Saturday 30 January 2010
Heat Magazine (30 Jan - 5 Feb 2010)
We are massive Legally Blonde fans - so when we heard that there was a musical stage version in production, we had our doubts. How could anyone be as good as our beloved Reese Witherspoon? Well, we take it all back now - because Sheridan Smith, in the title role of Elle, is amazing. Literally, stand-on-your-seat-screaming amazing (and yes, that's just what we did). The script is brilliantly funny, with a fantastic support cast (hello, Duncan James and Jill Halfpenny) and songs like Gay Or European? We're already planning our return visit, so we're looking forward to more celeb sightings:we spotted David Tennant, Graham Norton and Sir Bob Geldof in the audience. It's heavily booked up, so beg/steal/disguise yourself as Elle's dog... just make sure you see it.
Saturday 23 January 2010
Sheridan Smith on starring in Legally Blonde
Down the tiny lane behind the Savoy Theatre, through the lovely stage door, and down corridors swooshing with costumes and wigs, we find tonight’s leading lady. Her room is full of glitter, pink cards and flowers, bright mirror bulbs lighting her small, pretty face. Then she sees me. “Hi-yerrrr!” Sheridan Smith bounds over, planting a smacker on my cheek, and asks if I want a brew. Her publicist insists that he can make us some. “Are you sure? I have a kettle!” She flicks the switch, shaking her head when it won’t stick. “Oh go on, then,” she laughs, rolling her eyes. “What a diva, eh?”
Sheridan Smith may not be a name that rings bells, but her critic-wowing turn in Legally Blonde: The Musical is likely to change that. You’ll know her face already, first seen on TV in The Royle Family in 1999, then a succession of TV comedies from Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps to Gavin & Stacey. Until now, however, she’s played second-fiddle characters, a girlfriend, sister and, recently, Jonathan Creek’s sidekick. So to play an American sorority girl, high-kicking and singing on stage eight times a week, should be quite a challenge — before you watch what Smith can do. Taking on the role of Elle Woods, a rich teenager who chases her ex-boyfriend to Harvard Law School, wangles a place for herself, and discovers her own academic talents, Smith brings warmth and impeccable comic timing to a character originally made famous by Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 movie. Smith also makes its fairytale storyline almost believable.
She looks at me nervously as I applaud her performance. “I was thinking about you, the other night, you poor thing, landed in this shower of pink,” she says, tucking her skinny limbs nervously into her chair. “But I’m really glad you liked it! Although I’m still terrified of doing it.”
Born in Epworth, a Lincolnshire village, in 1981, Sheridan Sian Smith is a friendly, self-effacing, girl-next-door type. She is half-North of England, half-Welsh, and delighted to spot my own Swansea accent, keen to share tales of holidays in the Mumbles and the wisdoms of our mothers.
Her parents met as country and western singers and made a living performing in pubs and working men’s clubs. As a young girl, she loved performing with them, singing songs such as Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colours while standing on a stool. She would be upset when she wasn’t allowed to join them, which inspired her mother to write a song called You Won’t Be Late Tonight, Will You Mama? Smith sings it now, very shyly — a ballad about a child standing in the window with a teardrop in her eye. “That shows how much I wanted to be with them,” she laughs, her cackle big and earthy. “From there, no way back.”
But when Smith was 8, a family tragedy changed her life. She had a brother, Julian, ten years older, who died of cancer in 1990 — something only revealed recently when her mother mentioned it in an interview with a local newspaper. She said how proud she had been about the resilience of Sheridan and her other brother, Damian.
When you experience bereavement as a child, I ask, do you think it gives you the drive to push yourself harder? Smith wells up in seconds. “Yes. Yes it does.” She dabs a hankie to her eyelashes, and I apologise for asking. “No, not at all. I’ve never spoken about it, really, and I should. There’s always been that extra bit of drive in me, just for him.” After Julian died, she explains, she threw herself into dancing classes in Scunthorpe, which she would attend three nights a week, entering competitions and winning awards. “They were my focus. It’s not that they stopped me grieving, but my life became about trying to do something.”
She takes a breath. “Julian’s always been at the back of my head all these years, he’s really never left it. But recently, since all this” — she gestures around the bright, fluffy room — “and the opening night, everyone coming down on the bus, he was right at the front again. And I was really . . .” She sniffs, trying to make light of what she means. “There’s a moment in the show where I cry, actually, and I was genuinely just roaring with tears, wishing he was there.” She smiles. “Maybe he was.”
Her classes paid off. Smith won a place with the National Youth Music Theatre as a teenager, performing as Tallulah in Bugsy Malone — a production so good that the film’s director, Alan Parker, was persuaded to run it in the West End. After that, Smith got an agent, a role in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, and, in 1999, was named an actress to watch in a broadsheet article about up-and-coming young talents, in which she posed for a photograph next to the young Jamie Oliver. Her role in The Royle Family, as Anthony’s girlfriend, Emma, quickly followed.
