Musical Cast: Sullivan in Grease, Clique, Chicago Date: 20 October 2009
Noel Sullivan, who rose to fame as a member of Hear'say, the pop band compiled on TV talent show Popstars, will make his West End debut when he takes over as Danny in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre next month.
Sullivan, who described winning the role as “a dream come true”, will takeover from 30 November 2009, and is initially scheduled to continue until July next year. He recently appeared in the UK tour of Flashdance, while other stage credits include Fame (Edinburgh Playhouse), Love Shack and What A Feeling (UK tours).
Prior to that he achieved chart-topping success with Hear'say, who had four top ten hits before their split in 2002; fellow band member Suzanne Shaw has also subsequently carved a career in musical theatre.
The current production of Grease opened at the Piccadilly on 8 August 2007 (previews from 25 July), starring Grease is the Word winners Danny Bayne and Susan McFadden (See News, 11 Jun 2009). Current Danny Ray Quinn, who finishes his recently extended stint on the 28 November, stars opposite Emma Stephens, who continues in the role of Sandy (See News, 28 Jul 2009).
Olivier Award-winning burlesque show La Clique has announced the line-up for its forthcoming run at the Roundhouse in Camden, which opens on 25 November 2009 (previews from 19 November) for a limited nine-week Christmas season to 17 January 2010 (See News, 15 May 2009).
The show was forced to abandon its former London home the Hippodrome in June, when the venue was closed to be converted into a new £15 million casino complex (See News, 14 Apr 2009).
The Roundhouse line-up features a mix of new and returning faces: comic magician Carl-Einar Häckner; opera-singing diva Le Gateau Chocolat; cabaret artist and clown Marawa Ibrahim; Freddie Mercury impersonator Mario - Queen of the Circus; “gargantuan” cabaret diva Meow Meow; striptease artist Ursula Martinez; and burlesque duo The Wau Wau Sisters.
In other musical casting news:
Marti Pellow will return to the role of super-slick lawyer Billy Flynn in Chicago as part of the show's forthcoming national tour. Pellow played the role in the West End in 2002 and 2004, subsequently playing it on Broadway and an international tour (See News, 16 Apr 2004). His confirmed dates are: Wales Millennium Centre (18–23 January), Milton Keynes Theatre (25–30 January), Preston Charter Theatre (1–6 February), Theatre Royal Newcastle (8–12 February), Mayflower Southampton (16–26 February).
Full casting has been announced for the Menier Chocolate Factory's forthcoming revival of Broadway musical classic Sweet Charity, which, as previously reported, will star Tamzin Outhwaite as Charity Hope Valentine, alongside Josefina Gabrielle, Mark Umbers, Tiffany Graves, Paul J Medford and Ebony Molina (See News, 15 Sep 2009. The newly announced cast members are: Rachael Archer, Jack Edwards, Richard Jones, Gemma Maclean, Zak Nemorin, Richard Roe, Annalisa Rossi, Carl Sanderson, Jez Unwin and Jayde Westaby. Sweet Charity runs from 2 December 2009 (previews from 21 November) to 7 March 2010.
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