West End regular Harriet Thorpe is to take over the glamorous role of Tanya in ABBA musical Mamma Mia! at the Prince of Wales theatre from 14 June.
Thorpe comes to Mamma Mia! having recently finished a two year stint playing Madame Morrible in Wicked. Her other London stage outings include Cabaret and Les Misérables, while she is also well known for her screen work including sitcoms The Brittas Empire and Absolutely Fabulous.
Set to a soundtrack of songs by Swedish supergroup ABBA, Mamma Mia! centres on former singer Donna, whose daughter Sophie is about to be married at their Greek island home. When Sophie, desperate for her real father to give her away at her wedding, invites the three potential candidates to attend, Donna finds her past catching up with her.
In replacing Jane Gurnett in the role of Donna’s well-groomed, man-eating friend Tanya, Thorpe joins a cast that also includes Linzi Hateley as Donna and Jessie May as Sophie, as well as Catherine Russell, Norman Bowman, Paul Ryan and Christopher Hollis.
Mamma Mia!, which celebrated its 11th birthday earlier this month, is currently booking to 26 March 2011.
CB