But Smith still worries about her abilities as a serious actress, despite receiving good reviews for her stage performances — in Michael Wynne’s The People are Friendly at the Royal Court, in 2002, and two Shakespeare comedies in the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2006.
“I didn’t train, you see, and I feel I might have missed out there. So instead, I’ve just watched people to see what they do. Me staring at geniuses like Caroline Aherne, Liz Smith and Kathy Burke, them probably thinking I’m a lunatic child!” Women have been her inspirations, she says. She is also pleased that there seem to be more big female roles about, and that West End productions are swinging towards them — Calendar Girls being the other obvious example. “Because generally you’re the girlfriend of the lead, or the mistress, or the lover. And in this show, I have two lovers! Bring it on!”
It’s a year since Smith won the role of Elle. She had seen Legally Blonde on Broadway, adored it, and pestered her agent when she heard it was coming to Britain. That wasn’t like her. “But I was thinking, ‘Come on, love, you’re 27, you can do this now.’ ” She shakes her head. “But ever since I got it, I’ve been waiting to be found out. Thinking, can I get away with 18 songs every night? Can I glide on top of everything when beneath I’m doggy- paddling?”
During rehearsals for the show, she had other pressures, too. Smith’s on-off relationship with James Corden, her brother in Gavin & Stacey, came to an end last November, although they remain very close. As we talk about him, he texts her. “Awwww,” she says, her voice squeaking sweetly. “He’s read something in a paper about me, and said he was proud.” She looks at her phone. “It’s nice we still do that. It’s a shame when people who have been together so long lose that closeness. Especially when we’re just two normal people.”
Not that her life is that normal any more. After those glowing reviews, everyone is now talking about what Smith will do next — which baffles her, frankly. “Good God, I’m in this job ’til October! I have to keep working at it, make sure I don’t get ill, all that stuff.” Nevertheless, she is looking forward to going back home for a break. “Walk the dogs up the fields, lean on a front door for an hour and have a chinwag with the neighbours — just be myself.” She hugs me tightly when I leave, and it’s hard to think of her — this refreshing new star — being anything but.
Sheridan Smith may not be a name that rings bells, but her critic-wowing turn in Legally Blonde: The Musical is likely to change that. You’ll know her face already, first seen on TV in The Royle Family in 1999, then a succession of TV comedies from Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps to Gavin & Stacey. Until now, however, she’s played second-fiddle characters, a girlfriend, sister and, recently, Jonathan Creek’s sidekick. So to play an American sorority girl, high-kicking and singing on stage eight times a week, should be quite a challenge — before you watch what Smith can do. Taking on the role of Elle Woods, a rich teenager who chases her ex-boyfriend to Harvard Law School, wangles a place for herself, and discovers her own academic talents, Smith brings warmth and impeccable comic timing to a character originally made famous by Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 movie. Smith also makes its fairytale storyline almost believable.
She looks at me nervously as I applaud her performance. “I was thinking about you, the other night, you poor thing, landed in this shower of pink,” she says, tucking her skinny limbs nervously into her chair. “But I’m really glad you liked it! Although I’m still terrified of doing it.”
Born in Epworth, a Lincolnshire village, in 1981, Sheridan Sian Smith is a friendly, self-effacing, girl-next-door type. She is half-North of England, half-Welsh, and delighted to spot my own Swansea accent, keen to share tales of holidays in the Mumbles and the wisdoms of our mothers.
Her parents met as country and western singers and made a living performing in pubs and working men’s clubs. As a young girl, she loved performing with them, singing songs such as Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colours while standing on a stool. She would be upset when she wasn’t allowed to join them, which inspired her mother to write a song called You Won’t Be Late Tonight, Will You Mama? Smith sings it now, very shyly — a ballad about a child standing in the window with a teardrop in her eye. “That shows how much I wanted to be with them,” she laughs, her cackle big and earthy. “From there, no way back.”
But when Smith was 8, a family tragedy changed her life. She had a brother, Julian, ten years older, who died of cancer in 1990 — something only revealed recently when her mother mentioned it in an interview with a local newspaper. She said how proud she had been about the resilience of Sheridan and her other brother, Damian.
When you experience bereavement as a child, I ask, do you think it gives you the drive to push yourself harder? Smith wells up in seconds. “Yes. Yes it does.” She dabs a hankie to her eyelashes, and I apologise for asking. “No, not at all. I’ve never spoken about it, really, and I should. There’s always been that extra bit of drive in me, just for him.” After Julian died, she explains, she threw herself into dancing classes in Scunthorpe, which she would attend three nights a week, entering competitions and winning awards. “They were my focus. It’s not that they stopped me grieving, but my life became about trying to do something.”
She takes a breath. “Julian’s always been at the back of my head all these years, he’s really never left it. But recently, since all this” — she gestures around the bright, fluffy room — “and the opening night, everyone coming down on the bus, he was right at the front again. And I was really . . .” She sniffs, trying to make light of what she means. “There’s a moment in the show where I cry, actually, and I was genuinely just roaring with tears, wishing he was there.” She smiles. “Maybe he was.”
Her classes paid off. Smith won a place with the National Youth Music Theatre as a teenager, performing as Tallulah in Bugsy Malone — a production so good that the film’s director, Alan Parker, was persuaded to run it in the West End. After that, Smith got an agent, a role in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, and, in 1999, was named an actress to watch in a broadsheet article about up-and-coming young talents, in which she posed for a photograph next to the young Jamie Oliver. Her role in The Royle Family, as Anthony’s girlfriend, Emma, quickly followed.
But Smith still worries about her abilities as a serious actress, despite receiving good reviews for her stage performances — in Michael Wynne’s The People are Friendly at the Royal Court, in 2002, and two Shakespeare comedies in the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2006.
“I didn’t train, you see, and I feel I might have missed out there. So instead, I’ve just watched people to see what they do. Me staring at geniuses like Caroline Aherne, Liz Smith and Kathy Burke, them probably thinking I’m a lunatic child!” Women have been her inspirations, she says. She is also pleased that there seem to be more big female roles about, and that West End productions are swinging towards them — Calendar Girls being the other obvious example. “Because generally you’re the girlfriend of the lead, or the mistress, or the lover. And in this show, I have two lovers! Bring it on!”
It’s a year since Smith won the role of Elle. She had seen Legally Blonde on Broadway, adored it, and pestered her agent when she heard it was coming to Britain. That wasn’t like her. “But I was thinking, ‘Come on, love, you’re 27, you can do this now.’ ” She shakes her head. “But ever since I got it, I’ve been waiting to be found out. Thinking, can I get away with 18 songs every night? Can I glide on top of everything when beneath I’m doggy- paddling?”
During rehearsals for the show, she had other pressures, too. Smith’s on-off relationship with James Corden, her brother in Gavin & Stacey, came to an end last November, although they remain very close. As we talk about him, he texts her. “Awwww,” she says, her voice squeaking sweetly. “He’s read something in a paper about me, and said he was proud.” She looks at her phone. “It’s nice we still do that. It’s a shame when people who have been together so long lose that closeness. Especially when we’re just two normal people.”
Not that her life is that normal any more. After those glowing reviews, everyone is now talking about what Smith will do next — which baffles her, frankly. “Good God, I’m in this job ’til October! I have to keep working at it, make sure I don’t get ill, all that stuff.” Nevertheless, she is looking forward to going back home for a break. “Walk the dogs up the fields, lean on a front door for an hour and have a chinwag with the neighbours — just be myself.” She hugs me tightly when I leave, and it’s hard to think of her — this refreshing new star — being anything but.
Wednesday 20 January 2010
Smith "gobsmacked" by 'Blonde' reviews
Sheridan Smith has admitted that she is "gobsmacked" by the positive reviews she has received for her stage performance in Legally Blonde.
The Two Pints Of Lager and a Packet of Crisps star plays Elle Woods in the musical adaptation of the 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon.
Smith said: "I'd set myself up that [the critics] might hate it, think it's all a bit of fluff... It would be like, 'Oh that girl off Two Pints is trying to do singing and dancing'.
"And I thought to myself, 'Well, all I can do is my best'. The audience are loving it. I'm loving it. So the fact that the critics then enjoyed it, it’s just the icing on the cake really."
She added of the play: "People can get really deep and think about it too much but to be honest it's two and a half hours away from the freezing cold. It's the credit crunch. It’s the show people need. It's not Chekhov; it's not hard.
"It's got a sweet message about not judging people too much and being true to yourself. That may not be life changing message but people are going away happy and that's enough."
While the show was in preview, Smith expressed fears that she might be out of her depth in the role.
The Two Pints Of Lager and a Packet of Crisps star plays Elle Woods in the musical adaptation of the 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon.
Smith said: "I'd set myself up that [the critics] might hate it, think it's all a bit of fluff... It would be like, 'Oh that girl off Two Pints is trying to do singing and dancing'.
"And I thought to myself, 'Well, all I can do is my best'. The audience are loving it. I'm loving it. So the fact that the critics then enjoyed it, it’s just the icing on the cake really."
She added of the play: "People can get really deep and think about it too much but to be honest it's two and a half hours away from the freezing cold. It's the credit crunch. It’s the show people need. It's not Chekhov; it's not hard.
"It's got a sweet message about not judging people too much and being true to yourself. That may not be life changing message but people are going away happy and that's enough."
While the show was in preview, Smith expressed fears that she might be out of her depth in the role.
Tuesday 19 January 2010
Sheridan Smith: a West End star is born
Legally Blonde: The Musical, like the Hollywood film, tells the story of an apparently ditsy blonde who surprises everyone with her talents, overturning prejudice along the way, and ends the piece universally beloved by friend and foe alike.
