Harrogate Advertiser - HSAP is doing Grease!

Original article at the Harrogate Advertiser

It was the one that they wanted - and now they’ve got it! Harrogate St Andrew’s Players (HSAP) are to perform hit musical Grease at Harrogate Theatre.

For the first time ever, the rights to perform this iconic musical have been released for adult amateur groups and HSAP are delighted to have secured those rights.

Although famous for being one of the biggest movies of the 1980s, Grease the Musical was first produced on stage in Chicago in 1971 and moved to Broadway in 1972.

With songs like Summer Nights, You’re the One That I Want, Hopelessly Devoted to You, Grease is the Word it had run 3,388 performances by the time it closed there in 1980.

It has been hugely successful over the years all over the world with many well known names taking the leads like Paul Nicholas, Elaine Paige, Su Pollard, Shane Ritchie, Luke Goss, Samantha Janus and a young Richard Gere.

HSAP will be the first society in Yorkshire to put on Grease when they open on the Harrogate Theatre stage on October 23 and they are particularly looking for more budding John Travoltas and Burger Palace Boys to take part.

The original cast in the film were twenty somethings and HSAP are aiming to copy that age range rather than young teenagers so the minimum age for performing is 17 years old.

Contact membership@hsap.co.uk as soon as possible to register your interest and get more details.

The acquisition of the rights to Grease represents a real turn around for HSAP’s fortunes.

Jennifer Cowling, HSAP chairman said: “Last year we were facing a very uncertain future after losing several thousand £s on our production of Our House. But HSAP members were determined to forge ahead and we have worked extremely hard to fund-raise enough to continue producing first class musical theatre.”

HSAP’s fundraising efforts have never stopped and this spring they have taken a new concert on tour in the area.

Sing! Sing! Sing! is a fabulous collection of songs from stage and screen and has been well received already in Knaresborough and Wetherby.