Actresses Scarlett Strallen (pictured), Leigh Zimmerman and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt will be hoping to impress John Partridge when A Chorus Line opens at the London Palladium next year.
The trio of musical theatre leading ladies will play hopeful auditionees Cassie, Sheila and Diana in the production that will feature Partridge, and his sensational smile, as domineering director Zach when it takes to one of London’s most famous stages next year.
For Partridge, who is best known for playing Christian in EastEnders but whose musical theatre credits include Cats, Starlight Express and The Drowsy Chaperone, judging performers shouldn’t be too much of a stretch. He will be able to draw on his own experience as a panel member on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s search for a Dorothy, Over The Rainbow.
Strallen, who plays Zach’s former lover, can currently be seen at the Palace theatre, where she stars in hit London musical Singin’ In The Rain, giving a performance that garnered her an Olivier Award nomination earlier this year.
Two-time Chicago star Zimmerman, who plays an ageing dancer with a troubled childhood, is also a former Olivier Award nominee, having picked up her nomination for The Producers. Hamilton-Barritt comes to the production having recently played the title role in Gypsy at the Leicester Curve.
The production at the London Palladium marks the first time the Marvin Hamlisch musical, which tells the story of hopefuls auditioning for a place in the titular ensemble, has been revived since the Olivier Award-winning premiere production in 1976.
Speaking about the show, Andrew Lloyd Webber, who owns the London Palladium, said: “I am delighted to welcome A Chorus Line into the London Palladium. This classic Broadway production has not been seen in the West End for almost 35 years. Marvin Hamlisch was a great friend and supporter in my early career and I can think of no more fitting tribute to him than this major revival.”
A Chorus Line, which has also extended its booking period to January 2014, opens at the historic venue following the winter run of classic Christmas musical Scrooge, which stars Tommy Steele as embittered miser Ebenezer Scrooge, a man who needs a serious injection of Christmas spirit and gets it in one spooky night.