“Grease” featuring Taylor Hicks
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Auditorium Theatre/ Chicago, IL

Review by Andy Argyrakis

Even if Taylor Hicks’ star power in the role of Teen Angel is helping sell some extra seats on the blockbuster Broadway tour of “Grease,” the show actually belongs to Eric Schneider as lead character Danny Zuko. Though he’s not a household name (at least not yet), the up and coming vocalist is best known for playing Frankie Valli during “Jersey Boys” in the Big Apple and also the fellow 1950s-minded stage adaptation of “Happy Days.”

Indeed the spirit of golden oldies was on hand throughout “Grease,” kicking off with the whole company’s version of the title cut (which was ironically a hit for Valli). From there, it was a trip back in time to the days of tough guys, giggling girls and hot rods with “Greased Lightin’” helping propel the simple love story most famously portrayed on screen by John Travolta and Olivia-Newton John.

Cast opposite to Schneider is Emily Padgett as Sandy Dumbrowski, who also scored a Broadway credit in “Legally Blonde.” She was especially convincing in portraying her teenage love for Eric during “Hopelessly Devoted To You,” which was the first hint of a later transformation from conservative school girl to letting her inner party animal out for the whole world to see.

Of course before anyone could dig too deep into the storyline, all eyes locked on Hicks, who descended from the ceiling as Teen Angel (aptly following in the footsteps of Frankie Avalon and even Chubby Checker) for a short but sweet rendition of “Beauty School Dropout.” The 2006 “American Idol” winner added some soulful flourishes to the number thanks to a short harmonica solo at the end and had no problem hamming it up with his campy flair burning brightly, despite no prior acting experience.

But the responsibility fell back to the main characters, who confirmed their crushes for one another during “You’re the One That I Want,” which featured the whole cast adding some slick choreography to the celebration. After all the actors bowed, fans were treated to a concert-like encore featuring a medley of the show’s greatest hits led by Hicks. He broke out the harmonica yet again for the title track, while reprisals of “Born To Hand-Jive” and “You’re the One That I Want” had so much pep they matched the dynamism of Less Than Jake’s unconventional covers collection chronicling the same soundtrack. Hicks and an energetic “Grease” troupe may be starting off ’09 in the Windy City, but it’s only the start of a marathon trek: