Being Cheryl: Columbus Social Media and Random Humor

Grease has been off and on broadway since the early 70s and, after the performance I just saw tonight, I don’t think it’s ever going to cease to be “the word.” (OMGZ THAT WAS CHEEEEEESY)

Anyway, in case you live under a rock, Grease takes place in the ’50s and follows the woes and loves of a group of teenagers, centering on the innocent Sandy Dee and the rebel Danny Zuko. Needless to say, THEIR IS TROUBLE ON ROMANCE ROAD! (Srsly, if you’ve never seen Grease, message me so I can slap you.)

The precursor to the show was an interactive sing-a-long and dance fest with Grease character Vince Fontaine, played by Dominic Fortuna. I HATE this kind of crap and get annoyed when people try to make me sing and clap and do the twist, but um, the crowd seemed to enjoy is so I’ll leave this one alone.

I’m a recovering musical geek and I was VERY pleased with what I saw at this performance. Fun choreography, flashy sets and talented vocalists and actors. The show does a very good job of drawing you in from the onset. Oh, and the “Greased Lightning” scene kicked ass.

Eric Schneider, who plays Danny, and Emily Padgett, who plays Sandy, were spot on. I was honestly a little disappointed in Rizzo, played by Allie Shulz, but I think that’s largely because I’ve always wanted to play Rizzo and she didn’t play it the way I would have, or the way I’ve ever seen her played, for that matter, lol. She was still very talented, though.

Oh, did I mention Taylor Hicks of American Idol fame is in the show?! LOL. To be honest, I had only ever heard the name before because I don’t hate myself enough to actually watch American Idol. But I was impressed. And not because he has any kind of future in musical theatre, I HOPE. But because, if you’re going to shamelessly throw a celebrity into a show to try to sell tickets, it’s pretty fantastic to put that person in a minimal role that won’t taint the whole show but will still be enough to please the people who only came to see him. And that’s pretty much exactly what they did. Throw in an allusion to his American Idol fame and some harmonica action and you have a definite crowd pleaser for the kids who came to see hm and an inoffensive star citing for the theatre folks.

So seriously, I’d HIGHLY recommend you Columbus folk check out Grease, playing at the Palace Theatre through the 21st, and the rest of you check out the tour at a venue near you!

AND NOW THAT I GOT THAT OUT OF MY SYSTEM…

In addition to enjoying a great show tonight, I got back in touch with my theatre roots. My first love was theatre (boy does that sound lame.) NOTE: IF YOU DON’T GIVE A CRAP WHAT PLAYS I’VE BEEN IN, THAT I CAN THINK OF RIGHT NOW, SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH. JERK. KTHX. In preschool I played a tiny mouse in a Christmas pageant, during which I was too small to reach the microphone and cried on stage proclaiming “I’m only little!” which, in retrospect I will credit as being committed to the character.  In third grade I was a planet or something in some awful intergalactic musical crap. In fourth grade I starred as a zebra in this horrendous play called “It’s a Jungle out There” which could only be appreciated by parents of fourth graders. Um, it got a little better from there: in 8th grade I was various speaking and dancing solo characters in Cinderella, as well as the understudy for EVERY female lead, haha. (Should have poisoned one of them.) I was also the lead in some crappy Christmas play I don’t remember the name of. Freshman year I was Amaryllis in the Music Man and the lead in some other crappy Christmas play I don’t remember the name of. Sophomore year I was Lady Larken in Once Upon a Mattress and, once more, the lead in some crappy Christmas play I don’t remember the name of. Junior year I was Lumiere (yes, the french male candle pimp) in Beauty and the Beast and Rudolph in, well, Rudolph. Senior year I was a part I had written for myself as well as the director of The Wizard of Oz until I got fired and almost expelled, haha (DON’T ask.) I also was various characters in Spoon River Anthology at the Wheeling area community theatre.

AND IN THE SIXTH GRADE VARIETY SHOW, 7 OF MY FRIENDS AND I DANCED TO “WE GO TOGETHER” FROM GREASE. Oh yeah, I should have been cast in the show tonight

Anyway, despite my SUPER impressive acting resume (ROFL) I am fully aware of the fact that my acting talent is, well, minimal to non-existent. But I’ve always loved acting. I’ve always loved watching plays. It’s a fantastic escape from reality.

So I’ve decided to try to get back in touch with this love – but in a more realistic way. I’m a fantastic writer. And people seem to think I’m funny. So I want to try to spin my passion for acting off into things I’m actually good at: I want to write a play, and I want to take a stab at stand-up, or at least ghostwriting jokes for people. I really want to write for the Daily Show. And a million other things, while I’m at it – I just want to entertain the masses!

Wrapping up, because my God this post is long… I guess lolcheryl’s attempt at a moral to this story is find what you’re passionate about and find a way to pursue it. I’m going to work on following this advice myself.