Down at the Savoy Theatre, life’s doing an impressive job of imitating art right now. Sheridan Smith is an actress best known for playing Janet, a pert “chav” (Smith’s word) in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, the BBC Three comedy series whose remarkable longevity (eight series) perpetually confounds those critics who harbour the hope that the public might embrace better than fart and vomit jokes in their quest for entertainment. One simply called it, “the worst programme on television”.
It looked, then, like Smith’s taking on the role of Legally Blonde’s heroine Elle Woods, on stage practically throughout and with 18 numbers to belt out, was several steps too far for her. Or, as Sheridan herself succinctly puts it, “It would be like, 'Oh that girl off Two Pints is trying to do singing and dancing ’” But in the event that’s not quite how the reviews of her performance in the show, which opened a week ago, have run. Rather, a star’s been born. “The chief glory of the show is Sheridan Smith as Elle,” wrote Charles Spencer in this paper, “blessed with vitality, warmth, great comic timing and sudden moments of touching vulnerability. She is infinitely more likeable than Reece Witherspoon in the film.” Most other critics have been in a chorus of agreement, finding Smith a delight even when occasionally taking issue with the faux feminism of the story of a girl who goes to Harvard Law School purely so she can get back her high-school sweetheart, becomes a hotshot lawyer in the process but still predicates her identity on wearing pink.
Smith in the flesh, when we meet in her dressing room, is bubbly, artless, pretty and utterly endearing. Very like Elle in fact, without the bad taste.
I’ve barely waded through the congratulatory bouqets (all pink) at the doorway when I’m greeted by a hug and assiduous attempts to make me comfortable.
Smith, 28, declares herself “gob-smacked” by the reviews. “I’d set myself up that [the critics] might hate it, think it's all a bit of fluff,” she says.
“And I thought to myself, 'Well, all I can do is my best. The audience are loving it. I’m loving it. So the fact that the critics then enjoyed it, it’s just the icing on the cake really.” Every performance Smith is getting a standing ovation - she’s doing all 8 a week. Every performance the few sceptics scattered among the fuchsia-clad hen parties - Legally Blonde had taken £2 million at the box office before it even opened - are being won round by her charm. The Savoy Theatre has had to build a new temporary entrance to contain the fans with whom Smith spends an hour signing autographs every night.
“I keep looking behind me wondering who are they screaming at,” says Smith, with a trademark hearty guffaw. “It’s lovely: they’re all young girls. It’s nice they look up to me, though I think, ’Don’t! I’m the last person you should be looking up to [hoots with laughter again].’” What would she say to those detractors who say the show’s not quite the barnstorming piece of political correctness it could be? “People can get really deep and think about it too much but to be honest it’s two and a half hours away from the freezing cold. It’s the credit crunch.
“It’s the show people need. It’s not Chekhov; it’s not hard. It’s got a sweet message about not judging people too much and being true to yourself.
That may not be life changing message but people are going away happy and that’s enough.” Of course, Smith didn’t really spring from the booze-sodden, grubby Two Pints sofa a fully formed stage actress, although she does have no formal training.
Back in 1999, at the tender age of 17, two broadsheet newspapers earmarked her as a future star simply on the merits of her first professional role, in the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods.
She’d got that off the back of her performance in a National Youth Music Theatre production of Bugsy Malone, which had given her enough of the acting bug for her to leave her Yorkshire village and parents, a country-music duo, for a flat in the big smoke and an agent.
A slew of parts in sitcoms followed, including BBC One’s The Royle Family, BBC Three’s Grownups (written especially for Smith), ITV1’s Benidorm (most recently) as well as Two Pints. She has also become Alan Davies’s new assistant in BBC One murder mystery drama Johnathan Creek (she’s in an upcoming Easter special). And then there was her volatile relationship, much trawled over by the tabloids, with Gavin and Stacey’s James Corden (she also played his sister). They split up seven months ago (there’s no replacement) and it’s amicable now - “he called me yesterday; he’s coming to see the show.” But all that said, Elle Woods is certainly Smith's breakthrough moment. “All I wanted as a child was to be on the West End. This is my dream part.” She’s a dog lover, owning three, and Legally Blonde even features two live dogs - “as if this job couldn’t get any better!” She’s says she’s taken each of the five Chihuahuas trained to play Elle’s pet Bruiser home for a night to bond with them.
Does Hollywood beckon now she’s cracked the West End? Smith widens her eyes, and laughs the hardest yet. “Would I like to go to America? I don’t know if it isn’t all tits and teeth. They’re all so beautiful over there.
“But no, all I’m thinking about is doing this run as best I can. I’m signed up until October. Every job I think, ’Oh my god I’ll get found out soon and never work again.’ So, no, I'm not thinking beyond this.” Perhaps, though, she should be.
Down at the Savoy Theatre, life’s doing an impressive job of imitating art right now. Sheridan Smith is an actress best known for playing Janet, a pert “chav” (Smith’s word) in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, the BBC Three comedy series whose remarkable longevity (eight series) perpetually confounds those critics who harbour the hope that the public might embrace better than fart and vomit jokes in their quest for entertainment. One simply called it, “the worst programme on television”.
