Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Due to overwhelming demand, Grease - The Musical today announced Janel Parrish (ABC Freeform’s Pretty Little Liars) will return to her leading role as Sandy. Hollywood newcomer Matthew Helfer [Mamma Mia! (Sky), Newsies (Weizel), CW Seed’s How To Be A Vampire, CBS’ Criminal Minds is set to star as Danny.
Grease the Musical returns to Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre on May 24th. The production was built in Toronto and ran for 10 weeks in 2017 before closing for upgrades to the historic Winter Garden Theatre. “We are thrilled to reopen Grease in this magical theatre; and to have Janel Parrish back to lead a fantastic cast is extraordinary,” said John Kelly, Producer, Irregular Entertainment and Grease - The Musical.
Toronto audiences fell in love with Janel Parrish when she created the role of Sandy in this new production of Grease last fall. Although Janel is best known for playing "Mona" on the hit show Pretty Little Liars, her career actually began on stage at age six as "Little Cossette" in Les Misérables in the national tour and on Broadway. After growing up in Hawaii, she starred in many musical productions before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a film and TV career. In between filming Pretty Little Liars seasons, Janel played L.A. stages as both "Anna" and "Wendla" in Spring Awakening, "Juliet" in For The Record: Baz, and both "Kathryn" and "Cecile" in Cruel Intentions - The Musical (in Los Angeles and Off-Broadway). Now, Janel can be seen in the Pretty Little Liars spin off, Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists coming next year.
Matthew Helfer joins the cast as Danny Zuko. “Matt Helfer is one of the most talented actors I’ve come across in a long time, truly a triple threat. Rarely do you find a leading man who can act and sing equally well. [He] is truly impressive,” notes Robert Ulrich, the casting director of Grease who cast hits such as GLEE, Supernatural, and Battlestar Galactica. After growing up in Boston, Matthew graduated from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, with degrees in theatre and English. Comfortable on both stage and screen, his recent credits include Mamma Mia! (Sky), Newsies (Weizel), CBS’ Criminal Minds, CW Seed’s How To Be A Vampire and Shrek - The Musical (Little Pig).
Ottawa native Alicia Barban takes on the role of Rizzo, the leader of the Pink Ladies. Alicia is a recent graduate of the prestigious Royal Conservatoire Scotland and returns to Canada after performing in Urinetown in Edinburgh, and Goosebumps: Alive in London.
Rounding out the two starring couples is Seth Johnson as Kenickie. This New Brunswick native is a graduate of Sheridan College’s Musical Theatre Performance program. Seth has played theatres across Canada including the Charlottetown Festival and the Victoria Playhouse Petrolia.
The producers are thrilled to announce supporting cast members Michelle Bouey (Frenchy), Emma Rudy (Marty) and Aisha Jarvis (Jan) as The Pink Ladies, and Matthew Fletcher (Doody), Benjamin Camenzuli (Roger) and Caleb Di Pomponio (Sonny) as The T-Birds.
Featured cast members include Michael De Rose (Teen Angel, Vince Fontaine), Garett Hill (Eugene), Sarah Vance (Patty, Dance Captain), Darcy Stewart (Cha Cha), Stephanie Pitsiladis (Miss Lynch) and Sarah Daniels (Sandy’s alternate) with support from ensemble and swing cast members Nick Sheculski, Kory Fulton, Grant Landry, Kirstyn Russelle, Camille Eanga-Selenge, Luc Trottier, Will Lincoln-Gouett, Michele Shuster (Assistant Dance Captain) and Emma Sangalli.
Toronto’s Grease the Musical is produced by David Galpern, John Kelly and Charles Roy of Irregular Entertainment, with executive producer Matthew Weaver. More information about Irregular Entertainment and the producers can be found here.
Director Josh Prince (Broadway: Beautiful, The Carole King Musical; Shrek, The Musical) brought a fresh approach to Grease - The Musical at Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre in 2017: "I took the show back to its roots and set it firmly in the blue-collar Chicago of the late 1950s. For me, a big part of the fun of Grease is being able to see how far we’ve come since 1959 and yet still show how the themes of first love, friendship, and a search of identity are universal across generations. I feel honored to have the opportunity to re-invent this beloved classic for our savvy, modern audiences.” Honoring the vision of original Grease the Musical playwrights Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, this exhilarating production of Grease also incorporates the most beloved songs from the 1978 film in breathtaking new arrangements from doo-wop legend Phil Burton of Human Nature.
For more information about Grease the Musical, please visit www.greaseonstage.com.
Lead cast bios and headshots for the cast can be found here.
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Ticket prices range from $29-$159 and can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.ca, www.greaseonstage.com/tickets, by phone at 1-855- 985-5000, or at The Elgin Winter Garden Theatre Centre Box Office, 189 Yonge Street during regular business hours. Performances of Grease run Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and matinees are on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at The Elgin Winter Garden Theatre Centre.
About Grease: The Musical
Book, Music and Lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Directed and choreographed by Josh Prince, Musical Arrangements by Phil Burton, Musical Direction by Elizabeth Baird, Set Design by Paul Tate dePoo III, Costume Design by Cory Sincennes, Lighting Design by Michael Walton, Projection Design by Matthew Haber, Sound Design by Peter McBoyle, and Wigs, Hair and Makeup Design by Gerald Altenburg. Grease is produced by Irregular Entertainment - David Galpern, John Kelly and Charles Roy, and executive producer Matt Weaver (lead producer of Rock of Ages on Broadway and Executive Producer of Chef’s Table on Netflix), and presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.
2018-04-30
Toronto: "Grease - The Musical" returns to the Winter Garden Theatre May 24-June 17