The next person I’ve chosen for Performer of the Week is Danny Whitehead.
I first saw Danny in April of 2019 alongside Amy Manford and David Thaxton in Phantom of the Opera where he at the time was the understudy Raoul. I had previously posted on my Instagram (@mollypondersmusicals) that there was something intriguing about his Raoul and that I wanted to see it, so I was super excited to see him on the cast board that night, oh my god what a performer! I got home and RAVED about his Raoul to my closest friends.
His Raoul has such a strong yet calming presence whilst he is in the role. From the moment I saw him sing his verse in ‘Think of Me’ I thought he gives me strong Hadley Fraser vibes (Hadley is the Raoul in the 25th Anniversary production at the Royal Albert Hall), they both have super strong voices. A few months after seeing Danny excel as an understudy it was announced that he would be taking over the role full time and being Londons new Principal Raoul! I was so happy because it was so well deserved! His Raoul when I saw it in April was incredible and since then I’ve seen him as Principal Raoul twice and he just keeps getting better and improving within the role!
I’ve always had good experiences with Danny at Stage Door. He always comes out with a huge smile on his face and happily has convos with anyone, even between the short changeovers of a double show day. I know my friend Jess and I were certainly grateful! He is just so smiley and easy to talk to!
Danny trained at the Guilford School of Acting, whilst training there he was awarded 3 awards; The BBC Performing Arts Award, The Sir Michael Redgrave Award and the Ian Fleming Award!
Danny has quite a few theatre credits under his belt such as; Les Miserable where he was a Barricade Boy and Understudy Enjolras, Wicked UK Tour where he was ensemble/Understudy Wizard/Dr Dillamond, Sweeny Todd where he was Understudy Tobias in the Welsh National Opera and UK Tour productions just to name a few.
Some of the roles that I think Danny would do well in are:
Christian in Moulin Rouge
Chris in Miss Saigon
Raoul in the POTO sequel Love Never Dies
& Orpheus in Hadestown
Danny Whitehead is one of the most underrated West End/Musical Theatre performers. He has an AMAZING voice yet for some reason isn’t mainstream like he should be! His Raoul is the favourite that I’ve seen or heard. He is also such a nice person as well! For that reason, Danny is my Principal of the Week!