It looked, then, like Smith’s taking on the role of Legally Blonde’s heroine Elle Woods, on stage practically throughout and with 18 numbers to belt out, was several steps too far for her. Or, as Sheridan herself succinctly puts it, “It would be like, 'Oh that girl off Two Pints is trying to do singing and dancing ’” But in the event that’s not quite how the reviews of her performance in the show, which opened a week ago, have run. Rather, a star’s been born. “The chief glory of the show is Sheridan Smith as Elle,” wrote Charles Spencer in this paper, “blessed with vitality, warmth, great comic timing and sudden moments of touching vulnerability. She is infinitely more likeable than Reece Witherspoon in the film.” Most other critics have been in a chorus of agreement, finding Smith a delight even when occasionally taking issue with the faux feminism of the story of a girl who goes to Harvard Law School purely so she can get back her high-school sweetheart, becomes a hotshot lawyer in the process but still predicates her identity on wearing pink.
Smith in the flesh, when we meet in her dressing room, is bubbly, artless, pretty and utterly endearing. Very like Elle in fact, without the bad taste.
I’ve barely waded through the congratulatory bouqets (all pink) at the doorway when I’m greeted by a hug and assiduous attempts to make me comfortable.
Smith, 28, declares herself “gob-smacked” by the reviews. “I’d set myself up that [the critics] might hate it, think it's all a bit of fluff,” she says.
“And I thought to myself, 'Well, all I can do is my best. The audience are loving it. I’m loving it. So the fact that the critics then enjoyed it, it’s just the icing on the cake really.” Every performance Smith is getting a standing ovation - she’s doing all 8 a week. Every performance the few sceptics scattered among the fuchsia-clad hen parties - Legally Blonde had taken £2 million at the box office before it even opened - are being won round by her charm. The Savoy Theatre has had to build a new temporary entrance to contain the fans with whom Smith spends an hour signing autographs every night.
“I keep looking behind me wondering who are they screaming at,” says Smith, with a trademark hearty guffaw. “It’s lovely: they’re all young girls. It’s nice they look up to me, though I think, ’Don’t! I’m the last person you should be looking up to [hoots with laughter again].’” What would she say to those detractors who say the show’s not quite the barnstorming piece of political correctness it could be? “People can get really deep and think about it too much but to be honest it’s two and a half hours away from the freezing cold. It’s the credit crunch.
“It’s the show people need. It’s not Chekhov; it’s not hard. It’s got a sweet message about not judging people too much and being true to yourself.
That may not be life changing message but people are going away happy and that’s enough.” Of course, Smith didn’t really spring from the booze-sodden, grubby Two Pints sofa a fully formed stage actress, although she does have no formal training.
Back in 1999, at the tender age of 17, two broadsheet newspapers earmarked her as a future star simply on the merits of her first professional role, in the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods.
She’d got that off the back of her performance in a National Youth Music Theatre production of Bugsy Malone, which had given her enough of the acting bug for her to leave her Yorkshire village and parents, a country-music duo, for a flat in the big smoke and an agent.
A slew of parts in sitcoms followed, including BBC One’s The Royle Family, BBC Three’s Grownups (written especially for Smith), ITV1’s Benidorm (most recently) as well as Two Pints. She has also become Alan Davies’s new assistant in BBC One murder mystery drama Johnathan Creek (she’s in an upcoming Easter special). And then there was her volatile relationship, much trawled over by the tabloids, with Gavin and Stacey’s James Corden (she also played his sister). They split up seven months ago (there’s no replacement) and it’s amicable now - “he called me yesterday; he’s coming to see the show.” But all that said, Elle Woods is certainly Smith's breakthrough moment. “All I wanted as a child was to be on the West End. This is my dream part.” She’s a dog lover, owning three, and Legally Blonde even features two live dogs - “as if this job couldn’t get any better!” She’s says she’s taken each of the five Chihuahuas trained to play Elle’s pet Bruiser home for a night to bond with them.
Does Hollywood beckon now she’s cracked the West End? Smith widens her eyes, and laughs the hardest yet. “Would I like to go to America? I don’t know if it isn’t all tits and teeth. They’re all so beautiful over there.
“But no, all I’m thinking about is doing this run as best I can. I’m signed up until October. Every job I think, ’Oh my god I’ll get found out soon and never work again.’ So, no, I'm not thinking beyond this.” Perhaps, though, she should be.
Monday 18 January 2010
More Magazine (18 January 2010)
When I went down to see Duncan James and Sheridan Smith at the Savoy Theatre in London, I wasn't expecting the warm welcome I got. Sheridan made us all a cuppa in her dressing room (I spotted her trying to hide her chicken fillets!) and Duncan turned up late - what a diva! (Not really - he even invited me round to his house to nick some of his cast-off clothes). Yes, next time you see me on the telly I could be dressed as Duncan from Blue...
Alan: Hello there you two! How is the show going?
Duncan: It's going great actually. We're having really good fun aren't we?
