Thursday, 3 February 2022
Peter Andre to play Vince Fontaine in Grease at the Dominion Theatre
Peter Andre will make his West End debut playing the role of Vince Fontaine at certain performances in a new production of Jim Jacobs & Warren Casey’s iconic musical GREASE opening at the Dominion Theatre on Tuesday 17 May 2022, with previews from Tuesday 3 May 2022. GREASE is directed by Nikolai Foster and choreographed by Arlene Phillips.
Dan Partridge (Link Larkin in Hairspray UK tour & Pepper in MAMMA MIA! West End) and Olivia Moore (Waitress at the Adelphi Theatre & Heathers at Theatre Royal Haymarket) will star as Danny and Sandy respectively, with Jocasta Almgill (& Juliet at Shaftesbury Theatre) as Rizzo, Paul French (GreaseUK tour) as Kenickie, Mary Moore (Little Women at Park Theatre) as Jan, Jake Reynolds (professional debut) as Doody, Lizzy-Rose Esin-Kelly (A Chorus Line at Curve) as Marty, Damon Gould (Pretty Woman: The Musical at Savoy Theatre) as Sonny, Eloise Davies (Be More Chill at The Other Palace) as Frenchie, Jessica Croll (Hairspray UK tour) as Patty Simcox, Katie Lee (Matilda The Musical at Cambridge Theatre) as Cha Cha, Ronan Burns (West Side Story at Curve) as Johnny Casino and Corinna Powlesland (An Officer and A Gentleman at Regents Park Open Air Theatre as Miss Lynch. Darren Bennett (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy Theatre) will play Officer Mailie and Vince Fontaine at certain performances.
They are joined by Jack Harrison-Cooper, Pearce Barron, Rishard-Kyro Nelson, Ellie Kingdon, Remi Ferdinand, Kalisha Johnson, Imogen Bailey, Kevin O’Dwyer and Carly Miles. Further casting is to be announced.
Peter Andre said “I'm beyond excited to be making my West End debut playing Vince Fontaine in Grease at the beautiful Dominion Theatre. Grease is such an iconic musical and we can guarantee audiences will have the most wonderful evening listening to songs we all know and love. We can't wait to see you there!"
GREASE originally opened in Chicago in 1971, followed by a move to Broadway in 1972, where it received seven Tony Award nominations, including one for Best Musical. During the show's eight-year run at the time, little known actors including Peter Gallagher, Patrick Swayze and John Travolta all appeared in the production, with Richard Gere understudying many roles before going on to star as Danny Zuko in the 1973 London premiere. GREASE was first performed at the Dominion Theatre in 1993 before transferring to the Cambridge Theatre in 1996. It returned to the West End, opening at the Piccadilly Theatre in 2007.
The 1978 film adaptation starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John is the fourth highest-grossing live action musical of all time. The musical features beloved songs, including Summer Nights, Greased Lightnin’, Hopelessly Devoted To Youand You’re The One That I Want.
GREASE has designs by Colin Richmond, orchestrations and musical supervision by Sarah Travis, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Tom Marshall and Richard Brooker, video and projection design by Douglas O’Connell and casting by David Grindrod CDG.
This production of GREASE is produced by Colin Ingram for InTheatre Productions, Donovan Mannato, Playing Field, Gavin Kalin, and Curve.
Wednesday, 22 July 2020
Grease UK Tour starring Peter Andre to return in 2021
Friday, 14 September 2018
Thriller Live! (4000th Show Gala), Lyric Theatre | Review
Before the show began, the atmosphere was really electric. There were dedicated fans packing the audience, many of whom had been to see the show many times before.
Comedians Russell Kane and John Culshaw started off proceedings with an introduction for the evening and delivered with humour and style.
Bouncing onto the stage came the adorable Xhanti Mbonzongwana as a young Michael. His beautiful voice and sharp dance moves took us back to his early career with songs such as ABC and I Want You Back. Backed by an excellent ensemble it was a great performance and got the audience up and on their feet right from the off.
Making his way back to Thriller Live! to perform as an adult Michael was Kieran Alleyne who has previously performed as little Michael in the early days of Thriller Live! Well observed mannerisms and slick dancing in Michael's staccato style made his performance mesmerising. The ensemble dancers in this production really have their work cut out. For most part the show is very high tempo and the choreography is both complex and gruelling. They make it look effortless and it really did make the crowd go wild with excitement. They are clearly having a great time on the stage and this is reflected in how well it is received by the audience.
My only criticism of the show is that some of the high energy performances are very clearly lip synced to a backing track and with so many great vocal performances it's hard to understand why that is. However, this really was a THRILLING night. The audience loved it, the partnership with The Princes Trust is to be applauded and I am sure the show will continue to entertain in the future.
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