Grease, almost done

After such a great theatre week, it was time for the final cap, my weekly dose of Grease. . . Last week they had mentioned it was going to be back to duets this week, but that idea seemed to have gone out the window without any mention why. First we got the results of last week's voting on the guy's performances, and first, not shocking at all, Chad was in the bottom two. Far more surprising was that Austin joined him and had the lowest number of votes. Apparently Austin fell victim to the Tamyra Gray syndrome in which the front runner, after a strong run of great performances, starts to get tired and gives just an ok performance. It's certainly not the worst of the night, but in comparison to her great performances in previous weeks it's a huge disappointment and her fans desert her, leaving Nikki McKibbin/Derek safe. What is it with Derek? He's becoming the male equivalent of Ashley, giving the worst performances for the past few weeks yet remaining safe in the voting. If the show ends up with Derek and Ashley I'm going to have a hard time coming back next season, even if they decide to cast a revival of Carrie (and how cool would it be to have a bucket of blood dumped on the ones getting sent home each week?). The guest judge was Rob Marshall, very fitting, but unlike Andrew Lloyd Webber's week, they still didn't sing any showtunes. At this point in the competition do I still have to perseverate on this??? At least Rob told almost all the performers that if they're not going to do showtunes, they should do their selections in a showtune style. Good advice.
Allie was up first and did Aretha Franklin's Natural Woman. It was an ok performance. She didn't show the intensity she has the past few weeks, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as her first performance. She's grown a lot, but I'm starting to think she may not be the one for this show. I don't think she'll be able to consistently be good enough 8 performances a week. In fact, almost 5 days later what I remember the most is her tripping going down the stairs, not her vocal performance.
Derek was up next and finally redeemed himself. He did Devil in Disguise by Elvis (for some reason all the guys had to do Elvis songs, which is marginally showtune related, All Shook Up was composed entirely of his songs), and for the first time in several weeks he hit all the notes, but as good as the performance was he still has the same consistency issues as Allie. His daytime soap looks aren't going to earn him a pass from theatregoers paying $111.25 a ticket no matter what his obviously dedicated fan base delusionally thinks. His performance was good enough though to practically guarantee him a place in the finals, especially if the voting pattern for the guys holds.
Laura did Please Don't Leave Me This Way and gave the best female performance of the night. Despite her poor rendition of Superstar I'm starting to think she's the best choice for Sandy. After that performance she's been the most dynamic and most consistent of the women. The girls' voting is more up for grabs week to week than the guys so we'll have to see how this plays out, but I have a feeling she'll make it to the finals.
Max was up next with Suspicious Minds and gave the best performance of the night. All his annoying affectations are gone and he is a true performer. He didn't fall victim to the frontrunner curse like Derek did. He has a solid fan base and I have a feeling he'll be going head to head with Derek in the finals. I'm so proud of him and of the judges for allowing him to have this chance to prove himself.
Then, in honor of guest judge Rob Marshall, we got a group performance of All That Jazz, and I am mystified why they chose that song. I know it's the best known song from Chicago, but it's a solo, and the tag team style just didn't work. They had the right number of people for Cell Block Tango, that would have been a far superior choice. The tempo was too slow, and it was a sluggish performance, plus giving Ashley the pole position slot with the dramatic entrance was a slap in the face to Bebe Neuwirth, Jasmine Guy, Karen Ziemba, Katherine Zeta-Jones, and every other actress that played this role. When Chicago first opened, I wasn't that thrilled with the idea. Then, I saw the touring company, headed by Jasmine Guy, perform this number on Today and I was hooked. I bought my ticket as soon as they came to town and have been back 5 times since, more than any other show. If this performance had been my introduction to the show, I never would have gone the first time.
Then we got the singoff. No surprise, Chad was sent home even though Austin had fewer votes. However, if this pattern holds, Austin will be sent home next week leaving Derrick and Max to duke it out (and please, can't we add some nude Greek-style wrestling to the competition?). However, we finally found out that we are officially out of the semi-finals and next week, only the votes will count, and whoever gets the lowest amount of votes will be sent home without any interference, just like the 2006 elections, the people's voice will finally be heard after several rigged rounds.
Ashley then did her number, You Keep Me Hanging On, and honey, I was so ready to let go. I've had such a Diana Ross weekend, and this ruined it. If you're going to pick a diva's song to perform, pick a diva that you can at least match in attitude and talent. Diana is way out of Ashley's grasp and it showed. She always has this deer in the headlight look when she performs and I keep expecting her to run off the stage halfway through, although there may be some wishful thinking in there as well. It was the worst performance of the night, but I have a feeling we'll see her in the finals.
Last up was saved Austin doing Can't Help Falling In Love. The key was way too low for him and it didn't sound natural. He was trying to be romantic with it, but it came across as stilted and silly. I think we've unfortunately seen the last of him.
That wrapped it up. We got a quick recap, but no clue as to next week's guest judge. It's Thursday afternoon and my phone still hasn't rung, let's get on this people. I'm predicting that Austin and Allie are going to be eliminated next week, the pattern is clear among the guys, and Allie's been in the bottom before while Ashley and Laura have not, making her the most vulnerable. One question remains though. This weekend is the finals, but how are we going to find out the results? They really can't do it at the end of the show, but they don't need an hour long show next weekend to reveal the winners. Granted, Idol manages to fill anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to give us the results, but that's not really a model anyone should be wanting to copy. Again, we'll have to see how this plays out. I'm hopeful we'll end up with Max and Laura as the eventual winners, but I have a bad feeling it could be Derek and Ashley. Stay tuned, there could be a big hissy fit coming up.