Megan Hilty and Rachel Tucker Will Lead GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES Concert at the London Palladium
Warren Carlyle directs the concert staging with Tony Award-nominated Megan Hilty as Lorelei Lee and Olivier Award-nominated Rachel Tucker as Dorothy Shaw.
Megan Hilty and Rachel Tucker will play Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw, respectively, in a new concert production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, with direction and choreography by Tony Award-winner Warren Carlyle. The concert will run at the London Palladium for three performances across 26 and 27 March 2027. Tickets will go on sale beginning 18 September 2026.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the classic Broadway musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Leo Robin, and a book by Anita Loos and Joseph Fields, comes to The London Palladium in a new concert staging featuring an orchestra of 30 musicians. Set aboard an ocean liner bound for Paris, the musical follows Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw through a sharp and glamorous comedy featuring songs including "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend", "A Little Girl from Little Rock", and "Bye Bye Baby". The original musical opened on Broadway in 1949 with Carol Channing as Lorelei. It was later adapted into the 1953 film starring Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei and Jane Russell as Dorothy.
Tony Award-nominated star of stage and screen, Megan Hilty (Death Becomes Her, Smash, Wicked, 9 to 5: The Musical), will play Lorelei Lee, a role she previously played in New York City Center's acclaimed production of Encores!. Hilty also has a notable connection to Marilyn Monroe, who famously played Lorelei Lee on the big screen. In Smash, Hilty starred as Ivy Lynn, who portrayed Monroe in the fictional Broadway musical Bombshell.
Olivier Award-nominated actress, Rachel Tucker (Wicked, Come From Away, Sunset Boulevard, Thelma and Louise), will play the role of Dorothy Shaw. One of the West End's best-known and best-loved leading ladies, Tucker's career has taken her from major London productions to Broadway, and back again.
Following 17 Broadway productions, Warren Carlyle (Hello, Dolly!, The Music Man), winner of the Tony Award for Best Choreography for After Midnight, returns to London to direct and choreograph his first production here in more than 25 years. Olivier Award winner Alan Williams (Sunset Boulevard, Evita) will lead the orchestra. They will be joined by Set and Costume Designer Rebecca Brower, Lighting Designer Zoe Spurr, Associate Choreographer Joanna Goodwin and Associate Director MARK HEDGES, with ensemble casting by Pearsons Casting and general management by QUBE Theatricals.
Producers Darren Bell for Darren Bell Productions and Peter Taylor & Sam Griffiths for Cuffe & Taylor said: "Event theatre has become a staple of London's theatre calendar, and we wanted our next show to return to the scale of golden age musical theatre. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes gives us huge tap numbers, an orchestra of 30 musicians, and a production made for The London Palladium. Bringing Megan back to Lorelei after her two sold-out London concerts, opposite Rachel Tucker as Dorothy, felt totally irresistible. With Warren Carlyle directing and choreographing, audiences can expect big company dance, plenty of tap, and a proper Broadway spectacle on the Palladium stage."
Biographies
Megan Hilty is most recognisable for her portrayal of seasoned triple-threat Ivy Lynn in NBC’s musical drama Smash and recently finished starring as Madeline Ashton in the Broadway smash-hit musical Death Becomes Her, for which she received a Tony Award nomination, a Drama League Award nomination, and two Broadway.com Audience Awards.
In addition to Smash, Megan’s television credits include playing Lily in Annie Live! on NBC, Bravo’s Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, Hulu’s Difficult People, CBS’s The Good Wife, The Good Fight, BrainDead, and Desperate Housewives. Hilty also starred in the NBC series Sean Saves the World as well as The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh for Amazon.
Megan also earned a Critics' Choice Award nomination for Best Actress in a Limited Series for her portrayal of Patsy Cline in Patsy & Loretta. Additionally, her voice is featured on numerous animated series including KC the Koala on Disney Jr’s T.O.T.S., Holly Darlin' on TrollsTopia, Wammawink in Netflix’s Centaurworld, and as Rosetta in many of Disney’s Tinker Bell films. Other animation credits include It’s Pony, Sofia the First, Madagascar: A Little Wild, Doc McStuffins, Phineas and Ferb, Family Guy, American Dad!, and the singing voice of Snow White in the film Shrek the Third.
A native of Seattle, Hilty moved to New York City after graduating from the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University and quickly made her Broadway debut as Glinda in Wicked. She went on to perform the role in both the national tour and in Los Angeles.
After four and a half years with Wicked, Megan went on to originate the role of Doralee Rhodes in Broadway’s 9 to 5: The Musical. Hilty was honoured with nominations for Lead Actress in a Musical at the Drama Desk Awards, Outer Critics Circle Awards, the Drama League Awards, and L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Awards.
Hilty also received critical acclaim for her role as Brooke Ashton in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Noises Off. She earned nominations for a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Drama League Award, and won a Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Featured Actress in a Play.
Hilty released a live album comprising songs from her concert tour entitled Megan Hilty Live at the Café Carlyle, which was recorded during one of her residencies at New York’s prestigious Café Carlyle. She also filmed her solo concert for the PBS Live from Lincoln Center series. Hilty continues to perform with world-renowned orchestras such as the New York Pops, the National Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, the Cincinnati Pops, and the Houston Symphony, among many others. Megan is a frequent guest on PBS’s televised Live from Capitol Hill concerts and was the guest artist in the Christmas Concert with the iconic Tabernacle Choir, which aired on PBS in 2022. Her solo concerts, which combine the music from her varied television and theatrical career, continue to sell out and receive critical acclaim wherever she goes.
Rachel Tucker can currently be seen in the leading role of Louise in Thelma & Louise for The Young Vic, based on the iconic film of the same name. She previously featured as The Baker's Wife in the Olivier Award-winning production of Into the Woods at The Bridge Theatre, played the iconic Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum, and also starred opposite Ralph Fiennes in Small Hotel at the Theatre Royal Bath.
Making her screen debut opposite Paddy Considine in Informer for BBC/Netflix, Rachel now plays the series regular role of Siobhan O'Hare in BBC's Hope Street, which has become one of BBC iPlayer/BritBox's most popular shows internationally. She also joined the latest series of Call the Midwife (BBC) and the gritty feature Frayed.
A true leading lady and with an extensive list of credits to her name, Rachel recently played Norma Desmond with Nicole Scherzinger in Jamie Lloyd's critically acclaimed West End adaptation of Sunset Boulevard, and followed this with the lead in the world premiere of Wild About You at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, opposite Eric McCormack.
She is best known for being the longest-running Elphaba in the multi-award-winning Wicked (both in the West End and on Broadway, with over 1,000 performances), winning a multitude of awards and an international fanbase for her portrayal of the iconic green witch.
She made her Broadway debut in Sting's musical The Last Ship, opposite Michael Esper and Jimmy Nail, and originated the role of Beverley Bass in Come From Away in London's West End—a role she subsequently played on Broadway.
