The Marlowe Theatre Presents LEGALLY BLONDE

Rita Simons (EastEnders), Bill Ward (Coronation Street and Emmerdale), and Lucie Jones (Eurovision) star in this new production of the show, based on the Reese Witherspoon film.

College sweetheart and homecoming queen Elle Woods doesn't take "no" for an answer. When her boyfriend dumps her for someone more serious, Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books and heads for Harvard Law School. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style.

Legally Blonde: The Musical earned seven Tony nominations and 10 Drama Desk Award nominations during its Broadway run. In the UK it was nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards, winning three, including Best New Musical, and it was nominated for eight Whatsonstage Awards, winning four including Best Musical.

As well as its human stars, Legally Blonde: The Musical has two scene-stealing dogs: a Chihuahua called Bruiser, and Rufus, a big, brutish, dog that only its mother could love! Bruiser is a permanent member of the tour, but each venue casts its own Rufus: at The Marlowe, it is Ronnie the bulldog, of Canterbury.

Rita Simons (Paulette Bonafonte) is best known for playing Roxy Mitchell in BBC's EastEnders, for which she has won numerous awards and is one of Britain's best-loved actresses. She won Most Popular Newcomer at the National Television Awards and other awards, and nominations include Best Newcomer at the Digital Spy Soap Awards, Best Onscreen Partnership for her character partnership with Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack), Best Newcomer at the TV Now Awards, a nomination for Best Newcomer at the 2008 British Soap Awards and Best Newcomer at the 2008 Inside Soap Awards. Rita has also appeared on TV in Mile High, Dream Team and London's Burning. In 2012, Rita was the subject of a major documentary film Rita Simons: My Daughter, Deafness and Me made by Leopard Films for BBC1. Rita actively supports the charity RNID.

Marlowe audiences will remember Rita from Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (2015/16).

Bill Ward (Professor Callahan) is best known for his work on two of the country's leading soaps. He recently finished three years in Emmerdale, playing farmer James Barton (Ross, Pete and Finn's Dad) for more than 300 episodes, who met a gruesome death in one of the soap's biggest storylines of the year.

Previously, he played the builder Charlie Stubbs in Coronation Street, also for 300 episodes, whose murder was another big storyline. In addition to his many and varied TV and film credits, Bill is no stranger to the stage and has worked on everything from Sophocles to The Spice Girls at Bristol Old Vic, Manchester Royal Exchange, Northern Stage, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, and The National Theatre Studio amongst others. He's played Prospero in The Tempest, Lancelot in Spamalot (West End), and Kevin the Gnome in a muddy field in Glastonbury.

Lucie Jones plays Elle Woods. Her previous theatre credits include the 20th anniversary UK tour of Rent, Legally Blonde, Ghost (Asian tour); American Psycho, and Les Miserables. Her TV acting credits include Midsomer Murders and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Lucie was a finalist in the 2009 series of The X Factor, and represented the UK at the 2017 Eurovision.

Legally Blonde: The Musical is at The Marlowe Theatre from Monday 19 to Saturday 24 March, with performances at 2.30pm (Thursday and Saturday), and 7.30pm. Tickets, priced from £22.25 to £41.25 (concessions available), are from the Box Office on 01227 787787, and marlowetheatre.com.

Photo Credit: Robert Workman

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