Cool Rider musical to have anniversary concert at The London Palladium – with initial casting announced

Exclusive: TuckShop, in collaboration with Christopher D Clegg and James DP Drury, will return Cool Rider to the stage, commemorating the cult musical’s tenth anniversary.

Taking place at The London Palladium on Sunday 14 April at 7 pm, the reunion concert will feature Aaron Sidwell (The Lord of the Rings, Wicked) and Ashleigh Gray (Wicked, Only Fools and Horses The Musical) reprising their roles as Michael Carrington and Stephanie Zinone, respectively.

This cult musical sequel, an unofficial parody of Grease 2, initially played to sold-out audiences with spells at the Duchess Theatre and the Lyric Theatre. Fans of the show also funded an original studio cast recording through a Kickstarter campaign.

Joining Sidwell and Gray will be RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star Kitty Scott-Claus (Death Drop) portraying The French One, while Grease 2 star Maxwell Caulfield (Chicago, Guys and Dolls), the original Michael Carrington, will also appear.

Billed as a loving tribute to, and unofficial parody of, what is considered by many as the greasiest sequel ever made, Cool Rider features numbers such as “Back to School,” “Score Tonight,” “Cool Rider,” “Who’s That Guy?” and many more.

The creative team inludes Clegg as the director, Lee Freeman handling musical direction and orchestrations, Matt Krzan leading the choreography, and Guy Unsworth, the original director. Lighting design is by Toby Darvill, with sound design by Will Thompson. Cool Rider was originally conceived and co-produced by Clegg and Drury.

Tickets for the reunion concert start from £35.