Jordan Rolls Out Pink Carpet at Apollo in Feb
American TV star Leslie Jordan, whose sitcom appearances have included roles on Will & Grace and Boston Legal, has confirmed that his one-man show My Trip Down the Pink Carpet will play a four-week run, commencing 26 January and booking until 19 February 2011 (opening night tbc) at the West End’s Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue.
The announcement, which was made on Friday night’s Paul O’Grady Show, was preceded by an embargoed industry event on Thursday (11 November 2010) where O’Grady introduced Jordan to collected press and invited guests. Currently playing at the Apollo, The Country Girl, Rufus Norris‘ revival starring Martin Shaw and Jenny Seagrove, is currently booking until 22 January.
Part autobiography, part Hollywood tell-all, My Trip Down the Pink Carpet combines a selection of true stories from Jordan’s life as told in his recently published memoirs. The show combines celebrity encounters, offbeat observations and Jordan’s own comic take on fame, addiction and gay culture.
Jordan won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series as Beverley Leslie, the nemesis of Will & Grace‘s Karen Walker (played by Megan Mullally). He has already revealed that the role was originally written for Joan Collins, but that her agent refused for Collins to have a wig torn off in a fight scene with Mullally. Jordan has promised that this is just one of the many insider stories reveals during the show.
Jordan has also made appearances on a string of American comedy TV shows including Ally McBeal, Boston Legal and Monk as well as Sordid Lives alongside Rue McClanahan and Olivia Newton-John.
My Trip Down the Pink Carpet tells the tale of how Jordan, raised in a conservative family in Chattanooga, Tennessee, boarded a Greyhound bus bound for LA with $1,200 sewn into his underpants and never looked back. His penchant for high camp has given him a varied Hollywood career – but, along the way, he has narrowly avoided temptations such as drug and alcohol dependency.
The show, which played a limited Off-Broadway run at the Midtown Theater from April to July this year, is produced by Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W Batman, Dennis Grimaldi, Lily Tomlin, Jane Wagner, Jean McFaddin/Susan Falk and Daniel Wallace in association with Julian Stoneman.
My Trip Down the Pink Carpet will be followed at the Apollo by Thea Sharrock‘s production of Blithe Spirit, which transfers to the West End with an all-star cast led by Alison Steadman from 9 March (previews from 2 March) to 18 June 2011, following a national tour which started at the Theatre Royal Bath on 3 November 2010.
** DON’T MISS our Whatsonstage.com Outing to THE COUNTRY GIRL this Wednesday, 17 November 2010 – including post-show Q&A with the stars, all for £30! – click here to book now! **
