In other musical news, the highly anticipated X Factor Musical, called I Can’t Sing! will open at the London Palladium next year, with tickets going on sale today. Written by comedian Harry Hill and directed by Sean Foley, I Can’t Sing! begins previews at the Palladium on 27 February. The title sets the tone for the talent show-inspired musical, which features 19 original songs by Hill and Spend Spend Spend’s Steve Brown, and aims “an affectionate poke” at the popular ITV series, according to Hill and Brown.

Another week; another West End transfer. The Young Vic’s acclaimed production of A Doll’s House will transfer to the Duke of York’s Theatre this summer, following two sell-out runs at the Young Vic. Hattie Morahan will reprise her Critics’ Circle and Evening Standard Award-winning role as Nora in the production, which runs from 8 August to 26 October, alongside fellow original cast members Dominic Rowan, Nick Fletcher and Steve Toussaint.

London Theatre Cast News

• Jane Asher will star as Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s production of Pride and Prejudice this summer. She’ll be joined by Jennifer Kirby, Imogen Byron, Yolanda Kettle, Eleanor Thorn and Leah Brotherhead as the five Bennet sisters, Timonty Walker and Rebecca Lacey as Mr and Mrs Bennet, David Oakes as Mr Darcy, Barnaby Sax as the charming Mr Wickham and Rob Heaps as wealthy bachelor Mr Bingley
• Michael Xavier and Charlotte Wakefield will star as Captain Von Trapp and Maria in the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic The Sound of Music at the Open Air Theatre
• Jessica Raine, Daniel Mays, Mark Gatiss and Tom Hiddleston are all to appear in the Donmar’s new season of plays from August this year. The season includes the premiere of Nick Payne’s new play The Same Deep Water As Me (with Daniel Mays); a revival of Arnold Wesker’s Roots (starring Jessica Raine and Linda Bassett); and Coriolanus (with Tom Hiddleston and Mark Gatiss).

A new charity initiative was launched this week that sees pop stars taking to the West End stage for special encores. Pop Goes The Musical raises money for Children in Need by offering special £80 tickets for fab West End shows, which are then followed by special performances by pop stars.

• Les Miserables followed by a performance by Alexandra Burke, 18 Sep
• Jersey Boys followed by a performance by Blue, 11 Oct
• Singin in the Rain followed by a performance by Geri Halliwell, 25 Oct
• Thriller Live followed by a performance by Macy Gray and Stooshe, 15 Nov

Tickets can be purchased exclusively at www.lastminute.com/pudsey and include a top price seat, signed programme, Pudsey bear toy, complementary drink and access to a VIP after show reception hosted by the famous bear himself.

Hampstead Downstairs has announced its autumn season this week. Three plays, Brain, Blue Sky and Ignorance will be produced by the theatre; both Brain and Ignorance are new shows, the first by writer Rona Munro; the second by Steve Waters. The space was created for new writers to showcase their work, so if you’re a fan of seeing and feeding back on new theatre, book now.

If you’re looking ahead to theatre production in London for the summer 2013, I’ve got some great news from the Open Air Theatre. Their summer season will contain a production of Harper Lee’s American classic To Kill A Mockingbird alongside the much-loved musical The Sound Of Music. Christopher Sergel’s adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Mockingbird will play from 16 May to 15 June. And the Von Trapp family will be encouraging you to Climb Every Mountain and consider your Favourite Things from 25 July to 7 September. These are just two of the four shows on offer at the venue next summer.

London Theatre Casting News:

• Stephen Campbell Moore and Dominic Rowan will appear on stage at the Donmar Warehouse in Berenice this autumn.
• Sian Phillips joins Will Young and Michelle Ryan in the revival of Rufus Norris’ Olivier Award-winning production of Cabaret this autumn. Other cast members include Harriet Thorpe, who was in the original production, as Fraulein Kost; and Matt Rawle, who plays the young American writer Cliff Bradshaw. Cabaret opens at the Savoy Theatre in October.
• Marcus Lovett is taking over from Peter Joback as the eponymous lead in The Phantom Of The Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre next month. Joining him are Lara Martins as Carlotta, Anna O’Byrne who plays Christine, taking over from Sofia Escobar, and Simon Thomas, who replaces Killian Donnelly as Raoul.

