CURVE ANNOUNCE LUCIE JONES AS ELLE WOODS AND PRINCIPAL CAST FOR NIKOLAI FOSTER’S FIRST MUSICAL, LEGALLY BLONDE

Nikolai Foster, Artistic Director at Curve, today announces Lucie Jones as Elle Woods in the award-winning West End and Broadway smash hit musical comedy, Legally Blonde. Lucie rose to prominence on the X Factor in 2009 and has since starred as Victoria in American Psycho (Almeida Theatre) and as Molly in Ghost (Asia Tour).

The role of Callahan will be played by Ian Kelsey, who has previously starred as Billy Flynn in Chicago (West End) and was Dr Patrick Spiller in Casualty between 1998-2002. Lucie and Ian will be joined by Danny Mac as Warner. Danny played Mark ‘Dodger’ Savage in Hollyoaks between 2011-2015 and his theatre credits include Wicked (West End). Jon Robyns (Marius in Les Miserablés – West End) will play Emmett. Lucie Jones, Ian Kelsey, Danny Mac and Jon Robyns will be directed by Nikolai Foster in Curve’s brand new production which opens on 14 April, with previews from 11 April and running until 14 May.

When the beautiful and popular sorority sister Elle Woods gets dumped by her boyfriend Warner for a more ‘serious’ girlfriend, she is left with only one logical choice – she packs up her pooch and bags herself a place at the prestigious Harvard Law School in an attempt to win back her man. But what she finds there is so much more.

Nikolai Foster, Artistic Director of Curve, said today “We are all delighted to have found such a brilliant leading lady and the perfect Elle Woods in Lucie Jones. Lucie not only brings bags of panache, style and fun to Elle, but also masses of humility and integrity. Alongside Lucie, we are thrilled to welcome a trio of exceptional leading men to Curve -Danny Mac, Ian Kelsey and Jon Robyns.”

Lucie Jones plays Elle Woods. Her theatre credits include American Psycho (Almeida), Meatloaf in We Will Rock You (International Tour) and The X Factor Arena Tour. Her television includes Midsomer Murders, The Sarah Jane Adventures and she was a finalist on The X Factor. She was a soloist on The X Factor charity single ‘You are Not Alone’, which reached No. 1 in the UK charts and on charity single ‘Confidence Is Consciousness’. Lucie is also an official rugby anthem singer for Wales and England.

Ian Kelsey plays Callahan. His theatre credits include Danny in Grease (West End & Tour), Same Next Year (Theatre Royal Windsor) and Kes (West Yorkshire Playhouse). For television his credits include Doctors (series regular), Dustbin Baby, Blue Murder (series regular), Where The Heart Is (series regular), Down To Earth,and Emmerdale (series regular). For film his credits include Black Beauty and Wild Justice.

Danny Mac plays Warner. His theatre credits include Apollo Victoria 80th Birthday Gala Performance (West End), Fly With The Stars (West End), West End At Home (Mayflower Theatre Southampton) and Gavroche in Les Misérables (West End & UK Tour). His television credits include Hollyoaks (series regular) and A Line in the Sand.

Jon Robyns plays Emmett. His theatre credits include Enjolras in Les Miserablés (West End); Spamalot (West End); Memphis (West End), Avenue Q (West End), Dessa Rose (Trafalgar Studios); Road Show (Menier Chocolate Factory); Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (West Yorkshire Playhouse); The Last Five Years (Greenwich Theatre); Rent (English Theatre Frankfurt) and Miss Saigon (UK tour).

Nikolai Foster, Artistic Director of Curve, directs.  For the company his work includes The Witches, Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing, Shakespeare’s Richard III, Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good and Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire.  He was an Associate Director at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, where his work included Amanda Whittington’s Bollywood Jane, Louise Paige’s Salonika, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, adapted by Bryony Lavery & Jason Carr, Orwell’s Animal Farm, and Sherlock Holmes – The Best Kept Secret.  His other work includes Calamity Jane (Watermill Theatre & National Tour), Shelagh Stephenson’s The Memory of Water (New Vic, Stoke & Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough), Brecht’s The Good Person of Sichuan (Mercury Theatre, Colchester), Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along (Clwyd Theatr Cymru), The Diary of Anne Frank (York Theatre Royal & The Touring Consortium), Shakespeare’s As You Like It (Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, Chester), and Macbeth (Singapore Repertory Theatre), Dickens’ Great Expectations, adapted by Tanika Gupta (Palace Theatre Watford & English Touring Theatre), Flashdance (Shaftesbury Theatre), Coward’s Hay Fever  (Chichester Festival Theatre), Barry Hines’ Kes (Liverpool Playhouse and The Touring Consortium), Andrew Lloyd Webber & Don Black’s Aspects of Love (UK tour and South Africa), Bouciccault’s London Assurance (Watermill Theatre), and for Sheffield Theatres,  Shaffer’s Amadeus, Sondheim’s Assassins and A Chorus Line. Nikolai’s production of Annie is currently on tour in the UK.

