The summer-loving Sandy Dumbrowski and Danny Zuko return to the stage this spring when Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey’s classic musical Grease is revived at London's Dominion Theatre with new staging and choreography.
Directed by Nikolai Foster (artistic director of the Curve) and choreographed by Arlene Phillips (Starlight Express, We Will Rock You), the production will begin previews in the West End May 3 prior to an official opening May 17.
Dan Partridge (Mamma Mia!) and Olivia Moore (Waitress) will star as Danny and Sandy, respectively, with Jocasta Almgill (& Juliet) as Rizzo, Paul French (Grease) as Kenickie, Mary Moore (Little Women) as Jan, Jake Reynolds as Doody, Lizzy-Rose Esin-Kelly (A Chorus Line) as Marty, Damon Gould (Pretty Woman: The Musical) as Sonny, Eloise Davies (Be More Chill) as Frenchie, Jessica Croll (Hairspray) as Patty Simcox, Katie Lee (Matilda The Musical) as Cha Cha, Ronan Burns (West Side Story) as Johnny Casino, and Corinna Powlesland (An Officer and A Gentleman) as Miss Lynch.
Singer Peter Andre will make his West End debut as Vince Fontaine at certain performances, while Darren Bennett (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) will play Fontaine at the other performances. Bennett will also play Officer Mailie.
The ensemble includes Jack Harrison-Cooper, Pearce Barron, Rishard-Kyro Nelson, Ellie Kingdon, Remi Ferdinand, Kalisha Johnson, Imogen Bailey, Kevin O’Dwyer, and Carly Miles. Further casting will be announced.
Lead producer Colin Ingram previously said the production will be "grittier" than usual, adding, “All the familiar songs from the film are included, plus some of the songs and script from the very first production which will be new to audiences.”
The revival will feature sets and costume design by Colin Richmond, orchestrations and musical supervision by Sarah Travis, lighting by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Tom Marshall and Richard Brooker, video and projection design by Douglas O’Connell, and casting by David Grindrod.
With a book and score by Jacobs and Casey, Grease features such tunes as "We Go Together," "Summer Nights," "Greased Lightning," "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee," "Beauty School Dropout," and "There Are Worse Things I Could Do." Grease originally opened in Chicago in 1971, followed by a move to Broadway in 1972, where it received seven Tony nominations including one for Best Musical. The 1978 film adaptation, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, is the fourth highest-grossing musical film of all time.
The most recent Broadway revival of Grease—starring former TV reality winners Max Crumm and Laura Osnes—opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in August 2007. A 2016 live broadcast on Fox featured Julianne Hough and Aaron Tveit.
The upcoming revival is produced by Ingram for InTheatre Productions, Donovan Mannato, Playing Field, Gavin Kalin, and Curve.
