Recording artist and TV and stage star Jason Donovan will play the "Beauty School Dropout"-singing Teen Angel at select performances of the upcoming West End revival of Grease beginning June 29. The production, directed by Nikolai Foster and choreographed by Arlene Phillips (Starlight Express, Saturday Night Fever), begins performances May 3 ahead of a May 17 opening night.
Donovan is best known to theatre fans for his West End run in the title role of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the early '90s, and has also starred in productions of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The Sound of Music, The King's Speech, Chicago, and more. The Australian actor is concurrently returning to his Joseph roots, playing Pharaoh at select performances of a new U.K. tour of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical.
"As a lifelong fan of the show, I'm thrilled to be joining the cast of Grease in the role of Teen Angel at the Dominion Theatre for six weeks this year," says Donovan. "While I may have missed the boat on playing Danny, the Teen Angel seemed like the perfect fit. I especially look forward to those few performances I get to perform with Peter Andre as Vince Fontaine. Who would have thought two Aussies would take to the West End in such a well-loved musical, singing the most iconic songs? Roll on June."
Donovan will join a cast that includes Dan Partridge as Danny, Olivia Moore (Waitress, Heathers) as Sandy, Jocasta Almgill (& Juliet) as Rizzo, Paul French as Kenickie, Noah Harrison as Roger, Mary Moore as Jan, Jake Reynolds as Doody, Lizzy-Rose Esin-Kelly as Marty, Damon Gould (Pretty Woman) as Sonny, Eloise Davies (Be More Chill) as Frenchie, Darnell Matthew James as Eugene, Jessica Croll as Patty Simcox, Katie Lee as Cha Cha, Ronan Burns as Johnny Casino, and Corinna Powlesland as Miss Lynch. Darren Bennett (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) will appear as Officer Mailie and Vince Fontaine at certain performances.
Rounding out the cast are Jack Harrison-Cooper, Pearce Barron, Ben Culleton, Rishard-Kyro Nelson, Ellie Kingdon, Kamilla Fernandes, Remi Ferdinand, Kalisha Johnson, Zack Guest, Imogen Bailey, Kevin O’Dwyer, and Carly Miles.
The new production of the Jim Jacobs-Warren Casey '50s musical will feature designs by Colin Richmond, orchestrations and musical supervision by Tony winner Sarah Travis (Sweeney Todd), lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Tom Marshall and Richard Brooker, and video and projection design by Douglas O'Connell. The production is cast by David Grindrod and produced by Colin Ingram for InTheatre Productions, Donovan Mannato, Playing Field, Gavin Kalin, and Curve.
Check out photos of the cast below!
Dan Partridge and Olivia Moore in Grease
Dan Partridge in Grease
Olivia Moore in Grease
Paul French, Jake Reynolds, and Damon Gould in Grease
Paul French, Dan Partridge, Olivia Moore, Jake Reynolds, and Damon Gould in Grease
Dan Partridge in Grease
Dan Partridge and Olivia Moore in Grease
