all the things we--as parents, the Church, concerned citizens--WISH they weren't. but there's also the heartbreak and ache they feel that leaves them reeling, looking for something.
I too, am skeptical of the bed-headed cussing preachers because it seems put-on (often b/c it IS). But as a member of that generation I can say that I can't tolerate a place that can't discuss the life of faith (and life in general) honestly even when profanity is the only way to describe how profanely you've been treated.
It's less about language than it is transparency. When's the last time someone at church REALLY told you how they were doing, instead of just saying "fine"?
Good comments, guys. Obviously, my initial post oversimplified, but I'm glad it sparked a response.
As for cussing, being profane when in pain doesn't bother me so much, and I want my church to be the kind of safe place where you can say whatever you need to say in sharing your soul. It's the gratuitous vulgarity that serves no purpose other than intentional offense or self-congratulatory cool that's more likely to get my goat.
re: saying "fine"
"You know what it stands for?! F-reaked out, I-nsecure, N-eurotic, and E-motional."--Charlize Theron in The Italian Job, referring to the word FINE.
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