Sheridan: Yeah, it's brilliant.
D: I like working with Sheridan. She makes it for me.
A: Aww!
D: I am glad you're in the cast, Sheridan, because we get on great and I'm closest to you out of anyone in the whole bloody cast.
A:[To Sheridan] Do you like him?
S: No. [Laughs] I absolutely love him, I do. I'm really chuffed. I did worry. You worry about your leading man. If you're going to get on with him...
A: Yeah. But there's chemistry between you, isn't there?
D: [Laughs] We have to kiss each other every night.
S: He's a really good kisser.
A: Is he?
S: Really good kisser.
D: We slip the tongue in sometimes.
S: We do, we do slip the tongue in.
A: Do you slip the tongue in on special nights, like, maybe on a Saturday night? 'It's the weekend, let's have a bit of tongue'?
D: Sometimes we like to slip in a bit of garlic breath as well, just to put the other person off.
S: [Laughing] Yeah, we went out to dinner the other day...
D: We both had some garlic bread - we were both stinking! I made her eat it, I said, 'If I'm going to have some garlic bread, you have to have some too. Otherwise I'm going to kiss you and you're goign to pass out with the stink of garlic. 'She was like, 'I don't really want any', and I was like, 'You're going to fucking have some!'
S: When are you going to come and see Legally Blonde, Alan?
A: I am coming this month, actually. So, have you had any wardrobe problems? You have loads of costume changes. Have you done a Janet Jackson? Has your tit popped out, Sheridan?
S: I split my pants in rehearsals, didn't I?
D: You did.
A: No!
S: There I was, with my arse hanging out.
A: What do you wear? Thongs, big knickers?
S: It was a French knicker that day, Alan.
A: Ooh, nice. Does your knob pop out sometimes, Duncan? Here at more! we like to know these things...
D: No, no cock falling out, thank God. We do have a little grope, though, at the beginning of the show.
S: You do grope me a lot.
D: I do.
A: He's a good kisser, is he a good groper?
S: He's a good groper as well.
A: Duncan, your character's quite naughty, isn't he?
D: He is a bit of a c***. To put it mildly...
A: A loveable rogue, would you say?
D: He's a bit of a knob to be honest. He dumps Sheridan's character Elle because his mum and dad have told him he's got to have a serious girlfriend as he is going to Harvard Law School. And of course, Sheridan follows my character, Warner, to Harvard and she discovers he's got another girlfriend. A brunette...
S: [In American accent] With a mousy brown bob!
D: And of course that breaks Elle's heart, so then she tries to win me back and I become more and more of a knob throughout the show really.
A: Do you enjoy playing those parts? Do you enjoy playing a bastard?
D: Yes, it's quite fun.
A: It must be fun playing a baddie...
D: It's a bit pantomimey. I do a scene where I propose to the other girl in front of Sheridan and the audience go, 'boo'!
A: Sheridan, are you a dumb blonde? What's the dumbest thing you've done?
S: All the time, yeah. All sorts. I burnt my bruschetta the other day, set the kitchen on fire. Do you think I am intelligent?
A: [Laughs] Well, I wouldn't go that far.
D: You're not a ditsy blonde, not at all.
S: I'm not bright though.
A: So Duncan, have you had any of the boys from Blue come down to see you?
D: Yes, on the first night.
A: First night? Great. Has your Gavin and Stacey co-star James Corden come to see you, Sheridan?
S: He said he'd wait until I settle in.
A: Oh, that's nice...
S: He's not goign to tell me when he is coming, which is quite scary. But I'll hear his laugh - you know what his laugh is like. I'll know after the first five minutes.
A: Did you see that picture of me and him at Mariah Carey's party, with my tit hanging out?
S: It was brilliant!
D: Your tit hanging out?
A: I was so pissed. Mariah had these £1,000 bottles of Champagne at her party. I'm so pikey! I was like, 'I'll have a bit of that, it's free.' Then I was on the podium, dancing. James rips open my shirt and starts licking my nipple and then flash, flash, flash - the paparazzi are there! Anyway, enough about me, did you make a New Year's resolution?
D: My New Year's resolution was to sort out my house, Kelly Hoppen [interior designer] is coming round to sort it out.
S: Is she?!
D: My walk-in wardrobe is just ridiculous. It's overflowing. So I am just going to get rid of this stuff I don't need. Clear out.
A: You need to sort it out.
D: Do you want any clothes?
A: Yeah, I could come round and have first pickings. Don't throw them out. Actually, I couldn't fit in your clothes.
D: Why not?
A: What size waist are you?
D: 34.
A: Well I'm a 34! On a good day. When I take my maternity panel out. And what was yours, Sheridan?
S: Just keep on not smoking.
A: Well done! How long have you been off the cigarettes?
S: Eight weeks.
A: God, that's brave.
S: I stopped as soon as I found out I was doing Legally Blonde.
D: You've been brilliant though.
S: Yeah, because I've been so busy with this, I've not had a chance to think about it. It's when I have a drink that I fancy one.
A: That's always the way.
S: But I'm doing alright, so I'm going to try and keep it up. That's the plan for the rest of the year.
A: Well, congratulations on stopping smoking! Listen, it was lovely to meet you both - Duncan I'll pop round for a cup of tea and look through your clothes soon then?
D: Anytime, Alan!
Alan: Hello there you two! How is the show going?
Duncan: It's going great actually. We're having really good fun aren't we?
Sheridan: Yeah, it's brilliant.
D: I like working with Sheridan. She makes it for me.
A: Aww!
D: I am glad you're in the cast, Sheridan, because we get on great and I'm closest to you out of anyone in the whole bloody cast.
A:[To Sheridan] Do you like him?
S: No. [Laughs] I absolutely love him, I do. I'm really chuffed. I did worry. You worry about your leading man. If you're going to get on with him...
A: Yeah. But there's chemistry between you, isn't there?
D: [Laughs] We have to kiss each other every night.
S: He's a really good kisser.
A: Is he?
S: Really good kisser.
D: We slip the tongue in sometimes.
S: We do, we do slip the tongue in.
A: Do you slip the tongue in on special nights, like, maybe on a Saturday night? 'It's the weekend, let's have a bit of tongue'?
D: Sometimes we like to slip in a bit of garlic breath as well, just to put the other person off.
S: [Laughing] Yeah, we went out to dinner the other day...
D: We both had some garlic bread - we were both stinking! I made her eat it, I said, 'If I'm going to have some garlic bread, you have to have some too. Otherwise I'm going to kiss you and you're goign to pass out with the stink of garlic. 'She was like, 'I don't really want any', and I was like, 'You're going to fucking have some!'
S: When are you going to come and see Legally Blonde, Alan?
A: I am coming this month, actually. So, have you had any wardrobe problems? You have loads of costume changes. Have you done a Janet Jackson? Has your tit popped out, Sheridan?
S: I split my pants in rehearsals, didn't I?
D: You did.
A: No!
S: There I was, with my arse hanging out.
A: What do you wear? Thongs, big knickers?
S: It was a French knicker that day, Alan.
A: Ooh, nice. Does your knob pop out sometimes, Duncan? Here at more! we like to know these things...
D: No, no cock falling out, thank God. We do have a little grope, though, at the beginning of the show.
S: You do grope me a lot.
D: I do.
A: He's a good kisser, is he a good groper?
S: He's a good groper as well.
A: Duncan, your character's quite naughty, isn't he?
D: He is a bit of a c***. To put it mildly...
A: A loveable rogue, would you say?
D: He's a bit of a knob to be honest. He dumps Sheridan's character Elle because his mum and dad have told him he's got to have a serious girlfriend as he is going to Harvard Law School. And of course, Sheridan follows my character, Warner, to Harvard and she discovers he's got another girlfriend. A brunette...
S: [In American accent] With a mousy brown bob!
D: And of course that breaks Elle's heart, so then she tries to win me back and I become more and more of a knob throughout the show really.
A: Do you enjoy playing those parts? Do you enjoy playing a bastard?
D: Yes, it's quite fun.
A: It must be fun playing a baddie...
D: It's a bit pantomimey. I do a scene where I propose to the other girl in front of Sheridan and the audience go, 'boo'!
A: Sheridan, are you a dumb blonde? What's the dumbest thing you've done?
S: All the time, yeah. All sorts. I burnt my bruschetta the other day, set the kitchen on fire. Do you think I am intelligent?
A: [Laughs] Well, I wouldn't go that far.
D: You're not a ditsy blonde, not at all.
S: I'm not bright though.
A: So Duncan, have you had any of the boys from Blue come down to see you?
D: Yes, on the first night.
A: First night? Great. Has your Gavin and Stacey co-star James Corden come to see you, Sheridan?
S: He said he'd wait until I settle in.
A: Oh, that's nice...
S: He's not goign to tell me when he is coming, which is quite scary. But I'll hear his laugh - you know what his laugh is like. I'll know after the first five minutes.
A: Did you see that picture of me and him at Mariah Carey's party, with my tit hanging out?
S: It was brilliant!
D: Your tit hanging out?
A: I was so pissed. Mariah had these £1,000 bottles of Champagne at her party. I'm so pikey! I was like, 'I'll have a bit of that, it's free.' Then I was on the podium, dancing. James rips open my shirt and starts licking my nipple and then flash, flash, flash - the paparazzi are there! Anyway, enough about me, did you make a New Year's resolution?
D: My New Year's resolution was to sort out my house, Kelly Hoppen [interior designer] is coming round to sort it out.
S: Is she?!
D: My walk-in wardrobe is just ridiculous. It's overflowing. So I am just going to get rid of this stuff I don't need. Clear out.
A: You need to sort it out.
D: Do you want any clothes?
A: Yeah, I could come round and have first pickings. Don't throw them out. Actually, I couldn't fit in your clothes.
D: Why not?