Heather Hach wrote the book for Legally Blonde. Heather received 2007 Tony and Drama Desk nominations for her work on Legally Blonde. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, School of Journalism and worked at The New York Times Denver Bureau as a research assistant and Sports and Fitness Publishing in Boulder, Colorado, as a magazine editor. Heather worked on the TV shows “Caroline in the City” and “Dilbert.” She won Walt Disney Screenwriting Fellowship in 1999. Her film credits include Disney’s Freaky Friday and What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Heather also wrote the young adult novel Freaky Monday with Mary Rodgers.

Laurence O’Keefe co-wrote the music and lyrics of Legally Blonde with Nell Benjamin. In 2007, they were nominated for Tony and Drama Desk Awards for their work on Legally Blonde. Laurence won the Ed Kleban Award, the ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award and a Jonathan Larson award for his music and lyrics. Off-Broadway credits: Bat Boy: The Musical (Lucille Lortel, Richard Rodgers, Outer Critics’ Circle awards), which has received 100+ productions worldwide; music for Sarah, Plain and Tall, lyrics by Nell Benjamin (touring with TheatreWorksUSA). Laurence is also the co-author with Nell Benjamin of Cam Jansen (Drama Desk nomination) and The Mice. Laurence is a product of his education with the Harvard Krokodiloes, the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the Harvard Lampoon and the Actors’ Gang, but especially the incomparable Nell Benjamin.

Nell Benjamin co-wrote the score to Legally Blonde, the Musical with composer Laurence O’Keefe, which received Tony Award nominations, Drama Desk nominations, and the Olivier and Helpmann Awards for Best Musical. Nell’s play, The Explorers Club, won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, the Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award, and an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant. Nell has written book and/or lyrics for Pirates! (or Gilbert and Sullivan plunder’d), Sarah, Plain and Tall, Cam Jansen (Drama Desk-nominated), I Want My Hat Back, How I Became A Pirate, The Mice, Life of the Party and Because of Winn Dixie. She is working on musical adaptations or Dave, Gotta Dance, and Mean Girls. Television writing includes Unhappily Ever After, Animal Planet’s Whoa! Sunday with Mo Rocca and the new Electric Company.

Sarah Travis is this orchestrator for Legally Blonde. In 2006 she won a Tony and Drama Desk Award for her Orchestrations on Sweeney Todd, Eugene O’Neill Theatre, via The Watermill Theatre and Trafalgar Studios. Her recent credits as Orchestrator and Musical Supervisor include Mack and Mabel (Watermill and West End), Privates On Parade (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Dick Whittington (Barbican), Fiddler on The Roof (2014 UK Tour) The A to Z of Mrs P (Southwark Playhouse), Chess (UK Tour and Toronto – Winner of 2010 Touring Whatsonstage Award); Sunset Boulevard (4 Olivier Nominations, and a Transfer to The Comedy Theatre West End – The Watermill Theatre).

Nick Winston is the choreographer for Legally Blonde. His credits include Loserville (West End), Flashmob (West End), Horrid Henry (West End), Kiss Me, Kate (Theatre Du Chatelet, Paris), Annie (UK Tour, South Africa and West Yorkshire Playhouse), White Christmas (West Yorkshire Playhouse), The Hired Man (St. James Theatre), Calamity Jane (Watermill Theatre And UK Tour), Sweeney Todd (West Yorkshire Playhouse And The Royal Exchange), The A-Z Of Mrs P (Southwark Playhouse), Water Babies (Curve), Merrily We Roll Along (Theatr Clywd), Love Story (Minerva Theatre, Chichester).