Ruthie Henshall in Chicago

Henshall is to star as Elvira in a new revival of Noel Coward’s classic comedy at the Apollo Theatre in London from 2 March 2011.

Winner of an Olivier Award for her performance in She Loves Me, Ruthie Henshall has played some of the West End and Broadway’s biggest shows including Crazy For You, Chicago, Miss Saigon and Oliver!

Henshall will join a star-studded cast for the play, including Alison Steadman (Gavin and Stacey) as Madame Arcati, and Cold Feet’s Hermione Norris (Spooks) and Robert Bathurst (Alex) as Charles and Ruth Condomine.

In the play, the novelist Charles Condomine (Bathurst) and his second wife Ruth (Norris) are haunted when an eccentric medium (Steadman) manages to conjure up the ghost of Charles’s neurotic and beautiful first wife, Elvira (Henshall), at a séance.

The spirited comedy will open at Theatre Royal Bath later this year before a UK tour and West End opening in the Spring.

Noel Coward’s comedy will be directed by Thea Sharrock, who recently enjoyed enormous success for her production of Terence Rattigan’s After The Dance at the National Theatre. She will return to Rattigan next year for his Centenary by directing Cause Célèbre, which will open at the Old Vic Theatre on 17 March, a few days after Blithe Spirit opens in London.

No stranger to Blithe Spirit, Sharrock directed a 2004 production of the play at the Savoy Theatre starring Penelope Keith. The Noel Coward classic, first produced in 1941, has had numerous UK revivals in the last few years.

Book tickets to Blithe Spirit at the Apollo Theatre in London

Edited by Clive Hirschhorn, it was published by ticket agency Applause and aimed to provide theatregoers with informed comment, interviews, features, reviews, and gossip about the plays and players making news in both London and New York. It also provided special offers and discounts on West End shows and event.

CONTENTS

Issue 1, October 1996

Read Applause magazine, issue 1, October 1996

Applause Magazine - October 1996

OFFSTAGE – News and gossip from the West End

KILLING WITH KINDNESS Matt Wolf asks if London’s theatre critics are too soft

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST – The biggest thing ever to hit the West End, Hal Lewis looks at Disney’s venture into Theatreland

HEATHCLIFF – Cliff Richard has been weathering a storm of criticism, Christopher Tookey assesses the situation

ONSTAGE – Clive Hirschhorn reviews some of the latest openings

NED SHERRIN – The musings of a wit and raconteur

APPLAUSE THEATRE CLUB – Great savings on many top West End shows

INTERVIEW – Comic actor Gene Wilder in conversation with Ronald Bergan

DICK VOSBURGH tracks down the lost Musicals

LONDON’S THEATRES – Ronald Bergan looks at the rebuilt Globe Theatre

PEOPLE WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE – Alan Ayckbourn has made one of the single greatest contributions to British theatre. He speaks to Clare Colvin

SPECTRUM – A look at the ‘other’ arts

CD REVIEW – Tom Vallance has been comparing the various recordings of Sondheim’s ‘Company’

BOOK REVIEW – ‘Speak Low’ is a collection of the letters from Kurt Weill to Lotte Lenya. Reviewed by Ronald Bergan

NED SHERRIN – Extracts from his book ‘Theatrical Anecdotes’

OFFSTAGE BROADWAY – More news and gossip from America’s theatre capital

SHOWS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE – Ken Livingstone and the show that made a lasting impression

Read Applause magazine, issue 1, October 1996

Edited by Clive Hirschhorn, it was published by ticket agency Applause and aimed to provide theatregoers with informed comment, interviews, features, reviews, and gossip about the plays and players making news in both London and New York. It also provided special offers and discounts on West End shows and event.

