Jill Halfpenny strikes right chord for London stage role

Oct 1 2009 The Journal

NORTH East actress Jill Halfpenny is to take a starring role in the West End yet again, this time in the stage version of a hit Hollywood film.

Legally Blonde, The Musical, is set to start its run in London at the Savoy Theatre later this year.

And Ms Halfpenny will star alongside other leading members of the British acting fraternity.

The Gateshead-born star won the 2004 series of the hit television show Strictly Come Dancing and has already appeared on the stage in Chicago and Calendar Girls.

In Legally Blonde, she will play beautician Paulette.

Starring alongside her will be Sheridan Smith as homecoming queen Elle and Duncan James as her college sweetheart Warner.

The actor Peter Davison - well known for his roles in TV favourites All Creatures Great and Small and Doctor Who - will play Calahan, Elle’s Harvard lecturer.

The show launched at the Cafe de Paris in London’s West End in a glitzy photo-call that saw members of the cast performing several of the hit tunes from the musical.

Sheridan Smith said: “I was over the moon to land the role of Elle.

“I was listening to the CD constantly in the days leading up to the audition.

“Legally Blonde is total escapism. With the world the way it is right now, you don’t want to see something that gets too bogged down.

“The show is just fun; the first 20 minutes especially will keep you pinned to your seat. Also, it’s a lovely story that's got everything: pathos, humour, and a really nice meaning.” In the story Elle Woods – the part played by Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 film – is a beautiful sorority girl who follows her ex-boyfriend to Harvard Law School in an attempt to win him back. Legally Blonde The Musical opens at the Savoy Theatre on December 5.