PRINCIPAL casting has been announced for the West End transfer of the Tony Award-winning revival of A Chorus Line, which opens at the London Palladium on February 19 following preview performances from February 5, 2013.
Playing Zach will be John Partridge, with Scarlett Strallen as Cassie, Leigh Zimmerman as Sheila and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt as Diana.
The show takes a behind-the-scenes look at 17 hopefuls auditioning for just eight places in a new Broadway musical and includes numbers such as I Hope I Get It, Sing! and One (Singular Sensation).
Although John Partridge is probably best known for his role as Christian Clarke in EastEnders and for presenting the National Lottery programme, he has apppeared on stage in Cats, Starlight Express, Tommy, Grease, The Drowsy Chaperone, Rent and Miss Saigon. Along with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charlotte Church and Sheila Hancock, he was a judge on BBC 1’s Over the Rainbow, the quest to find a Dorothy for Lloyd Webber’s The Wizard of Oz.
Scarlett Strallen is currently starring as Kathy in the West End production of Singin’ in the Rain (Palace Theatre) and for her performance received an Olivier Award nomination. Her other theatre credits include Clara in Passion (Donmar Warehouse), the title role in Mary Poppins (West End and Broadway) and Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium).
Leigh Zimmerman, who has appeared twice as Velma Kelly in the West End production of Chicago, received an Olivier Award nomination for her performance as Ulla in The Producers (Theatre Royal Drury Lane). On Broadway, she has appeared in The Will Rogers Follies, Crazy For You and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Victoria Hamilton-Barritt’s theatre work includes Mamma Mia! (Prince of Wales Theatre), Fame (Aldwych Theatre), Desperately Seeking Susan (Novello Theatre) and more recently Grease (Piccadilly Theatre), Flashdance (Shaftesbury Theatre) and Gypsy (Leicester Curve). She has also appeared in the films A Bunch of Amateurs and A Tale of Two Cities.
A Chorus Line will be directed by its original co-choreogrpher Bob Avian.
Read more about A Chorus Line.