CONTENTS

Issue 6, March 1997

Read Applause magazine, issue 6, March 1997

Applause Magazine - March 1997

OFFSTAGE – News and gossip from around the West End

LADY IN THE DARK – Dick Vosburgh on a musical that gets its West End premiere 56 years after it was first written

MARIA FRIEDMAN – David Nathan interviews the actress, and talks about her starring role in Lady in the Dark

ONSTAGE – Clive Hirschhorn reviews the West End’s latest offerings

DIARY – New productions in and around the West End

MATT WOLF – Questions the wisdom behind this year’s awards nominations

APPLAUSE THEATRE CLUB – Christopher Biggins brings you more great money saving offers on top West End shows

NED SHERRIN

PEOPLE WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE – David Nathan talks to producer Bill Kenwright

RICHARD NELSON – Sheridan Morley assesses the work of an American playwright who does very well over here

REMARKABLE CAREERS – A look at the work of actress Constance Cummings, with Michael Arditti

BOOK REVIEW – Sam Ingleby on Neil Simon’s memoirs

QUIET AT THE BACK, PLEASE! – The theatre nuisance according to Ronald Bergan

NEW FACES – Ruaidhri Conroy, currently making his mark in The Cripple of Inishmaan

SPECTRUM – Opera, Dance, TV and Art reviews and previews by Max Loppen, Jeffery Taylor, Ronald Bergan and John Russell-Taylor

OFFSTAGE BROADWAY – Michael Riedel with news and gossip from the Big Apple

QUIZ

SHOWS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE – Gerald Kaufman, MP

Read Applause magazine, issue 6, March 1997

Edited by Clive Hirschhorn, it was published by ticket agency Applause and aimed to provide theatregoers with informed comment, interviews, features, reviews, and gossip about the plays and players making news in both London and New York. It also provided special offers and discounts on West End shows and event.

CONTENTS

Issue 8, May 1997

Read Applause magazine, issue 8, May 1997

Applause Magazine - May 1997

OFFSTAGE  – News and gossip from around the West End

THE MOUSE MUSCLES IN – Matt Wolf looks at Disney’s Broadway and West End ventures

NEW FACES – Disney’s Beauty and the Beast’s Julie-Alanah Brighten

JOHN BARROWMAN – talking to Martin Stirling

ONSTAGE – Clive Hirschhorn reviews the West End’s latest offerings

ACT OF COMPLICITE – Clare Colvin talks to Simon McBurney about the work of Theatre de Complicite

APPLAUSE THEATRE CLUB – Christopher Biggins brings you more great money-saving offers on top West End shows

NED SHERRIN

HAUNTED HOUSES – Linn Branson goes ghost-hunting in London’s theatres

TERRENCE MCNALLY – Patrick Pacheco on the American playwright hoping to make his mark here with Master Class

HAT TRICKS – San Francisco’s cult caper Beach Blanket Babylon hits town. Sasha de Suinn goes shopping for hats

SUMMER FARE – Michael Coveney takes a look at this year’s summer festivals

BOOK REVIEWS – Rhoda Koenig on the lives of Ibsen and Peggy Ashcroft

SPECTRUM – Opera, Dance, and TV reviews and previews by Max Loppert, Jeffery Taylor and Ronald Bergan

PEOPLE WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE – Designer John Napier talks to Nick Smurthwaite

OFFSTAGE BROADWAY – Michael Riedel with news and gossip from the Big Apple

QUIZ

SHOWS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE – Roy Hattersley, MP

Read Applause magazine, issue 8, May 1997

Edited by Clive Hirschhorn, it was published by ticket agency Applause and aimed to provide theatregoers with informed comment, interviews, features, reviews, and gossip about the plays and players making news in both London and New York. It also provided special offers and discounts on West End shows and event.

CONTENTS

Issue 11, August 1997

Read Applause magazine, issue 11, August 1997

Applause Magazine - August 1997

Regulars

OFFSTAGE GOSSIP

ONSTAGE REVIEWS

DIARY

APPLAUSE THEATRE CLUB

CD REVIEW

BOOK REVIEW

NEW FACES – DOMINIC WEST

SPECTRUM DANCE, TV & OPERA

NED SHERRIN

PEOPLE WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE – THELMA HOLT

OFFSTAGE BROADWAY GOSSIP

COMPENDIUM

SHOWS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE – CLARE RAYNER

Features

TURNER PRIZE – KATHLEEN TURNER

BARBICAN’S LOST MUSICALS: JUBILEE

THE APOCALYPSE OF THE HORSEMAN

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

REMARKABLE CAREER – JULIE WILSON

ALAN BATES PROFILE

MARTIN McDONAGH INTERVIEW

Read Applause magazine, issue 11, August 1997

Sheridan Smith

The gorgeous, multi-talented star of Legally Blonde, has decided to extend her run in the show at the Savoy Theatre in London.

