GREASE, Starring Tom Parker and Danielle Hope, Comes to the Marlowe This Autumn

The Wanted's Tom Parker makes his theatre debut as Danny Zuko in Grease, at The Marlowe Theatre next month (October).

Joining the boy band singer in Canterbury will be Over The Rainbow winner Danielle Hope as Sandy, and Louisa Lytton (Strictly Come Dancing, EastEnders), who plays Rizzo.

Grease, the original high-school musical, opened on Broadway in 1972 and was made into a film, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, in 1978. Voted the Number One Greatest Musical (100 Greatest Musicals, Channel 4), the stage show features all the songs from the film, including You're The One That I Want, Grease Is The Word, Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted To You, Sandy, and Greased Lightnin'.

This award-winning production originally opened in the West End in 1993 where it enjoyed a hugely successful run of six 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 more than 12 million people in the UK alone.

Tom Parker has amassed worldwide success with his band The Wanted, achieving two UK number ones and nine top 10 singles, as well as four Billboard 100 singles, with Glad You Came placing in the top five and selling more than 900,000 records. The band have had three platinum albums, two sold out arena tours, and three 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 Over The Rainbow having competed against more than 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 and 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, had roles in the internationally-successful American Pie franchise, and the British Shakespeare Company's productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing. Most recently she has appeared in the prime-time ITV comedy drama The Edge Of Heaven, filmed the thriller Fractured (due out next month), appeared in the Canadian period drama Murdoch Mysteries, and starred in the touring production of Swap!. She has reached the quarter-finals in the fourth series of Strictly Come Dancing, and toured the country as part of the show's sold-out arena tour. She also represented the UK in the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest. Louisa recently took park in Channel 4's The Jump.

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.

Grease is at The Marlowe Theatre from Monday 23 to Saturday 28 October, with various performance times. Limited tickets, priced from £21.75 to £46.75 (concessions available), are from the Box Office on 01227 787787, and marlowetheatre.com.

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