West End’s Leading Lady Ruthie Henshall makes Aussie debut for charity

AUSSIETHEATRE EXCLUSIVE

BREAKING NEWS:

AussieTheatre.com can confirm that acclaimed international music theatre star, Ruthie Henshall will be making her Australian debut at Sydney’s Theatre Royal this April, in a very special charity event for the White Ribbon Foundation.

(Yes, you read correctly. Ruthie. Henshall.)

A one-off charity performance of the popular musical revue Side By Side By Sondheim, featuring Henshall and a dazzling array of some of Australia’s most popular and acclaimed stage performers, will take place on Friday 20 April.

Producer Enda Markey is thrilled to be presenting Henshall, one of the world’s  leading music theatre performers, in her first Australian stage appearance.

“I have been a huge fan of Ruthie for many years. She is one of my favourite voices of all time and she really gets this kind of material”, he said.

Henshall has starred in some of the most successful musicals of the past twenty-five years on Broadway and London’s West End, including Les Misérables, Chicago, Miss Saigon, Crazy For You and Stephen Sondheim’s Putting It Together. The winner of an Olivier Award (London’s highest honour in theatre) as well as the “Theatregoers” award for Most Popular Musical Actress in the past twenty-five years, Ruthie has also appeared in as Fantine in the 10^th Anniversary Concert Version of Les Misérables, (broadcast on television) and the Hey Mr Producer series.

Side By Side By Sondheim is a musical revue which celebrates the earlier work of legendary Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, and Ruthie Henshall knows Sondheim’s material inside out.

“I mean, she’s done Sondheim on Broadway!”, Markey quipped. “And this is also a really great opportunity to get somebody down here who wouldn’t be performing in Australia otherwise.”

This one-of-a-kind concert is being staged to raise money for the White Ribbon Foundation, Australia’s campaign to stop violence against women.

“I wanted to pick a charity that I really believed in. I had been aware of their work for a while, but they are kind of an underdog – a lower profile charity – so we wanted to do something to raise that profile”, Markey explained.

Joining Ruthie on stage will be more than twenty of Australia’s leading names in musical theatre, set to create a truly magical evening that is not to be missed. While the full line up of Australian performers will be announced imminently, AussieTheatre can reveal at least one Australian celebrity who will be joining Ruthie on stage at the Theatre Royal.

Andrew O’Keefe, Australian entertainer, television personality and Chairman of the White Ribbon Foundation will (aptly) be performing as one of the ‘Narrators’ for the evening.

Only 1000 seats available for this charity event, and tickets are set to sell out fast. Tickets will be on sale from Monday 27 February, but AussieTheatre readers can take advantage of a special pre-sale offer from 9am Thursday morning (23 February).

“We are hoping to raise $100, 000 for the charity”, said Markey.

Don’t wait until the last second, don’t wait until the full line up is announced (which we can assure you, sounds magnificent) – with only 1000 seats available, you wouldn’t want to miss this star in action.

For a sneak peek of Ruthie singing the Sondheim classic Send In The Clowns (A Little Night Music), take a look at the clip below.

Theatre Royal, Sydney

Friday 20 April at 8pm

Tickets from Ticketek

Tel: 132 849

E: www.ticketek.com.au

Tickets: $120/$150*

www.sidebyside.com.au