Since opening on Broadway in 1972 and the smash-hit movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Netown-John, Grease’s place has been firmly established in the cultural Hall of Fame, having seduced the hearts of millions with its back-to-back sizzling tunes. It’s the original high-school musical featuring everyone’s favourite characters - Sandy, Danny, the groovy T Birds, the sassy Pink Ladies and the whole gang at Rydell High - and all the unforgettable songs from the hit movie including You’re The One That I Want, Grease Is The Word, Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted to You, Sandy, Greased Lightnin’ and many more.
Lauren Foster spoke with Danielle Hope, who plays Sandy, ahead of the show coming to The Midlands.
You’re currently starring in Grease The Musical. What’s the best thing about playing Sandy?
I guess it’s so iconic and such a wonderful show, and you know all the words already from watching the movie growing up. Sandy is great fun because it’s not often a character has so many different dimensions. She makes a huge transformation at the end - it’s almost like playing two characters in one show, which is really fun! We have an awesome cast too - Tom Parker as Danny and Louisa Lytton as Rizzo. It’s a lot of fun and I’m really enjoying it!
Grease is such an iconic show. How old were you when you first saw it?
Oh my goodness, it was probably one of the first musical films that I saw. I’d say perhaps nine or 10. We did it at my primary school. Well, I say we did it - me and my friend wrote our own version of the script, after watching the film so many times, and begged our teachers to put it on! So we did that in year six, which was fun. It’s really cool for me to do it now, properly and on tour. It’s loads of fun!
What’s it like working alongside Jimmy Osmond?
I haven’t actually met him yet, but I can’t wait. He joins us in a few weeks.
You won BBC One’s Over The Rainbow back in 2010. What was it like to have achieved such incredible success at the age of 18?
So wonderful - and it’s given me so many opportunities since, so many things that I wouldn’t necessarily have had the opportunity to do otherwise. I recently returned to the Palladium for the first time in six years to sing some of Over The Rainbow with the 73-piece BBC Concert Orchestra, which was incredible. Over The Rainbow is so special to me - I can’t believe it was seven years ago now! Since then, I’ve been so fortunate. I’ve done a couple of the West End shows, The Sound Of Music and Joseph, on tour, and Les Miserables. I’ve been a very happy busy bee.
What was Andrew Lloyd Webber like to work for?
Really, really generous with his time, knowledge, advice and support. I saw him last week - I had a nice catch-up with him and Tim Rice. He’s a very special part of my life and someone who I’ll always look to for advice. Similar to Michael Crawford - they’re two amazing, renowned, wonderful teachers and leaders to look up to. It’s been great to know Andrew. His new show, School Of Rock, is so, so good and so much fun. If you haven’t seen it, you have to go. I saw it in New York but it’s in London now.
What’s the most valuable piece of professional advice you’ve been given?
Be kind and be prepared. Whether that’s advice or whether that’s something I’ve figured out for myself, I’m not sure. There are so many aspects and elements of the business that you have to learn.
What’s your earliest theatrical memory?
The first thing I saw was Cats in Manchester. I’m sure John Partridge was in it, and he was a judge on Over The Rainbow, so that was quite funny. My earliest theatrical performance was Annie Get Your Gun, when I was 10. I was also obsessed with the movie version of Mary Poppins. It’s so beautifully made, and the singing and acting and Julie Andrews are just perfection. She’s my biggest role model in absolutely everything.
Do you have criteria you follow when auditioning and accepting roles?
It changes constantly depending on where you are in your life. Touring is a huge sacrifice because you’re never at home, and you’re with a group of people who you haven’t even met at the time when you accept the job. That can feel quite scary. Luckily I have a lovely team around me, so I’m a very lucky girl. I’ve been so blessed. I’ve done so many shows which have the word ‘iconic’ attached to them, so I think it would be really cool to do something brand new. I do love all the old musicals, though.
Have you ever turned down a role and later regretted it?
I’ve had to say no to things because of being under contract to something else, which is always very difficult, but I can’t say that I actually regret anything. At the time, you make the best decision with the knowledge you have, so I try not to think like that because so many amazing artistic projects come and go that you’d drive yourself a bit mad. You just have to think to yourself, ‘I’m doing this, and there must be a reason why I’m on this project and not on that one’.
Would you consider any roles on TV or in film?
Yeah, I would absolutely love to. I’m obsessed with period dramas, anything set in the 1940s or ’50s. I loved working with cameras on Over The Rainbow - I feel so comfortable in that environment. I don’t know if you’ve seen La La Land, but that’s basically how I live my life, so I would love to do a movie like that.
What’s been the highlight of your career to date?
I’m a huge lover of New York, and I’ve always dreamed of living there, working there and making that dream a reality. I got to do a solo performance there, just off Broadway, and did a live album recording of it. To be able to do that at the age of only 24 was just mindblowing. I never thought I’d get the opportunity even to go to London and do anything on stage, so to do a solo show and album in New York City was insane. It’s on iTunes and everything!
Looking to the future, what would be your ideal role?
At some point in my life, I have to play Mary Poppins in one form or another. And I want to be the voice of a Disney princess in an animation. Those are the two things I have to do before I’m done.
Grease The Musical shows at Regent Theatre from 22-27 May, Birmingham Hippodrome 29 May-3 June and Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from 27 Nov-2 Dec.