Sheridan Smith had originally announced her departure from the Broadway musical on Twitter and was scheduled to leave on 23 October 2010, but will now continue in the lead role until 9 January 2011.

Sheridan Smith said in a statement that, “I absolutely love playing Elle Woods, it’s been one of the highlights of my career so far, and I’m thrilled that the audiences love the show as much as I do.  When (producer) Sonia Friedman asked me to stay for a little bit longer, I couldn’t resist the thought of a pink, chihuahua filled Christmas!”

A new cast will also join the show from 25 October, including Denise Van Outen taking over from Jill Halfpenny as hairdresser Paulette, and Siobhan Dillon and Hollyoaks star Carley Stenson.

Van Outen, who is married to Lee Mead (Wicked), has appeared in numerous musicals including Tell Me on a Sunday, Rent: Remixed, Chicago and Les Miserables.

Siobhan Dillon, who will play Vivienne, came to prominence after appearing in TV talent show How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, and has performed in Grease in the West End. Carley Stenson will star as Margot, and is best known for playing Steph Cunningham in Hollyoaks. This will be her West End stage debut.

The comedy musical, which opened in January this year, is based on the movie starring Reese Witherspoon about college sweetheart and homecoming queen Elle Woods (Sheridan Smith), who goes all out to prove to her ex-boyfriend Warner (Richard Fleeshman) that she’s more than just a dumb blonde – by joining him at Harvard Law School.

Sheridan Smith is best known for her award-winning TV roles including Two Pints of Lager & A Packet of Crisps, Grown Ups, Love Soup, Benidorm and Gavin and Stacey. Stage roles include Into the Woods at the Donmar Warehouse, Audrey in the Menier Chocolate Factory’s production of Little Shop of Horrors and Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew at the Open Air Theatre Regent’s Park.

Sheridan recently performed in a workshop version of a new musical based on Helen Fielding’s book Bridget Jones’s Diary, with music by Lily Allen, fuelling rumours that she may be up for a role in the show. Stephen Daldry, director of the film and stage version of  Billy Elliot, will helm the project if it goes ahead. The show would also reunite Daldry with producers of the Bridget Jones and Billy Elliot films and stage shows Working Title Films, plus choreographer Peter Darling.

Other cast starting in the show from 25 October include Stephane Anelli (Padamadan, Nikos), Emma Bateman (Stenographer), Thomas Camilleri (Carlos), Chris Ellis-Stanton (Grandmaster Chad, Dewey, Kyle), Kimmy Edwards (Judge, Saleswoman), Ibinabo Jack (Pilar), Suzie McAdam (Enid), Andy Mace (Dad, Winthrop, Reporter), Susan McFadden (Serena), Sorelle Marsh (Courtney, Mom, Whitney), Aoife Mulholland (Brooke), Sean Mulligan (Pforzheimer), Dawn Sievewright (Kate, Chutney), Robbie Towns (Aaron), Dominic Tribuzio (Kiki), Tamara Wall (District Attorney) and Stephen Webb (Lowell), as well as Jonathan Mawson, Jane McMurtrie, Lucy Miller, Ruthie Stephenson and Gregor Stewart as swings.

SPECIAL OFFER: Save £14 on tickets to Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre in London

LEGALLY BLONDE CAST RECORDING

The London cast recording of Legally Blonde The Musical, which was recorded live at the Savoy Theatre, was released last week by First Night Records and is doing brisk business.

Buy the London cast recording of Legally Blonde

Edited by Clive Hirschhorn, it was published by ticket agency Applause and aimed to provide theatregoers with informed comment, interviews, features, reviews, and gossip about the plays and players making news in both London and New York. It also provided special offers and discounts on West End shows and event.

