Jill Paice Lands Lead in UK Woman in White
by Broadway Staff • Jun 11, 2004
Jill Paice will star alongside Michael Crawford, Maria Friedman and Angela Christian in the world premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White. The new tuner is set to start performances at the Palace Theatre on August 28 in preparation for a September 15 opening.
"Presenting a new piece like this it's a little bit overwhelming, but at the same time I am ready," Paice told Broadway.com. "I am just so excited. I can't even explain it. The script is great--there is not a lot of spoken dialogue, it's mostly recitative--and the music is great."
Ken Mandelbaum first reported on May 25 that Paice would have a lead role in the musical. She will play Laurie Fairlie, younger sister of Freidman's Marian Halcombe and the girl whose fiancé's evil intentions set the plot in motion. This is same role that Anne Hathaway played in the reading on The Woman in White. Hathaway was in negotiations to appear in the West End premiere, but left the project in order to concentrate on her film career.
"Presenting a new piece like this it's a little bit overwhelming, but at the same time I am ready," Paice told Broadway.com. "I am just so excited. I can't even explain it. The script is great--there is not a lot of spoken dialogue, it's mostly recitative--and the music is great."
Ken Mandelbaum first reported on May 25 that Paice would have a lead role in the musical. She will play Laurie Fairlie, younger sister of Freidman's Marian Halcombe and the girl whose fiancé's evil intentions set the plot in motion. This is same role that Anne Hathaway played in the reading on The Woman in White. Hathaway was in negotiations to appear in the West End premiere, but left the project in order to concentrate on her film career.
Paice was Sophie in the original Las Vegas company of Mamma Mia!. She also appeared on the tour of Les Miserables. Her regional theater credits include Gypsy, The Fantasticks and The Music Man.
Directed by Trevor Nunn and based on the classic Wilkie Collins novel of the same name, The Woman in White features music by Lloyd Webber, lyrics by David Zippel and a book by Charlotte Jones Humble Boy.
--Cara Joy David, Broadway.com