Jenna Russell to star in SINATRA THE MUSICAL with full casting announced
Olivier Award winning Jenna Russell, who is currently Olivier-nominated for the 4th time, is to play Dolly, Frank Sinatra’s mother, in the West End premiere of Sinatra The Musical, the new musical based on the life and career of the legendary artist and cultural icon.
Jenna Russell can currently be seen playing her Olivier nominated role of Maureen Fry in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
She joins the already announced Joel Harper-Jackson as Frank Sinatra, Ana Villafañe as the movie goddess Ava Gardner and Phoebe Panaretos as Frank’s first wife, Nancy Sinatra.
The company is completed by: Oliver Adam-Reynolds as Nat King Cole/Ensemble, Becky Anderson as Lana Turner/Ensemble, Carl Au as Lee Mortimer/Ensemble, Sam Brown as Tommy Dorsey/Ensemble, Helen Colby as Hedda Hopper/Ensemble, Emma Crossley (Swing), Adam Davidson as Gene Kelly/Ensemble, Alexander Day (Swing/Dance Captain), Christopher GoPaul (Swing), Stuart Hickey (Swing), Jenna Innes as Judy Garland/Ensemble, Marty Maguire as Marty Sinatra, Mia Musakembeva (Ensemble), Melissa Nettleford as Billie Holiday/Ensemble, Samuel Nicholas (Ensemble), Nardia Ruth (Swing), Christina Shand (Swing/Assistant Dance Captain), John Stacey as Mitch Miller/Harry Cohn/Ensemble, Allana Taylor as Marlene Dietrich/Ensemble, and Lee Zarrett as George Evans. Sylvie Regan, Mia Savident and Felicity Walton share the role of Little Nancy.
Director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall said: "I've been a huge fan of Jenna Russell's ever since I had the great pleasure of seeing her astonishing performance in Sunday in the Park with George on Broadway. I'm so excited to be collaborating with Jenna and with our entire brilliant cast on Sinatra the Musical. We can't wait to welcome audiences into Sinatra's world at the Aldwych Theatre this summer!”
Sinatra The Musical, which features over 20 timeless hits including That’s Life, One For My Baby, The Best Is Yet To Come & Come Fly With Me, is to begin performances at Aldwych Theatre, London on Wednesday 3 June 2026. Press Night will be Wednesday 24 June 2026.
It is New Year’s Eve, 1942, and a skinny 27-year-old Italian American singer is about to step onto the stage of New York’s Paramount Theatre and give a performance that will change music history. As Frank Sinatra’s career suddenly skyrockets, he struggles with balancing the love of his wife, Nancy, against the demands and temptations of being the most popular singer in America. But when he begins a torrid affair with movie goddess Ava Gardner, his records stop selling and the press turns against him, sending his career into a tailspin. Driven by his devotion to his family, Sinatra employs his peerless artistry and dogged determination to stage the greatest comeback in showbiz history.
Sinatra The Musical is written by the two-time Tony award-winning writer Joe DiPietro, directed and choreographed by three-time Tony Award-winning Kathleen Marshall, with set design by Olivier Award-winning Peter McKintosh. The orchestra of seventeen musicians will be supervised by Gareth Valentine. They are joined on the creative team by costume designer Jon Morrell, lighting designer Bruno Poet, sound designer Jonathan Deans, video designer Akhila Krishnan, wigs, hair and make-up designer Campbell Young Associates, orchestrator Larry Blank, arrangers Gareth Valentine & Ian Eisendrath, dance arranger David Chase, casting director David Grindrod, CDG for Grindrod Burton Casting, and US casting directors Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger (US Casting (Carnahan).
For more information, click here