Simon Cowell
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Grease, which is already heading for Broadway with a TV series,
You’re the One that I Want, being used to secure its stars, will also return to the West End after a summer reality TV star search. According to a report in
Variety, Simon Cowell of
The X-Factor fame will co-produce the star search for actors to play the lead roles of Danny and Sandy with ITV1, with whom his production company recently inked a three-year £20 million contract.
“We've been thinking about making this programme for years,” Cowell said. “Grease in my opinion is the best musical of all time and I am incredibly excited to be given this opportunity.”
ITV’s controller of entertainment Duncan Gray added, “Grease and ITV are a perfect fit—the hunt for the new Sandy and Danny to star in the world's best known musical, produced by the crack team behind The X Factor.”
David Ian, co-producer with Andrew Lloyd Webber of The Sound of Music and who was a judge on How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, will reprise his judging duties on the progarmme. He will co-produce the West End version of Grease with Paul Nicholas, with whom he first brought a revival to the stage of the Dominion Theatre in 1993, where it ran to 1996 before transferring to the Cambridge and continuing to run to 1999. It has also reappeared since for seasons at Hammersmith’s Apollo (in October 2001) and the Victoria Palace (in 2002).
This follows the news that Lloyd Webber will also team up with BBC1 again to find stars for a new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
No theatre or dates been announced yet for the return of Grease.