Reality TV Stars Susan McFadden and Aoife Mulholland Join London's Legally Blonde
British TV’s Grease is the Word winner Susan McFadden and How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? finalist Aoife Mulholland will join previously announced stars Sheridan Smith, Duncan James and Alex Gaumond in the West End premiere of Legally Blonde. The production, directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell, begins performances at the Savory Theatre on December 5 with opening night set for January 13, 2010. Final principal casting will be announced shortly.
In Legally Blonde, college sweetheart and homecoming queen Elle Woods doesn’t take no for an answer. When her boyfriend Warner dumps her for someone “serious,” Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books and heads for Harvard Law School. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself ever goes out of style. The show opened on Broadway in 2007, going on to receive seven Tony Award nominations.
McFadden will be featured as leading lady Elle Woods’ best friend and sorority sister, Serena, while Mulholland will appear as Brooke, the exercise mogul who Elle defends in her first court case. The pair join a cast featuring Sheridan Smith as title star Elle Woods, Duncan James (Warner), Emma Bateman (Stenographer), Dan Burton (Padamadan, Nikos), Darren Carnall (Kiki), Chris Ellis-Stanton (Grandmaster Chad, Dewey, Kyle), Alex Gaumond (Emmett Forrest), Nadine Higgin (Judge, Saleswoman), Ibinabo Jack (Pilar), Duncan James (Warner Huntington III), Caroline Keiff (Vivienne Kensington), Amy Lennox (Margot), Andy Mace (Dad, Winthrop, Reporter), Sorelle Marsh (Courtney, Mom, Whitney), Suzie McAdam (Enid), Matthew McKenna (Aaron), Sean Mulligan (Pforzheimer), Roxanne Palmer (Kate, Chutney), Sergio Priftis (Carlos), Tamara Wall (District Attorney) and Ed White (Lowell), as well as Jane McMurtrie, Sherrie Pennington, Lucy Miller, Fabian Aloise and Francis Haugen.
McFadden is best known for starring as Sandy at the Piccadilly Theatre after winning the role on reality TV show Grease is the Word. She is currently playing Milly in the UK tour of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. McFadden’s additional stage credits include Cinderella, Annie, Jack and the Beanstalk, Singin’ in the Rain and Dance of Desire. She has been seen on television in Relative Strangers and Bachelors Walk.
Mulholland was a finalist on the BBC’s popular reality talent search How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? Recent credits include Roxie Hart in Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre, as well as The Sound of Musica at the London Palladium, Chess in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall and Dance of Desire, with McFadden, at Dublin’s Black Box. TV credits include Jam the Musical, Malicious Intent and Foreign Exchange.
Legally Blonde features music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, book by Heather Hach, set design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller, sound design by ACME Sound Partners and orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke.