JUST a week into rehearsals for Grease: The Arena Experience, and Jack and Grace Elsworth are so impressed.
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The siblings, from Brightwaters, are among dozens of Westlakes children who will perform alongside 700 Hunter kids in the national touring production of the much-loved musical.
Grace, 10, who has seen the Grease movie just once, said it wasn’t until she started rehearsals that she realised how exciting the show was.
“I wasn’t really expecting how good it was going to be,” she said.
Brother Jack, 13, said being able to perform in a professional production of the musical was “wonderful”.
“It’s going the be amazing,” Jack said. “It’s a very emotional show, with so many songs that are upbeat, bouncy and boppy.”
And having 700 kids in a mass ensemble will being an energy that isn’t often seen in a production of Grease.
Also among the Westlakes contingent will be Jessica Dunn, 13, Alana Dunn, 10, Jessica Lette, 13, and Kaitlyn Britton, 11.
The children will rehearse every day during the upcoming school holidays, ahead of the show’s opening at Newcastle Entertainment Centre on July 14.
Harvest Rain Theatre Company – the people who staged Hairspray: The Big Fat Arena Spectacular – are taking their production of Grease: The Arena Experience on a national tour.
Meghan O’Shea (Singing in the Rain) and Drew Weston (Ghost: The Musical) take on the iconic roles of star-crossed lovers, Sandy and Danny.
Lauren McKenna, whose breakout performance was as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray: The Big Fat Arena Spectacular, will swap the can of hairspray for a Pink Ladies jacket when she plays Jan.
In a gender-bending first, the green witch from Wicked, Jemma Rix, will play the Teen Angel.
The show also features X Factor’s Barry (Southgate) Conrad as Kenickie, Ruby Clark as Rizzo, Stacey de Waard as Frenchie and Emily Monsma as Marty.
Grease: The Arena Experience features all of the hit songs from the much-loved movie, such as You're the One That I Want, Greased Lightnin', Summer Nights, Beauty School Drop Out and Born to Hand Jive.
There will be four performances of Grease: The Arena Spectacular. A fourth and final show has been added for Sunday, July 16, at 1pm.
Book at ticketek.com.au