Rose's Turn Once More! Imelda Staunton-led Gypsy Will Transfer to the West End

Here she is, boys! As speculated, the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Gypsy, starring two-time Olivier Award winner Imelda Staunton, will transfer to the West End. According to the Daily Mail, the Jonathan Kent-helmed production will begin performances on March 30, 2015 at the Savoy Theatre, where it will play through November 28.

The Chichester production began performances on October 6 and concluded its run on November 8. While additional casting for the West End engagement has not yet been announced, the previous mounting also featured Lara Pulver as Louise and Kevin Whately as Herbie.

Staunton last appeared in the West End in Sweeney Todd. She won Olivier Awards for Into the Woods and The Corn is Green. Her many screen credits include Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter series and Vera Drake, for which she earned an Oscar nomination.

Gypsy, featuring a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, tells the story of how Rose Hovick (or Mama Rose, as she is best known) inadvertently helps to turn her daughter, Louise, into the burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee. It last played the London stage in 1973, starring Angela Lansbury as the ultimate stage mother.