Ghost the Musical London opening and casting news

So all the rumours are true: yesterday Grease announced it is closing at the Piccadilly Theatre on 30th April 2011 and this morning Ghost the Musical has confirmed that it will be opening there on 19th July, with previews starting on 22nd June.

The first bit of casting news is that the fabulous and larger than life Sharon D Clarke will play the fake medium Oda Mae Brown, which Whoopi Goldberg played in the film version.  Her many West End credits include Guys and Dolls, Rent, Fame, The Lion King , Chicago, We Will Rock You and Hairspray.

The show’s director Matthew Warchus is in New York this week, auditioning other lead roles, though the other strong rumour is that Laura Michelle Kelly (Beauty and the Beast, Whistle Down The Wind , Les Misérables, Mamma Mia! , My Fair Lady , Fiddler on the Roof , The Lord of the Rings - The Musical) will be  involved having taken part in two earlier workshops.

Matthew Goodgame taking over from Noel Sullivan in Grease

Matthew Goodgame is currently playing the role of Kenickie in the West End production of Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre and he will take over the role of Danny from Noel Sullivan from 27th September for the remainder of the show's London run (it has just posted its closing notices for 30th April 2011 when it will leave the West End to go on a national tour).

Goodgame made his West End debut in 2004 playing Billy Flynn in Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre, after winning the Channel 4 series Musicality. Since then he has reprised the role of Billy Flynn in Singapore and Las Vegas with the Cellophane Company.

He will star opposite Lauren Samuels (BBC1 Over the Rainbow finalist) who is playing the part of Sandy having joined the cast in July.

Noel Sullivan is leaving the show on 25th September to join the new tour of We Will Rock You playing the part of Galileo.

Also joining the Grease cast from 27th September are Jamie Capewell as Kenickie and Giovanni Spano playing  Doody.

Grease closing at Piccadilly on 30th April 2011 to make way for Ghost?

Grease the musical has just announced it is closing at the Piccadilly Theatre on 30th April  2011  adding fuel to the rumour that Ghost will open there in June after its run at the Manchester Opera House.

Grease was originally booking until September 2011 and will go straight out on tour when it leaves London's West End.

Grease Sing-a-Long Movie opens this week

Grease the Musical is playing at the Piccadilly Theatre in London's West End, but if you want to see the original film again and sing along with Danny (John Travolta), Sandy (Olivia Newton-John), The T-Birds and Pink Ladies at Rydell High then the Grease Sing a Long movie is being released by Paramount Pictures on 17th September.

Find out where it is playing and book tickets at: www.facebook.com/UKGreaseSingALong

Noel Sullivan from Grease to join We Will Rock You tour

Ex Hear’Say band member Noel Sullivan has been playing Danny Zuko in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre in London’s West End since November 2009. Lauren Samuels who was a finalist in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Over the Rainbow joins the cast to play opposite him as Sandy from Friday 26th July.

But Sullivan is now due to leave the show later this year to join the  tour of We Will Rock You you which opens at the Palace Theatre in Manchester on 3rd December and runs until January 2012.  Prior to Grease he appeared in Fame, Flashdance and Love Shack.

Booking Period for Grease Extended into Next Year

The booking period for the  Grease the musical  has been extended from September 2010 for another year until 3rd September 2011.

The show at the Piccadilly Theatre currently stars Noel Sullivan and Siobhan Dillon as high school sweethearts Danny and Sandy, with Dancing On Ice judge Robin Cousins appearing as Teen Angel until 19th June 2010.

Musicals Compete in West End Eurovision Contest

The 55th Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Graham Norton will be held  in Oslo on 29th May.  But before heading off to Norway Graham will join musical theatre star Sally Ann Triplett and Toby Anstis (who recently made his West End debut as Teen Angel in Grease) on the judging panel for the third annual West End Eurovision.

This  will be held on Thursday 20th May at 11.30 pm at the Piccadilly Theatre in aid of TheatreMAD (Theatre: Make a Difference), the charity which supports those living with HIV, AIDS and other long-term conditions.

The casts from eleven West End musicals: Avenue Q, Billy Elliot, Dirty Dancing, Dreamboats & Petticoats, Legally Blonde, Les Miserables, Love Never Dies, The Phantom of the Opera, We Will Rock You, Wicked, a company from Jermyn Street Theatre and last year’s winner Mamma Mia! will compete by putting their stamp on a previous Eurovision song.  Special guests Bardo will perform their 1982 Eurovision entry “One Step Further”.

The winners will be decided by the audience who vote via text message.

The show commences has an estimated running time of two hours. To book tickets telephone 0844 871 7630 or visit www.ambassadortickets.com

Emma Bunton to Star in Grease?

Spice Girl Mel C has won great critical acclaim for her performance in Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre, and it now looks as though Emma Bunton is thinking of treading the boards.  Rumour has it that she is considering playing the role of Sandy in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre.

There is also a whisper that Peter Andre has been approached to play Danny Zuko.

They would make a good pairing I think ….

Robin Cousins is new Teen Angel in Grease

Robin Cousins will be swapping the ice rink for the West End stage when he joins Grease playing Teen Angel on 29th March. Toby Anstis is playing the role until 20th March. 

The former Olympic champion and Dancing on Ice judge will guest star for a limited season until 19th June at the Piccadilly Theatre.

Robin is a gifted choreographer with ice interpretations of The Wizard of Oz, Starlight Express and Disney's Toy Story. Away from the ice, Robin has appeared in Cats, The Rocky Horror Show (in the West End) and Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. He is currently commentating for the BBC on figure skating at the Winter Olympics and will return as head judge to the ice panel of Dancing on Ice this weekend.

Peter Andre to play Danny Zuko in Grease?

Rumour has it that Peter Andre is in discussion to take on the leading role of Danny Zuko (the character made famous on film by John Travolta)  in the long running musical Grease in London’s West End.

Andre is a huge fan of the show and at a recent visit told the cast that he would love to join them . He loves the character of Danny and is confident that he will be able to play him but his diary is pretty full at the moment so it won`t  be until next year.

The show at London's Piccadilly Theatre currently features former Hear'Say singer Noel Sullivan as Danny

Toby Anstis Guest Stars as Teen Angel in Grease

Heart FM radio presenter Toby Anstis describes himself as probably one of the world’s biggest fans of Grease, and to prove this he is due to make his West End debut later this month playing the Teen Angel in the production currently playing at the Piccadilly Theatre.

He is appearing for a limited ten-week season with the rest of the show’s new cast members, including Siobhan Dillon who will be playing Sandy,  from 25th January 2010.

I cannot find any reference to Anstis’ singing prowess (the part in the film was originally played by the original “Teen Angel” Frankie Avalon) and the one number he has to sing does require him to have a singing voice … so I suspect he is having some fairly intense vocal coaching at the moment!

Siobhan Dillon to play Sandy in Grease

Former Maria hopeful Siobhan Dillon who was one of the contestants for the part in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s live television castathon is to take on the lead role of Sandy in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre from 25th January.

She will be playing opposite Noel Sullivan as Danny who was a former Pop Stars contestant and part of the long departed group Hear’say.

After coming third in “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” Maria Dillon made her West End debut in Grease the following year playing the role of Patty Simcox. She now returns to the show after recording two albums and appearing in the UK tours of Can’t Smile Without You as Mandy and Cabaret as Sally Bowles.

Grease celebrates its 1000th performance at London's Piccadilly Theatre tonight and is now booking to 4th September 2010.