Back in October, Legally Blonde had some big cast changes, most notably the addition of Denise Van Outen, Siobhan Dillon and Carley Stenson. They joined Sheridan Smith who plays the lead role of Elle, in the hit American musical based on the films.

Legally Blonde is now booking into its second year at the Savoy Theatre, but the show still took the opportunity to invite us to see the new cast. Here’s a couple of photos from the event.

It’s not just the performance schedule that is changing at Legally Blonde (Sunday performances have been ditched) but cast changes will be coming into effect when the new booking period starts on the 25th October.

Rumours were circulating that Sheridan Smith who plays lead character Elle would depart the show, but it has been confirmed that she will stay until at least early next year.

The biggest name to sign up to the show is new mum Denise Van Outen who will play the role of Paulette. It’s been awhile since we last saw Denise in the West End, but I guess she has been a little busy with being a judge on BBC talent shows, getting married and having a baby. Her husband Lee Mead is also starring in the West End as Fiyero in Wicked, so it’s set to be a busy time in the Van Outen/Mead household. I wonder who will be looking after baby Betsey?

In addition to Van Outen, a number of the supporting current and upcoming cast members are played by reality tv alumni. Susan McFadden won the role of Sandy in Grease on the ITV production of Grease Is The Word, and she now plays Serena in Legally Blonde. Aoifie Mullholland of How Do you Solve a Problem like Maria? followed up stints in The Sound Of Music and Chicago by snagging the part of Brooke in Legally Blonde; now she is reunited with fellow …Maria contestant Siobhan Dillon who will play Vivienne from the 25th October

And rounding out the list of notable names is Carly Stenson, not a reality contestant, but a very popular Hollyoaks actress. She played Steph on the soap for 10 years, but makes her West End debut as Margot in Legally Blonde. She also appears from the 25th October.

Legally Blonde has some great discounts at the moment, Stalls and Dress Circle seats are reduced to £45.99 and Upper Circle to £23.99, in some cases saving you over 30% off the normal price. Don’t wait to book one of the most light hearted and fun shows in the West End!

Buy Legally Blonde Tickets here.

Legally Blonde is ditching its Sunday performances as of the 14th September and going back to the standard Monday to Saturday schedule. Priscilla Queen Of The Desert’s experiment with Sunday performances will also be coming to a close in September. The producers of that show wanted to test the market without committing to the Sunday schedule, so they decided to do a 4 month Sunday run and revert back to Monday to Saturday in the Autumn.

I’ve said before in this blog that Sunday performances are a really good thing for the theatre industry. Many shows have incorporated it into their schedules: Jersey Boys, Stomp and The Lion King are the shows that immediately come to mind. Yet the Sunday performance is still not widely practised in London’s West End. And with so many tourists coming for weekend breaks it doesn’t make sense to stick with the traditional Monday to Saturday schedule. Almost all Broadway shows have a Sunday performance, choosing to have a Monday or Tuesday as a day off.

So what do you think? Would you come into town on Sunday for a matinee or do London’s Sunday train engineering works scare you away? Is the Sunday performance a seasonal thing or should it be used all year round? We would love to know.

Legally Blonde will play Sunday matinees until the 12th September. Buy Legally Blonde tickets here.

It was announced this week that Sophie Evans, runner up in BBC’s Over the Rainbow, will be the alternate Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium. She will play the role on Tuesday evenings and during Danielle Hope’s scheduled holidays.

I suppose this doesn’t come as a big surprise; when Jodie Prenger won the role of Nancy in Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the understudy part was offered runner up Jessie Buckley (who turned it down and went on to get a part in A Little Night Music.)

It’s a smart move for Sophie to take this part as she will gain invaluable stage experience. And looking at How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? finalist Aoife Mullholland (who was understudy in The Sound Of Music) she has gone on to roles in Chicago and Legally Blonde. It could prove to be a great stepping stone for Sophie.

I suppose the question is: do the public feel cheated that the other finalists are still being cast (in some respect) in the show? The public obviously wanted Danielle. As we’ve seen before with The Sound Of Music star Connie Fisher, it’s irresponsible to demand 8 performances a week. Some performances will have to use an alternate or risk exhausting the lead performer. But those who did not vote for Sophie and paid to vote for Danielle will still be getting Sophie at least once a week.