Second, following his Olivier Award nomination last week, Derren Brown is returning to the West End. His hit 2011 show, Svengali will play at the Novello Theatre from 12 July to 11 August only. Little is known, or talked about with this secretive show: I can tell you to expect psychological tricks, mind control, incredible stunts, and of course, lots of audience participation.

Finally, congratulations to Gregory Doran who, it’s been announced today, will succeed Michael Boyd as Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2014.

London Casting News

• Adam Levy is joining Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths in Neil Simon’s comedy The Sunshine Boys at the Savoy Theatre from 27 April
• Samantha Bond, Tim McInnerny and Georgia Moffett will be playing alongside Omid Djalili in this summer’s production of Joe Orton’s What The Butler Saw at the Vaudeville Theatre from May
• Claire Foy, who you’ll recognise from BBC dramas White Heat and Upstairs Downstairs is appearing in Mike Bartlett’s Love, Love, Love at the Royal Court from April

So what’s coming up in this melting pot of money, success and creativity? Well, this week I’ve learnt the Hampstead Theatre is getting in on the mania for all things Olympic by staging a theatrical adaptation of the Oscar-winning film, Chariots of Fire. The play will run from 9 May to 16 June. Mike Bartlett (who wrote Cock and Earthquakes in London) is writing the script, and Hampstead Theatre’s Artistic Director, Edward Hall will direct. More details on the casting of the two runners (Scottish Christian Eric Liddell and English Jew Harold Abrahams) in due course.

Two chaps who won’t be donning the running shorts(!) are Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths, because they’re to appear in Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys at the Savoy Theatre.

The play is a classic comedy of showbiz and friendship from the 1970s; or you might know it from the Oscar-winning film starring George Burns and Walter Matthau; or the high-profile TV version with Woody Allen and Peter Falk. This will be DeVito’s West End debut; he’s better known for his film acting, including Terms of Endearment, Batman Returns, Junior and Twins. In contrast, his co-star Richard Griffiths is a regular on the London stage, including The History Boys, The Habit of Art, Rules of the Game, and The White Guard. It’ll make an interesting pairing: I can’t wait.

This Week’s London Cast News

• Andy Nyman, Natalie Casey, Joe Absolom and Susannah Harker join the already-announced Jill Halfpenny in Abigail’s Party at the Menier Chocolate Factory from March. This is shaping up to be a very exciting cast list!
• Noel Sullivan, who you’ll remember from Hear’Say joins the cast of We Will Rock You next month, replacing Alex Gaumond in the role of Galileo
• Natalie Dormer, Kieran Bew and Polly Frame will star in the Young Vic’s revival of Patrick Marber’s play After Miss Julie from March
• Finally, Claire Sweeney (Chicago, Guys and Dolls, Legally Blonde) and Matthew Kelly (best-known as the host of TV’s Stars in Their Eyes) are appearing in a revival of Educating Rita at the Menier Chocolate Factory from April

More next week.

Firstly, sad news for a musical lover like me. Legally Blonde and Crazy for You are both leaving London in the near future. After three years at the Savoy Theatre, Legally Blonde will close on 7 April. And Crazy For You, which was booking until 28 July, is now going to tap dance off into the sunset on 17 March. If you love musicals, you’ll love these shows, so book your tickets now before it’s too late!

Next up, two shows that have extended their London runs. Green Day’s award-winning rock musical American Idiot is running for an extra week at the Hammersmith Apollo in December this year, due to an overwhelming demand for tickets. And The Leisure Society has also extended its run in London by a week: the cause for such high interest in this toxic comedy is surely the casting of model Agyness Deyn (alongside the lovely Ed Stoppard!)

It’s awards season in Theatreland, and the first of the bunch have already been given out. Congratulations to the National Theatre which scooped more than half the Critics Circle awards on offer, including gongs for Frankenstein (and its stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller) and One Man, Two Guvnors. Other awards went to Sheridan Smith for her performances in Flare Path and Mike Leigh, for his direction for Grief. And there’s more awards coming: this week, it was announced that the Olivier Awards will be taking place in the Royal Opera House on 15 April: if you want to watch the action as it unfolds (with Imelda Staunton and Michael Ball hosting!), you can, as there’ll be a live stream of the ceremony on a big screen in Covent Garden. (Or you can listen on Radio 2; or watch on the BBC’s Red Button.)

