Full Casting Announced for GREASE Starring Tom Parker and Danielle Hope

Grease is the word! Full casting is announced for the hit 70s musical, which returns this year to Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Monday 27 November - Saturday 2 December.

Casting for the tour includes Tom Parker (The Wanted) who makes his musical theatre debut playing Danny Zuko, Danielle Hope (Over the Rainbow winner) who plays Sandy and Louisa Lytton (Strictly Come Dancing, EastEnders) who plays Rizzo.

Completing the cast are Tom Senior as Kenickie, Michael Cortez as Sonny, Oliver Jacobson as Roger, Ryan Heenan as Doody, Callum Evans as Eugene, Lauren Atkins as Marty, Rosanna Harris as Jan, Rhiannon Chesterman as Frenchy, Gabriella Williams as Patty and Ailsa Davidson as Lynch. The ensemble includes Charlotte Coggin, Anthony Hughes, Alessia McDermott, Natasha Mould, Anna Murray, George Olney, Rory Phelan and Grant Thresh.

Since opening on Broadway in 1972 and the smash hit movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Netown-John, Grease's place has been firmly established in the cultural Hall of Fame, having seduced the hearts of millions with its back-to-back sizzling tunes. It's the original high-school musical featuring everyone's favourite characters - Sandy, Danny, the groovy T Birds, the sassy Pink Ladies and the whole gang at Rydell High - and all the unforgettable songs from the hit movie including You're The One That I Want, Grease Is The Word, Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted to You, Sandy, Greased Lightnin' and many more.

Voted the "No 1 Greatest Musical"*, Grease has proved that a musical love story, bursting with denim, cheerleaders, slick hairstyles, rock'n'roll, 1950's pop culture and an irresistible mix of teenage angst and young romance is timeless and universal. Grease is the ultimate feel-good, pick-me-up musical - an electrifying extravaganza, packed with fun, energy and vibrant physicality. The show is guaranteed to thrill audiences and leave everyone hand-jiving the night away with "A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop, a wop-bam-boom!"

This award-winning production originally opened in the West End in 1993 where it enjoyed a hugely successful run of 6 years at the Dominion and Cambridge Theatres. The show has since toured throughout the world playing to sell-out audiences and breaking box office records everywhere, having been seen by over 12 million people in the UK alone.

Tom Parker has amassed worldwide success with his band The Wanted, achieving two UK number 1s and 9 top 10 singles as well as 4 Billboard 100 singles, with Glad You Came placing in the top 5 and selling over 900,000 records. The band have had three platinum albums, two sold out arena tours, and 3 million singles sold in America. Tom is also a winner of BBC Radio 1's Teen Choice Award and US People's Choice Award with The Wanted.

Danielle Hope made her professional debut as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium, after capturing the hearts of the country and winning the BBC's smash hit Over The Rainbow having competed against over 9,000 girls. She went on to star as Eponine in the West End production of Les Miserables (Queen's Theatre) - a role to which she most recently returned, Cathy in The Last Five Years (Greenwich Theatre & Warren Theatre, Brighton), Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (National Tour) and Maria Rainer in The Sound of Music (National Tour).

Louisa Lytton trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School and secured her first professional role as the innocent schoolgirl Ruby Allen in EastEnders. Following this Louisa joined The Bill, playing the inexperienced and shy police officer Beth Green. She has since enjoyed a host of varied roles, from parts in the internationally successful American Pie franchise, to the British Shakespeare Company's productions of both A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing. Most recently she has appeared in the new prime-time ITV comedy drama The Edge of Heaven, filmed a thriller due to be released in Oct 2017 called Fractured, appeared in the Canadian period drama Murdoch Mysteries and starred in the touring production of Swap!. Aside from acting, Louisa reached the quarter-finals in the fourth series of Strictly Come Dancing, and subsequently toured the country as part of the sold-out Strictly Come Dancing arena tour. She also represented the UK in the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest. Louisa recently took park in Channel 4's The Jump.

Written by Jim Jacobs and WarRen Casey, directed by David Gilmore (Daisy Pulls It Off, Happy Days, Song & Dance, Footloose) and choreographed by Arlene Phillips (Starlight Express, Saturday Night Fever, Flashdance The Musical & BBC's Strictly Come Dancing), designed by Terry Parsons, with costumes by Andreane Neofitou. Grease is presented by Paul Nicholas and David Ian.

Tickets for GREASE are now on sale via the theatre's Box Office, by calling 01902 42 92 12 or online at grandtheatre.co.uk.

For more information, visit www.greasethemusical.co.uk

* (100 Greatest Musicals, Channel 4)

To post a comment, you must register and login.