INFORMAL - AN INTERVIEW SERIES
KERRY ELLIS
Kerry Ellis made her West End debut in the 2001 revival of My Fair Lady, understudying the role of Eliza Doolittle, and has subsequently gone on to star in many musical theatre productions, including leading roles in shows such as Les Misérables. Wicked and Anything Goes, and she recently played Cruella de Vil on the tour of 101 Dalmatians The Musical.
She has also released four studio albums and she is about to appear in the staged concert version of IF/THEN from Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning team, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey at London's Savoy Theatre. There are two performances on Monday 10th February and Monday 17th February.
I met Kerry last month at the press launch for IF/THEN and I asked her how she was feeling about bringing this show to the stage for its UK premiere: "This show has been in my life for a little while now and I've recorded a video for the song 'Always Starting Over' in Covent Garden at the end of the pandemic and it always felt like this show was something that needed to be performed. We then did a workshop and I just love the story and the music so to be doing the concert is wonderful and hopefully it could have another life as a full musical down the line."
In the show Kerry plays Elizabeth, a woman in her late thirties who moves to New York to make a fresh start and her personal life becomes overcomplicated: "We all overthink everything in our lives and ask ourselves 'what if I'd have made that choice?' and the beauty of this story is that it shows both eventualities. What would happen if you made both choices. Overthinking things makes us human and that's why I love this show - it's just a normal story. It's about people's relationships and their friendships. It's about love and loss but will make you laugh and I think people like to relate to somthing they see on stage."
I wondered whether the fact that this show is being presented as a concert rather than a full scale production gives extra challenges to Kerry as a performer: "It's a lot to learn for one evening and we don't get the luxury of a long rehearsal window, but that does add an element of danger and excitement! And doing a show for one night only creates an electric atmosphere for both the audience and us on stage is so much fun, it's an adrenaline rush. It's exciting because we don't know what's going to happen." *
I was interested to hear Kerry's thoughts on whether she thinks concerts such as this one have a value to the theatre industry as a whole: "I do because they give people a flavour - an insight into the musical, to see if they like it and can relate to it. It's not a full scale production but it plays the music, tells the story and gives an idea of the show and that's what they are designed to do."
There's no denying Kerry's passion for this role and this presentation of IF/THEN is sure to be a huge success and will have audiences screaming for a full scale production. Find all the ticketing details bellow.
If/Then
The Savoy Theatre
Monday 10th February & Monday 17th February 2025
*when this interview was held, IF/THEN was only a one night concert. A second date has subsequently been added.
Interview conducted by Neill Kovacic-Clarke for Pink Prince Theatre on 13/01/25
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