Since opening on Broadway in 1972 and the smash-hit movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Netown-John, Grease’s place has been firmly established in the cultural Hall of Fame, having seduced the hearts of millions with its back-to-back sizzling tunes. It’s the original high-school musical featuring everyone’s favourite characters - Sandy, Danny, the groovy T Birds, the sassy Pink Ladies and the whole gang at Rydell High - and all the unforgettable songs from the hit movie including You’re The One That I Want, Grease Is The Word, Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted to You, Sandy, Greased Lightnin’ and many more.
Lauren Foster spoke with Danielle Hope, who plays Sandy, ahead of the show coming to The Midlands.
You’re currently starring in Grease The Musical. What’s the best thing about playing Sandy?
I guess it’s so iconic and such a wonderful show, and you know all the words already from watching the movie growing up. Sandy is great fun because it’s not often a character has so many different dimensions. She makes a huge transformation at the end - it’s almost like playing two characters in one show, which is really fun! We have an awesome cast too - Tom Parker as Danny and Louisa Lytton as Rizzo. It’s a lot of fun and I’m really enjoying it!
Grease is such an iconic show. How old were you when you first saw it?
Oh my goodness, it was probably one of the first musical films that I saw. I’d say perhaps nine or 10. We did it at my primary school. Well, I say we did it - me and my friend wrote our own version of the script, after watching the film so many times, and begged our teachers to put it on! So we did that in year six, which was fun. It’s really cool for me to do it now, properly and on tour. It’s loads of fun!
What’s it like working alongside Jimmy Osmond?
I haven’t actually met him yet, but I can’t wait. He joins us in a few weeks.
You won BBC One’s Over The Rainbow back in 2010. What was it like to have achieved such incredible success at the age of 18?
So wonderful - and it’s given me so many opportunities since, so many things that I wouldn’t necessarily have had the opportunity to do otherwise. I recently returned to the Palladium for the first time in six years to sing some of Over The Rainbow with the 73-piece BBC Concert Orchestra, which was incredible. Over The Rainbow is so special to me - I can’t believe it was seven years ago now! Since then, I’ve been so fortunate. I’ve done a couple of the West End shows, The Sound Of Music and Joseph, on tour, and Les Miserables. I’ve been a very happy busy bee.
What was Andrew Lloyd Webber like to work for?
Really, really generous with his time, knowledge, advice and support. I saw him last week - I had a nice catch-up with him and Tim Rice. He’s a very special part of my life and someone who I’ll always look to for advice. Similar to Michael Crawford - they’re two amazing, renowned, wonderful teachers and leaders to look up to. It’s been great to know Andrew. His new show, School Of Rock, is so, so good and so much fun. If you haven’t seen it, you have to go. I saw it in New York but it’s in London now.
What’s the most valuable piece of professional advice you’ve been given?
Be kind and be prepared. Whether that’s advice or whether that’s something I’ve figured out for myself, I’m not sure. There are so many aspects and elements of the business that you have to learn.
What’s your earliest theatrical memory?
The first thing I saw was Cats in Manchester. I’m sure John Partridge was in it, and he was a judge on Over The Rainbow, so that was quite funny. My earliest theatrical performance was Annie Get Your Gun, when I was 10. I was also obsessed with the movie version of Mary Poppins. It’s so beautifully made, and the singing and acting and Julie Andrews are just perfection. She’s my biggest role model in absolutely everything.
Do you have criteria you follow when auditioning and accepting roles?
It changes constantly depending on where you are in your life. Touring is a huge sacrifice because you’re never at home, and you’re with a group of people who you haven’t even met at the time when you accept the job. That can feel quite scary. Luckily I have a lovely team around me, so I’m a very lucky girl. I’ve been so blessed. I’ve done so many shows which have the word ‘iconic’ attached to them, so I think it would be really cool to do something brand new. I do love all the old musicals, though.
Have you ever turned down a role and later regretted it?
I’ve had to say no to things because of being under contract to something else, which is always very difficult, but I can’t say that I actually regret anything. At the time, you make the best decision with the knowledge you have, so I try not to think like that because so many amazing artistic projects come and go that you’d drive yourself a bit mad. You just have to think to yourself, ‘I’m doing this, and there must be a reason why I’m on this project and not on that one’.
Would you consider any roles on TV or in film?
Yeah, I would absolutely love to. I’m obsessed with period dramas, anything set in the 1940s or ’50s. I loved working with cameras on Over The Rainbow - I feel so comfortable in that environment. I don’t know if you’ve seen La La Land, but that’s basically how I live my life, so I would love to do a movie like that.
What’s been the highlight of your career to date?
I’m a huge lover of New York, and I’ve always dreamed of living there, working there and making that dream a reality. I got to do a solo performance there, just off Broadway, and did a live album recording of it. To be able to do that at the age of only 24 was just mindblowing. I never thought I’d get the opportunity even to go to London and do anything on stage, so to do a solo show and album in New York City was insane. It’s on iTunes and everything!
Looking to the future, what would be your ideal role?
At some point in my life, I have to play Mary Poppins in one form or another. And I want to be the voice of a Disney princess in an animation. Those are the two things I have to do before I’m done.
Grease The Musical shows at Regent Theatre from 22-27 May, Birmingham Hippodrome 29 May-3 June and Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from 27 Nov-2 Dec.