London Cast News:

• Strictly Come Dancing star Russell Grant is going to take over from Michael Crawford as the new Wizard in The Wizard of Oz from 14 February
• Jodie Prenger (winner of I’d Do Anything and star of Oliver!) and Hannah Spearritt (former S Club 7 singer) are to appear in One Man, Two Guvnors with Owain Arthur at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from March

More next week.

And last night, I finally got to see the show. Regular readers won’t be surprised to hear that I loved it. (It’s a girly, giggly, pink, hilarious musical – what’s not to like?!) To be honest, I’d happily watch it again tonight. And tomorrow. And the next day…

But what about the other audience members? We asked a few for their views on London’s hottest new show:

Christine, Senior Citizen
“I thought it was surprisingly brilliant. I wasn’t expecting it to be so good as it wasn’t marketed at me – too pink and Barbie. The reviews said it was just for women, but there was so much too it, every scene was so different.”

Barry, 18
“I was pleasantly surprised. It was really fun. I thought the dog was the best bit. And by that, I mean the Boxer, not the Chihuahua.”

Amy, 28
“I laughed so hard, it blew the January blues clean away! This is the best West End fun I’ve had since Avenue Q and Mamma Mia. Sheridan Smith is mesmerising.”

Victoria, 33
“The show was high energy and full of colour, excellent for a young crowd. The songs were well orchestrated and choreographed but rather unmemorable and it was a bit too “panto” in its humour for me, with obvious cultural references. But an excellent choice for a teenage outing!”

Foamy, 42
“I went straight home and stayed up all night practising my bend and snap! To my wife’s amusement.”

Have you seen Legally Blonde yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments below!

We’re too young to know anything about the original(!) but we’ve heard our parents talking about it, recognise the songs (Aquarius and Let The Sunshine In) and it all the stories about it from the 60s sound incredible. (Plus, anything starring Elaine Paige, Richard O’Brien, Tim Curry and Paul Nicholas must’ve been amazing!)

It’s also exciting to have the first entire Tony-award-winning Broadway cast opening a musical in London. We’ve got to wait til April, but it’s down in our diaries to get tickets!

In other theatre news, Dreamboats and Petticoats, the musical inspired by an album of 50s songs, is due to reopen in January. From a successful touring show, this musical was so popular at the Savoy this summer, it extended its run by seven weeks!

And now it’s coming back: book your tickets to see it at the Playhouse from 6 January. Anyone out there seen it and want to tell us about it? We’re yet to catch this one.

If you’re looking for a shorter-term theatre fix, Panto season is very nearly upon us! We’ve had news from the Lyric that the rehearsals for Jack and the Beanstalk are well under way. Backstage, the Dame’s seven (count them!) dresses are almost finished, and the 4-metre-tall Giant is getting close to being brought to life…

Over at the New Wimbledon Theatre, we’ve heard news their panto has added another jewel to its star-studded Aladdin’s lamp. Anita Dobson (fresh from baring all in Calendar Girls, but best-known to the world as Angie Watts from EastEnders in the 80s) is the final star to share the role of the Genie of the Lamp alongside Ruby Wax, Pamela Anderson and Paul O’Grady.

Do you have plans to see any of London’s fantastic Pantos? Let us know which baddie you’ll be booing and hissing at over the Christmas season…

Sheridan Smith is very, very excited. “Parts like this don’t often come along,” she told an eager audience at the launch of Legally Blonde the Musical, at London’s fabulous Café De Paris on Leicester Square. 

Smith is about to start rehearsals for the lead role of Elle Woods in the forthcoming musical.

A huge, eager audience was served champagne and canapés as sparkly as the venue, while listening to various people behind and in the forthcoming show telling us what to expect come Christmas time. (Legally Blonde starts previews on 5 December.)

First, Legally Blonde’s feisty producer, Sonia Friedman, talked about falling in love with the show while it was still in previews on Broadway; and how, despite having a background based more in dramas and revivals, she begged the creative team to let her bring this musical to London.

