‘Grease’ The Musical is officially in town, gracing Edinburgh Playhouse between June 25 and 29 before heading to Aberdeen and beyond on its UK tour.
‘Grease’, “the world’s best-loved musical”, tells the tale of two polar opposites Danny and Sandy – a leather jacket-wearing “bad boy” and the usual “girl next door”. Diving into social issues such as teenage pregnancy, gang violence and peer pressure, the musical follows themes of the influence of love and friendship and its dynamics, while shedding a light on rebellion and sexual exploration.
In the UK production of ‘Grease’ the musical, Marley Fenton will play Danny, Hope Dawe is set to star as Sandy, and Scottish actor Rebecca Stenhouse, stars as Rizzo. Secret Edinburgh got the chance to have a chat with Rebecca Stenhouse herself, uncovering the hidden truths behind her character, the message behind the iconic story and a bit about her career and the mental health side of touring.
What was the most humbling moment of your career so far?
“I actually think that the most humbling moment so far was has been receiving this job. I’ve been acting for, you know, 10 years, actually, probably more than that. And after covid, I really, sort of, had a moment of not knowing if I was going to be able to come back to the industry […] and I didn’t know if I was gonna get the chance to be on stage again and starting to question whether this career was going to let me back into it again.”, remembered Rebecca.
“Actually getting this job [as Rizzo] has been super humbling because it sort of made me realise how hard you have to work, and, you know, the sacrifice and the effort you put into it.”
Have you made any surprising discoveries or realisations about the character since you started the rehearsal process?
“I kind of realised how much of a complex character Rizzo is, and how amazing she is […], the strength in her. […] The audience is, kind of, rooting for her by the end of the show, because they see that even though she’s go this top exterior, there is something going on underneath and I think that kind of character is something that is such a dream to play because you get to really go through all those emotions.”, said Rebecca.
She continued: “This is the original production that was set in Chicago, so it is a lot of dirtier and grittier. […] I was surprised that these kids back in the day, they were from, you know, really bad socioeconomic backgrounds: they were really poor, they didn’t have a lot to live for, they just thought high school was their peak.”
Unlike in the movie, the original stories of the real people the story was based on don’t really follow that whole “happily-ever-after” narrative, with a lot of the characters’ lives, such as the real-life person behind Rizzo in ‘Grease’, not turning out so well, as real life often turns out differently than we had hoped.
Commenting on this, Rebecca said: “A lot of their lives turned out pretty horrible, you know I’m pretty sure Brazil, the woman that Rizzo was based off of, went to jail for a while after high school. […] The character that Simcox is based off of, she founded Interflora.”
‘Grease’ has been enjoyed by children and adults alike for decades. What would you say are the teachable moments of the story when it comes to needing to change yourself for other people?
Rebecca remarked: “The stories about not judging a book by its cover […], just because someone appears a certain way it doesn’t mean that there isn’t more going on underneath.”
“With Sandy, obviously, she does do this whole, sort of, change thing, but we’ve tried to approach it more as she’s not doing it for him. She’s like: ‘Maybe this is who I want to be, maybe this is a way to express a different part of myself.’ […] You have so many different versions of yourself.”
Finally, what is the one question you wish people asked you more?
“Oh wow, that’s actually, such a good question, I’ve never been asked that before. I think it would be nice if people asked […] how everybody’s mental and physical health can be on these kind of jobs. Especially as actors, we’re all living together seven days a week, and we’re on the road away from our families. I think people don’t always realise that people don’t ask those, kind of, questions.”
“There’s a wonderful charity called Industry Minds that was, actually, set up by a Scottish friend of mine Scarlet and is offering free counselling or therapy if we need it while on tour.”
To go see our Rebecca Stenhouse as Rizzo and ‘Grease’ the musical, you can get your tickets here.