As the summer nights continue to electrify the sound of London’s West End, the most hydromatic show in town keeps driving in audiences from all around the world – as it’s currently playing to its second holiday season at the Dominion. Guillermo Nazara chats with the new actor in charge of giving life to one of its most memorable characters, to know more about what also represents his first-ever incursion into the very hub of musical theatre.
How does it feel to be making your West End debut in such an all-time classic like like Grease?
It’s pretty special – I’m very, very grateful. It’s actually quite surreal, because I’ve grown up with the musical, loving the score. And now that I’m actually in the show, it feels like an honor to sing the songs every night. It’s the definition of a dream come true.
Being a show that so many have grown fond of over decades, do you find you have an extra responsibility to do justice to it and your role?
Definitely, but I’d say the say about any show of the same kind – where people know the songs. They do come with an expectation. But one of main goals with getting this role was to mee them and andkeep that lovable part of Grease that everyone comes to see. Obviously, I add my own flavour to the character. I’d like it if people stepped away from the show thinking: “I got what I wanted, plus more – as if bought a new flair to it.
And how is that process of making the character your own and adding those traits to him?
In the audition process, we had to do a monologue for the character, which we wrote and performed ourselves. And that’s quite specific to Nikolai Nikolai Foster, our amazing director. He asked for it to get a sense of what you’ll bring to the table. And that was what really started off my process with Kenickie. I conceived it as if he was in a police interview, and he thinks he’s there to be interrogated about stuff he’s done – he’s the bad boy, after all. Then the police start talking about his mom and from that point it dived into his background and his upbringing. He may have not had the best family life and all that type of thing. That’s what really started my journey into creating the character. I think that what’s unique about my version is that you definitely see both sides of him: he’s a very tough guy, he’s meant to be aggressive, but I believe a lot of that is rooted in insecurity and a really hard upbringing. Hee’s very defensive, but that comes from his weakness inside. An I think that you see that side to him – or at least I tried to portray that side to him as best I can.
my performance.
How do you balance that aggressive temperament in your character with the more lovable, charming vibe that Grease is supposed to be all about?
Good question! That’s one of the hardest points because there really is. There’s definitely a balance that you have to find. And it’s a challenge. But I actually think it’s something I spoke to Nikolai about during the rehearsal process. We wanted to showcase how much the character has changed and how he has been on a journey. I think that’s how you kind of get the audience aside because then they have this like emotional connection to him – as he matures throughout the show. That’s the most important thing: to show how he learns his lesson.
Moving now to more specific aspects of this production, we are talking about an incredibly physical show. How do you manage to cope with such intensity?
It can be tough. It’s very demanding and very physical, like you say. In my case, I come from a very intense dance education, so I was dancing almost every day in college. So even though it’s ambitious, I will say that the vocal sides were more difficult. I’ve never had to sing as much as I have done in this show – every single night over and over again. So I really had to go on a bit of a journey with that. And that’s helped me learn a lot about my voice and how it works.
And what is that you’ve learned about your voice?
I would say I’ve learned the importance of taking care of your voice everyday – knowing when to go back a little bit and still still give it in a show. I didn’t know that at all before, but my singing teacher gave me a call down to do at the end of every performance. When I started, my voice felt fatigued at every show – I wasn’t able to get it back after I finished. But now it’s sitting back in my throat thanks to these exercises. At the end of every performance I try to speak with a softer voice but there’s still a bit of Kenickie there, so you’ve got to learn to leave him until the next show.
Apart from the physical and vocal challenges you’ve pointed out, would you say there’s any other additional ones?
I don’t think so. Obviously, you’re always going to face challenges as this is my first job. So I’ve learned a lot already. In terms of real challenges, not too many. It can be hard not to get overexcited on stage, sometimes, that type of thing. But on the whole, it’s still very much a just a learning curve.
Have you had any bloopers so far?
Honestly, I think I’ve been pretty good. I’ve only had a few tiny ones. I’ve definitely had a couple of voice cracks, which I do remember… The biggest one happened during the encore megamix. I did half of it and then went straight into the next quarter full confidence. But it was completely wrong.
If you had to give me one single reason to come see this production of Grease, which one would it be?
I think it’s a real showcase of the next generation of musical theatre. We have a lot of West End debuts as we have a young cast. There’s a lot of great new talent in this show. And these are the ones who are leading the new way!
Grease plays at London’s Dominion Theatre until 28 October. Tickets are available on the following link.