Director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell (the guy behind Hairspray The Musical) then appeared via video from Las Vegas(!) to tell us how excited he is to be working with such a top British cast, including Sheridan Smith and Peter “Davidson”.

Peter Davison then appeared on stage to correct Mr Mitchell’s pronunciation, and tell us he’s “thrilled to be doing this show. It’s astonishing to think that I’m a musical star now, after doing Chicago in 1999 and later doing Spamalot.” Davison stars at Professor Callahan. Self-deprecating Davison gave us an anecdote about his younger self wandering around musical auditions with his guitar, singing Beatles and Bowie songs with limited success. He also paid tribute to the “enormously talented cast, who I get to be very rude to every single night.

“Which is great, because I’ve spent most of my career being hopelessly nice to people.”

After seeing another pair of stars from the show via video link (Duncan James – playing Warner – who guaranteed men will enjoy this show as much as women; and Sheridan Smith, who’s “so chuffed” about getting the part of Elle), we were treated to a medley of sparky songs from the show, performed with tantalising talent on the tiny Café de Paris stage.

Once we were attuned to the American accents, it became clear these are songs that’ll stick in your head and put a smile on your face. Kudos to the girls who managed to skip and dance at the same time in Whipped Into Shape (Aoife Mulholland as Brooke), and to the whole company for putting on a great showcase just a couple of days into rehearsals.

Jill Halfpenny shone the moment she stepped on stage as Paulette. She really has such star quality. And we were pleasantly surprised by Sheridan Smith’s performance. She’s got a mellow, alto singing voice, and while her brilliant acting is perhaps yet to be matched by her singing, we’re sure she’s going to be great come December. She told Official London Theatre:

“I’ve had to have some singing lessons and I’m having a personal trainer, because I am the laziest person and get a stitch walking to the car, so this is quite a big ask for me.

“But it’s good, the director’s brilliant, very strict, so he’s getting my ass in shape. It’s great to have something to work towards and challenge yourself.

“Most leading ladies in musicals are sopranos… but this one particular part was the only one I could get away with, so I’m just going to give it my all every night and just enjoy every minute.” (Read the full report on Official London Theatre.)

She’s starting to sound like the fantastically positive Elle already!

We returned to the office carrying our Legally Blonde goody bags with pride (loving the nailfile and benefit make-up treats) and started counting down the days until this bright pink, sparkly, positive show arrives to perk up the West End.

Book your Legally Blonde tickets now!

Exciting theatre news in the VL “postbag” this morning…

Doctor Who star Peter Davison, and Strictly Come Dancing ’04 winner Jill Halfpenny are to join the cast of Legally Blonde The Musical at London’s Savoy Theatre this December.

The pair join stars Sheridan Smith, Duncan James, Alex Gaumond, Aoife Mullholland and Susan McFadden in what’s sure to be one of the biggest new musicals in London’s West End this season.

Legally Blonde is the story of beautiful, popular, fashion-crazy homecoming queen Elle (Sheridan Smith). When her boyfriend (Duncan James) dumps her for someone more serious, Elle puts down her designer shopping bags and heads to Harvard Law School.

Peter Davison will play Callahan, Elle’s Harvard lecturer. Peter is best known for being the fifth incarnation of Doctor Who – the one who wore celery on his lapel. Peter’s other TV credits include Tristan Farnon in the BBC’s All Creatures Great and Small, and DC Davies in ITV’s The Last Detective.

His stage credits include playing King Arthur in Monty Python’s Spamalot, as well as roles in Chicago, An Absolute Turkey at the Globe Theatre (now the Gielgud) and Arsenic and Old Lace for Chichester Festival Theatre.

Jill Halfpenny will play beautician Paulette. Jill first appeared on TV in Children’s BBC show Byker Grove. Since then she’s appeared in EastEnders, Waterloo Road, Dalziel and Pascoe, Coronation Street, Peak Practice, Heartbeat, Birds of a Feather, Shameless and The Catherine Tate Show. 

Jill’s currently appearing in the West End production of Calendar Girls. Her other theatre credits include Uncle Vanya at the Birmingham Rep, The Bodies at the Live Theatre, Newcastle and Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre.  

If you’re as excited as we are about this Tony-award winning musical hitting London’s West End from Broadway, then book your tickets now!