West End's LEGALLY BLONDE Begins Previews Tonight, 12/5

Peter Davison and Jill Halfpenny are to join SheriDan Smith, Duncan James, Alex Gaumond, Aoife Mulholland and Susan McFadden in Jerry Mitchell's Legally Blonde The Musical which will preview at the Savoy Theatre from 5 December 2009. Currently booking until 23 May 2010, Legally Blonde The Musical has now added Sunday performances to its schedules. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winning Jerry Mitchell, Legally Blonde The Musical has music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, book by Heather Hach, set design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller, sound design by Acme Sound Partners and orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke.

College sweetheart and homecoming queen Elle Woods (SheriDan Smith) doesn't take no for an answer. So when her boyfriend Warner (Duncan James) dumps her for someone serious, Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and heads for Harvard Law! Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style.

Peter Davison will play Callahan, Elle's Harvard lecturer. Davison became a household name when he played the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who between 1981 and 1984. His extensive television credits include Tristan Farnon in the long running BBC series All Creatures Great and Small and DC Davies in four series of ITV's acclaimed The Last Detective. His other TV credits include At Home with the Braithwaites, A Quick Guide to Parenting, A Very Peculiar Practice, Ain't Misbehaving and Fear Stress and Anger, for which he won the 2007 Best Actor Award at the Monte Carlo Television Festival. Most recently he has been seen in the ITV1 drama Unforgiven and Midsomer Murders for ITV1. On stage he played King Arthur in Monty Python's Spamalot at the Palace Theatre as well as roles in Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre, An Absolute Turkey at The Globe Theatre and Arsenic and Old Lace for Chichester Festival Theatre. On film his credits include Parting Shots, Black Beauty and Molly.

Jill Halfpenny will play beautician Paulette. In 2004 she won the BBC series Strictly Come Dancing with her professional partner Darren Bennett, going on to win in the Christmas Specials in 2004 and 2008, and she also performed in the 2009 Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour earlier this year. On television she is best known for her role as Kate Mitchell in EastEnders, which she played from 2002 - 2005. She was also a series regular in Byker Grove and Waterloo Road, and has appeared in many other significant television shows including Dalziel and Pascoe, Coronation Street, Peak Practice, Heartbeat, Birds of a Feather, Shameless and The Catherine Tate Show. Halfpenny is currently appearing in the West End production of Calendar Girls at the Noel Coward Theatre. Her other theatre credits include Uncle Vanya at the Birmingham Rep, The Bodies at the Live Theatre, Newcastle and Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre.

The full cast is Emma Bateman (Stenographer), Dan Burton (Padamadan, Nikos), Darren Carnall (Kiki), Peter Davison (Callahan), Chris Ellis-Stanton (Grandmaster Chad, Dewey, Kyle), Alex Gaumond (Emmett Forrest), Jill Halfpenny (Paulette), Nadine Higgin (Judge, Saleswoman), Ibinabo Jack (Pilar), Duncan James (Warner Huntington III), Caroline Keiff (Vivienne Kensington), Amy Lennox (Margot), Andy Mace (Dad, Winthrop, Reporter), Susan McFadden (Serena), Sorelle Marsh (Courtney, Mom, Whitney), Suzie McAdam (Enid), Matthew McKenna (Aaron), Sean Mulligan (Pforzheimer), Aoife Mulholland (Brooke), Roxanne Palmer (Kate, Chutney), Sergio Priftis (Carlos), SheriDan Smith (Elle Woods), Tamara Wall (District Attorney) and Ed White (Lowell).

They are joined by Jane McMurtrie, Sherrie Pennington, Lucy Miller, Fabian Aloise and Francis Haugen as swings.

