Janie Dee, Hadley Fraser and Joanna Riding: A Little Night Music Concert Reading

Updated 3rd June: Hadley Fraser has had to pull out of this reading and Phantom star Simon Bailey will take his place.

There is a one off concert reading of the Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler musical A Little Night Music at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford at 7:00 pm on Sunday June 16th.

The evening will feature an all star West End cast including Janie Dee (Carousel, Comic Potential, Noises Off) as Desirée Armfeldt: Hadley Fraser (currently in rehearsal for  The Pajama Game at Chichester, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, The Pirate Queen) as Count Carl- Magnus Malcolm:   David Birrell (Ragtime, Spamalot, Passion) as Frederik Egerman: Joanna Riding (also in the Pajama Game, Carousel, The Witches of Eastwick, My Fair Lady) as Countess Charlotte Malcolm: Anna O'Byrne (Love Never Dies, The Phantom of the Opera) as Anne Egerman: Fra Fee (Les Miserables Movie) as Henrik Egerman: Laura Pitt-Pulford (Mack and Mabel, Sunset Boulevard, Hello Dolly) as Petra.

The cast also includes Nadim Naaman as Mr Erlanson: Scott Garnham as Mr Lindquist:  Kimberly Blake as Mrs Nordstrom:  Lisa-Anne Wood as Mrs Anderssen and Laura Sillett as Mrs Segstrom with further casting  still to be announced.

Tickets priced between  £26-29 can be booked on the Yvonne Arnaud website or by phone on  01483 440000.

Peters and Stritch to replace Zeta-Jones and Lansbury in Sondheim’s Little Night Music?

The Tony-nominated Menier Chocolate Factory revival of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's A Little Night Music which transferred to Broadway and had announced a closing date of June 20th may now continue with two new stars.

Broadway legends Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch have been approached to take over the roles of Desirée Armfeldt and her worldly-wise mother Madame Armfeldt (which are currently played by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury).

The two divas have never shared a Broadway stage before, and if the pairing comes off tickets sales are expected to go through the roof.

Peters has created leading roles in Sondheim and Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods and also played stage mother Rose in Gypsy; while Stritch created the role of Joanne in Sondheim's Company, belted out "Broadway Baby" in Follies in Concert and recently completed two engagements at the Cafe Carlyle in Singin' Sondheim…One Song at a Time.