Laurence Olivier Award-winning stage star Ruthie Henshall is to join the cast of Thea Sharrock’s production of Blithe Spirit at the Apollo theatre next spring.
Henshall will play ghostly apparition Elvira in Noël Coward’s comedy about a dinner party that goes awry when an eccentric medium conjures up the spirit of host Charles Condomine’s first wife. The actress joins a cast that already includes Alison Steadman as the medium and Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst as Charles and his second wife Ruth.
Henshall is a hugely accomplished stage actress best known for her musical theatre work. Her credits in London and on Broadway include She Loves Me, for which she won a Laurence Olivier Award in 1995, Chicago, in which she originated the role of Roxie Hart, Oliver!, Crazy For You, Peggy Sue Got Married, The Woman In White, Miss Saigon and, most recently, Marguerite.
Blithe Spirit plays at Theatre Royal Bath this November before a short UK tour. It transfers to the West End on 2 March 2011, playing at the Apollo theatre until 18 June.
CB