SheriDan Smith, who plays Elle Woods, is best known for her many award-winning television roles which include the BBC comedies Two Pints of Lager & A Packet of Crisps, Grown Ups (which was written specifically for her), Love Soup and the ITV1 comedy Benidorm which returns for its third series in October. She has a guest lead in Gavin and Stacey, playing Smithy's sister Rudi and she also played Emma in the multi award-winning The Royle Family. Her other television credits include Blood Strangers, Doctors, Fat Friends and The Comic Strip Presents Sex Actually as well as Lark Rise to Candleford and Jonathan Creek. Sheridan made her West End debut as Tallulah in the National Youth Music Theatre production of Bugsy Malone. Since then she has appeared in Into the Woods at the Donmar Warehouse, Ancient Lights for Hampstead Theatre, The People are Friendly for the Royal Court and Tinderbox at The Bush Theatre as well as the lead role of Audrey in the Menier Chocolate Factory's production of Little Shop of Horrors which later transferred to the West End. She made her Shakespearian debut at Open Air Theatre, Regents Park in 2006 playing Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew.

As an original member of the chart-topping band Blue, Duncan James who plays Warner Huntingdon III, achieved 40 number one singles worldwide. In 2007 he was a finalist in ITV's Dancing on Ice and later that year he joined the West End cast of Chicago to play Billy Flynn. He is a regular presenter on radio and TV including his own show on Capital FM, Party in the Park, Soapstar Superstar (ITV2), T4 Movie Special: Spiderman II, Record of the Year and GMTV's Entertainment Today. He has most recently appeared as himself in Channel 4's Comedy Showcase: Plus One and made a special appearance in The Bill in January playing the role of Dan Colman. He is currently presenting Sky1's Grease the School Musical.

Alex Gaumond, who plays Emmett Forrest, Elle's love interest, is currently appearing as Galileo in the No. 1 UK Tour of We Will Rock You. His many other musical theatre credits include Desperately Seeking Susan at the Novello Theatre, the No.1 UK Tour of the Donmar Warehouse production of Guys and Dolls, Sunday in the Park with George at Wyndham's Theatre, The Full Monty at the Prince of Wales Theatre and UK tour, Kiss Me Kate for the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Miss Saigon on tour world wide, Something About You at Jermyn Street Theatre. His many recordings include Scrooge and the Sondheim Tonight Gala Concert.

 

Aoife Mulholland, plays Brooke, who Elle defends in her first court case. Mulholland trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama and she was a finalist on the BBC's hugely popular reality show, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? She has most recently played Roxie Hart in Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre. Previously Mulholland played Maria in The Sound of Music at the London Palladium as well as performing in Chess in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall and Dance of Desire at the Black Box, Ireland. Her television credits include Jam the Musical, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? When Joseph Met Maria, Malicious Intent and Foreign Exchange.

Susan McFadden, plays Serena, Elle's best friend and sorority sister. McFadden played Sandy in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre after winning the opportunity, beating thousands of hopefuls on ITV1's reality show Grease is the Word. Most recently she played the role of Milly in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on tour in the UK. McFadden has also played the title roles in Cinderella at the Theatre Royal Wakefield and the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin and Annie at the Olympia Theatre Dublin. Her other Dublin Theatre credits include Jack and the Beanstalk, Singin' in the Rain and Dance of Desire. She has been seen on television in Relative Strangers and Bachelors Walk, both on RTE.

Jerry Mitchell, who directed and choreographed the Broadway production of Legally Blonde The Musical, began his career as associate choreographer to Michael Bennett on Scandal and Jerome Robbins on Jerome Robbins' Broadway. Since that time his many Broadway choreography credits include the revivals of The Rocky Horror Show and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown as well as Gypsy and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Mitchell conceives, directs and

choreographs Broadway Bares, a comedy burlesque performed annually for the charity Broadway Cares. As well as numerous nominations, he won the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his work on La Cage aux Folles and worked with Ann Miller on the critically acclaimed Follies. Jerry Mitchell's choreography can currently be seen in London in Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre. His film credits include In and Out, Drop Dead Gorgeous and Scent of a Woman.

In 2001 Amanda Brown's novel Legally Blonde was made into a film starring Reese Witherspoon, produced by MGM and directed by Robert Luketic.

Legally Blonde The Musical is produced in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions, Robert G. Bartner, Ambassador Theatre Group, Jamie Hendry Productions and Act Productions.

For more information, visit:
http://www.legallyblondethemusical.co.uk/

 

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