West End Grease Revival Dedicates Run to Olivia Newton-John

The current London revival of Grease dedicated its August 8 and all upcoming performances to Grease film star Olivia Newton-John, who died yesterday at age 73.

The production shared the dedication on Twitter.

Olivia Newton-John is an icon who has inspired countless young performers across the world, not least our company of Grease in the West End. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/DaViln4bot
— Grease West End (@GREASEWestEnd) August 8, 2022

Our thoughts are with Olivia’s family and loved ones at this difficult time.

We’d like to dedicate this evening’s performance and the rest of our run to Olivia’s memory and everything she represented. 3/3
— Grease West End (@GREASEWestEnd) August 8, 2022

Newton-John iconically starred as Sandy in the 1978 film adaptation of Grease, with her song "Hopelessly Devoted to You" becoming one of her standards. The song, written expressly for the film version of the '50s musical, has subsequently been added to a number of stage revivals of the work, including the current West End revival.

The new West End production of Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey’s international hit musical officially opened May 17 following previews that began May 3 at London's Dominion Theatre. Read reviews for the revival here.

The cast is headed by Olivia Moore as Sandy, Dan Partridge as Danny, Peter Andre as Vince Fontaine at certain performances, Jason Donovan as Teen Angel at certain performances, Jocasta Almgill as Rizzo, Paul French as Kenickie, Mary Moore as Jan, Jake Reynolds as Doody, Lizzy-Rose Esin-Kelly as Marty, Damon Gould as Sonny, Eloise Davies as Frenchie, Jessica Croll as Patty Simcox, Katie Lee as Cha Cha, Ronan Burns as Johnny Casino, and Corinna Powlesland as Miss Lynch. Darren Bennett plays Officer Mailie and Vince Fontaine at certain performances.

Rounding out the company are Jack Harrison-Cooper, Pearce Barron, Ben Culleton, Rishard-Kyro Nelson, Ellie Kingdon, Kamilla Fernandes, Remi Ferdinand, Kalisha Johnson, Zack Guest, Imogen Bailey, Kevin O’Dwyer, and Carly Miles.

The new production of the '50s musical features designs by Colin Richmond, orchestrations and musical supervision by Tony winner Sarah Travis (Sweeney Todd), lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Tom Marshall and Richard Brooker, and video and projection design by Douglas O'Connell.

The production is cast by David Grindrod and produced by Colin Ingram for InTheatre Productions, Donovan Mannato, Playing Field, Gavin Kalin, and Curve.