NBC’s Grease: You’re the One That I Want

The Auditions: New York, New York

There were plenty of sour apples in the Big Apple this evening. Even though they gave everyone a chance to sing in front of the judges (even the man who seemed to be in his 60’s with gray hair and a missing tooth, who asked David Ian if he’d like to hear a monologue) they were brutal in their commentary. They reduced many auditionees to tears (even a few that they ended up putting through to the dance round of auditions), but considering how many off-key versions of “Hopelessly Devoted” they’ve had to listen to, who can blame them?

Boyfriend and girlfriend Matt and Sarah auditioned together this evening and while Sarah was clearly the stronger singer, they both made it through to the dance round. Surprisingly, only Matt was put through to Grease Academy and even though they had vowed to support each other regardless of the results, when Sarah heard the news, she ended their relationship and stormed off into the subway.

42 year old mother of 4, Joanne Rhizzo, auditioned to prove to her children that it was ok to follow their dreams, but her age and Brooklyn accent hindered her from being put through to day two.

Matt Nolan, an untrained native NYer scraped by the singing portion of the audition even though he had some trouble hitting the high notes. The judges felt that the time spent at Grease Academy could refine his natural talent.

After rejecting hundreds of potential Danny’s, Austin Miller, a Texan who is currently performing in a traveling production of Hairspray, wowed judges with his vocal ability and emotional performance. Austin was hailed as the best of the men during the dance portion of the auditions and, not surprisingly, made it to Grease Academy.

By the end of the two days in New York, the judges had finished choosing the final few of the 50 best possible Sandy’s and Danny’s to train at Grease Academy. Out of those 50, only 6 guys and 6 girls will be put through to the live shows where viewers will get to vote on the next Sandy Dumbrowski and Danny Zuko.