CONTENTS

Issue 12, September 1997

Read Applause magazine, issue 12, September 1997

Applause Magazine - September 1997

Regulars

OFFSTAGE GOSSIP

ONSTAGE REVIEWS

DIARY

APPLAUSE THEATRE CLUB

NED SHERRIN

AUDIO BOOK REVIEW

BOOK REVIEW

NEW FACES LIZA WALKER

SPECTRUM DANCE, TV & OPERA

OFFSTAGE BROADWAY GOSSIP

COMPENDIUM

SHOWS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE – LORD GRADE

Features

THE BODY ELECTRA – ZOE WANAMAKER

MATT WOLF – DOOM & GLOOM LOOM

SIMON RUSSELL BEALE INTERVIEW

THE DAY I MET – NOEL COWARD

ANDRE LEWIS – ROYAL WINNIPEG BALLET

ADAM LONG INTERVIEW

Read Applause magazine, issue 12, September 1997

Niki Evans in Blood Brothers

The powerful show, about twins separated at birth, opened at the Albery Theatre (now the Noel Coward Theatre) on 27 August 1988. It transferred from the Albery to its current home at the Phoenix Theatre in 1991.

The starring role of the mother, Mrs. Johnstone, has been played by countless actresses over the last 22 years in the West End, including Barbara Dickson, Stephanie Lawrence, Clodagh Rodgers, Kiki Dee, Lyn Paul, Siobhan McCarthy, Katie Scott, four of the Nolan sisters (Linda, Bernie, Denise and Maureen), Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm and current star Niki Evans.

Blood Brothers originally ran at the Lyric Theatre in 1983 before its  revival in 1988, and won the Olivier Award for Best Musical and a Best Actress in a Musical gong for the show’s star Barbara Dickson. Also Con O’Neill won Best Actor in a Musical in 1988 and Mel C was nominated this year for Best Actress in a Musical.

The show currently features Niki Evans as Mrs Johnstone, Philip Stewart as the Narrator, Stephen Palfreman as Mickey, Simon Willmont as Eddie and Vivienne Carlyle as Mrs Lyons.

Liverpudlian playwright Willy Russell is currently enjoying a revival, with two of his plays, Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine, running at the Trafalgar Studios in London.

SPECIAL OFFER: Save £31.50 on tickets to see Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre in London

First edited by Rayner Bourton, and then Clive Hirschhorn, it was published by ticket agency Applause and aimed to provide theatregoers with informed comment, interviews, features, reviews, and gossip about the plays and players making news in both London and New York. It also provided special offers and discounts on West End shows and event.

CONTENTS

Preview issue, July 1996

Read Applause magazine, Preview issue, July 1996

Applause Magazine - July 1996

DIARY – Current events in film, dance, music and art

PROFILE Charles Rayner talks to Margarita Pracatan about her meteoric rise to stardom

REVIEWS – Recent openings in and around London

NED SHERRIN – Excerpts from his book ‘Theatrical Anecdotes’

ARTS & MUSIC – Applause magazine’s exclusive theatre club and show and event offers

BROADWAY LIGHTS – The word from Stateside with Rene De Woerk

WEST END NIGHTS – Hot gossip from London

INTERVIEW – Kevin Whately in conversation with Rayner Bourton

ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET – A look at the acclaimed production of Alice in Wonderland

THE LARRY ADLER COLUMN – Credit where ‘credits’ are due

A BRUSH WITH ART – Picture choice by Christopher Lloyd, Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures

BIGGINS ON SPEC – Wit and grit

ART REVIEW – Degas: artist as collector

THE DOWAGER OF ELLINGTON ST – Ashley Herman takes a look at the refurbishment of the Lyceum Theatre in Covent Garden

OUT & ABOUT – News from out of town

MY FAVOURITE RESTAURANT – Googie Withers and Hannah Gordon reveal their favourite haunts

Read Applause magazine, Preview issue, July 1996