Personally I would like to see both and compare. What do you think?

Buy Wizard of Oz tickets here.

Now that Discount Theatre has launched its World Cup Sale with loads of great offers throughout the duration of the football tournament, it’s hard to decide what to see. If you are a hard core theatre lover, now is the time to snap up bargains on many shows that don’t normally offer discounts.

For example, hit show Legally Blonde has top price tickets for £45.99 (normally £60) or you can also see the Tony award winning cast of Hair with tickets starting at only £22.99.

But if you look at the list and still can’t decide, why not attend West End Live in Leicester Square this weekend for a sampler of West End shows?

West End Live is now in its 6th successful year and offers a great chance to see some excerpts from top West End Shows performed live in Leicester Square.

This year, loads of shows are taking part, including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s follow up the Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies, David Essex’s All The Fun Of The Fair, and classic musicals Sweet Charity and Billy Elliot.

Unfortunately, now that Discount Theatre towers has moved out of Leicester Square, we won’t be blessed with listening to the rehearsals and having a bird’s eye view of all the action on Saturday and Sunday. Too bad.

West End Live will be open from 11am to 6pm on Saturday the 19th June and from 12pm to 6pm on Sunday the 20th June. In addition to many musical performances, there will be exhibitions and demonstrations making it a great day out. And it’s FREE!

If you see something that you like, check out Discount Theatre’s World Cup Sale, where you will find many great tickets on West End shows.

It’s been many months of rumours regarding the possible Broadway transfer of Legally Blonde, and after a month of previews, the show opened at the Savoy Theatre last week.

Sceptics questioned the success of the show in front of a UK audience, but the popular press came and the popular press raved.

I’ve included some tidbits from the reviews below….all very flattering

Legally Blonde is booking until the 23rd October 2010. Book your Legally Blonde tickets here.

‘Hilarious. Brilliant. Truly Spectacular… Winning performances, sophisticated lyrics and a wit sharp enough to file your nails on.  This is the feel good hit of the Winter.’
-Daily Express

‘An instant hit… A box office bombshell!’
-Evening Standard

‘A wonderful new musical. Ridiculously enjoyable from start to finish. PERFECTION.  OMIGOD! I’m like totally going again.’
-Paul Taylor, Independent

‘A FEEL-GOOD DELIGHT! A HUGE HIT. Sheridan Smith is Glorious.  She brings vitality, warmth and great comic timing to the role. Legally Blonde the musical is right up there alongside Mamma Mia and Hairspray.’
-Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph

‘A sparkly spectacle from start to finish.  HILARIOUS.’
-The Sun

Is the West End changing tact, trying to emulate its cousin in New York?

At Discount Theatre, we’ve noticed that a number of shows are introducing a Sunday show (usually a matinee) and having a weeknight off in return. This makes perfect sense when you consider that theatre is a leisure pastime and most people do not work Saturday and Sunday.

Generally speaking, the West End had run a generic schedule of Monday to Saturday evening, a Saturday matinee and a weekday matinee, equalling eight performances a week with Sunday as a rest day.
On Broadway, you can guarantee that most shows will run on Sundays and traditionally Monday was the day of rest for the actors (although nowadays anything goes and quite often you will see Tuesday or Wednesday as the night off)

Personally, I don’t understand why West End producers haven’ t thought about this sooner. Tourists who take weekend trips to London usually stay for most of Sunday; leaving only Saturday to see the show. Saturdays are notoriously busy, with productions booked months in advance, so any hope of buying a ticket on the day goes out the window. To open up on Sundays as well, gives the paying public much more choice and if it is a matinee, the actors will still have the night off.

For years the staple of Sunday matinees in the West End were either Stomp or The Lion King. Desperate people milling around Leicester Square on a Sunday were left out as they didn’t realise that most theatres were dark. Now we are seeing Thriller, Jersey Boys, Hairspray, Legally Blonde, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Prick Up your Ears already performing or introducing a Sunday show in the next few months, which is great news for the consumers.

Finally The West End seems to be thinking about the routines of punters. Now, if we could just get the government to revoke Sunday trading hours so we can go grocery shopping after 4pm, life would be bliss!

Check out the great shows with Sunday performances here.