A: What size waist are you?
D: 34.
A: Well I'm a 34! On a good day. When I take my maternity panel out. And what was yours, Sheridan?
S: Just keep on not smoking.
A: Well done! How long have you been off the cigarettes?
S: Eight weeks.
A: God, that's brave.
S: I stopped as soon as I found out I was doing Legally Blonde.
D: You've been brilliant though.
S: Yeah, because I've been so busy with this, I've not had a chance to think about it. It's when I have a drink that I fancy one.
A: That's always the way.
S: But I'm doing alright, so I'm going to try and keep it up. That's the plan for the rest of the year.
A: Well, congratulations on stopping smoking! Listen, it was lovely to meet you both - Duncan I'll pop round for a cup of tea and look through your clothes soon then?
D: Anytime, Alan!
Sunday 10 January 2010
It's Legally Blonde mania – show a hit before it even opens
Legally Blonde, The Musical, which has its gala opening performance on Wednesday, is not Chekhov. It's frothy and unashamedly silly but producers say they have been taken aback by the reaction since it began previewing last month – all previews have been sold out, the atmosphere inside has been like a pop concert and the aftershow crowds have prompted the theatre to create a new stage door at the front.
"There is something going on in this theatre, that's for sure," said the show's producer, Sonia Friedman. "There is an energy and a buzz that I've not been involved in before. The word seems to be out. The first preview was what I imagine Beatlemania to have been like. You sometimes couldn't even hear the performers through the screaming. It was incredible. Now it has calmed down a bit, thankfully, so you can actually hear the show."
The show is based on the 2001 film, which starred Reese Witherspoon as a ditsy Malibu sorority girl who gets dumped by her boyfriend when he gets a place at Harvard. Her response is to get a place there too and prove herself as a law student – complete with pink clothes and her chihuahua.
The musical opened on Broadway in 2007 to good reviews but not good enough audiences. It closed in October 2008. Which raises the question – why bring it to London's Savoy Theatre?
"I saw it about three years ago and I just fell in love with it," said Friedman, one of the West End's most successful producers. "Why? It made me laugh and it made me really, really happy."
Friedman believes one problem with the New York version was the cost: it cost $16m (£10m). In London it will cost £2.5m. The running costs are also in different leagues: $650,000-700,000 in New York; £180,000 in London.
Also, while the Broadway show did well with girls in the holidays and weekends it "failed to find the people it looks like we are finding – the couples, the groups, the granny taking her granddaughter, the father taking his son".
She also believes the story was not exotic enough for New York audiences, it was too close to home, whereas for "horrible, windy, grey, snowy, traffic-filled" London the show provides much wanted escapism.
That it arrives in London when the appetite for feelgood froth is high is more down to chance than design, said Friedman. "The fact that it's taken so long to bring to London is purely down to theatre availability. As it's happened, though, the timing is brilliant."
The show has taken £1.5m in advance ticket sales and its buzz seems to be spreading word of mouth as well as virally on Facebook and Twitter. It has also adopted the New York practice of having a daily lottery – turn up two hours before the show and you have the chance to win top-price tickets for £10.
Legally Blonde is also following Broadway by letting in reviewers early with an agreement that reviews are not published before a common date: the theory is that it gives critics more time to reflect.
Friedman is well aware that, for all the preview buzz, the critics could kill the show off. "Yes, of course it could go belly up. Of course I want the reviewers to see what I see in the show and not just see it as sugary, candy, pink nonsense because that's not what the show is.
"The show is about being yourself. About not making yourself into what others think you should be."
What all musical producers hope for, dream about, is getting enough traction to sustain a long run. Last week record box office years were announced by Wicked (£27.3m) and The Lion King (£32m). And in their wildest dreams they might look at Les Miserables, now in its 25th year and which, last Tuesday, had its 10,000th performance in the West End.
The show needs – depends on – a strong leading performance from the actor playing Elle Woods, in this case TV star Sheridan Smith (Two Pints of Lager, Gavin and Stacey).
The critics will have their say on Thursday but Friedman is effusive. It's "one of the most remarkable performances I've ever seen and I'm honestly not just saying that because I'm the producer".
The lack of really big names – the other stars are Duncan James from Blue, Peter Davison and Jill Halfpenny – make the crowds all the more surprising.
The crowds gathered on the evening the Guardian was there were not exactly massed hordes, but then it was fantastically cold. It was Thursday night and most sensible people were thinking more about the ice-rink nightmare of getting home than queuing for autographs.
Those that were there were, mostly young and female and, most crucially, did not have far to get home.
Ruth Watson and Valerie Cairns, Southport care home managers on a short break in London, were a touch older than the average, but still determined to get autographs. "It was just so brilliant, we absolutely loved it," said Watson. "It made you feel good and that's what you need. We've seen a few shows while we've been here and this was by far the best."
Katie Kyle, on holiday from Texas, had seen the Broadway version but preferred this one – better costumes and cast, she said. "It worked well in New York but I think it will really take off here."
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