20 Questions With...Ruthie HenshallDate: 20 August 2001
Musical star Ruthie Henshall, opening this week in the West End's Peggy Sue Got Married, explains what lured her home from Broadway & why she thinks Susan Stroman is a genius.
Award-winning musicals star Ruthie Henshall returns home from New York this month to make her first West End stage appearance in nearly three years.
Henshall's West End credits include Cats, Les Miserables and Miss Saigon as well as Crazy For You and Chicago, both of which she received Laurence Olivier nominations for, and She Loves Me, for which she won the Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical.
Having played Roxie Hart in London, Henshall went on to make her Broadway debut as Velma Kelly in the New York production of Kander and Ebb's Chicago. Off stage, she's recorded her own solo albums and has also contributed to a number of original cast recordings.
Henshall is now playing the lead in the West End production of Peggy Sue Got Married, a musical adaptation of Francis Ford Coppola's film about a fortysomething woman who faints at her high school reunion and wakes up back in her 1950s teens.
Date & place of birth
Born on 7 March 1967 in Bromley, Kent.
Now lives in...
New York city
Trained at
Laine Theatre Arts at Epsom in Surrey.
First big break
Crazy for You
Career highlights
Crazy for You, She Loves Me and Chicago.
Favourite production that you've worked on
Crazy for You, because it was my first real creation of a role.
Favourite co-stars
John Gordon Sinclair for being the most glorious actor and providing support, and Sandy Duncan because I idolise her as a talent and a woman.
Favourite composer/librettist
I love anything by the Gershwins - they really are my singing cup of tea.
Favourite choreographer
Without question, it's Susan Stroman. She pushes the boundaries of dance and makes you really want to please her. I think she is a genius.
What role would you most like to play (if you haven't already)?
It's always the one I'm playing at the time!
How do you find performing on Broadway differs from performing in the West End?
Broadway has a much tighter community feel, and the dedication is greater within musical theatre. But I also like the honesty of England.
What's the best thing currently on stage?
The Producers on Broadway.
What advice would you give to the government to secure the future of British theatre?
Spend some money. After all, we in the entertainment world bring enough of it in for them.
Favourite book
The Harry Potter series.
Favourite after-show haunt
The Ivy.
Favourite holiday destination
Jumby Bay, Antigua.
What attracted you to your role in Peggy Sue Got Married?
The role is irresistible. Peggy Sue goes through the whole rainbow of emotions, and it's very different from anything I've ever done before.
What's your favourite number from Peggy Sue Got Married?
"This Time Around", because it's all about having a second chance and being able to learn from the past.
What's your favourite line from Peggy Sue Got Married?
"I happen to know that in the future I will have absolutely no need whatsoever for algebra and I speak from experience." (Peggy Sue says this to her maths teacher.)
What was the most notable thing that happened during rehearsals for Peggy Sue Got Married?
Just watching things being cut, changed and rewritten was fantastic. You could go on stage that night using lines which were only written that afternoon. It certainly keeps you on your toes.
- Ruthie Henshall was speaking to Terri Paddock
Peggy Sue Got Married opens at the West End's Shaftesbury Theatre on 20 August 2001, following previews from 2 August.
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