Frances Ruffelle Lifts EdFringe Dress in West End

Following its current Edinburgh Fringe run, Frances Ruffelle: Beneath the Dress will transfer to the West End’s Garrick Theatre for one night only on Sunday 12 September 2010.

It’s the first of a series of short-run concerts at the Garrick Theatre care of Speckulation Entertainment. Ruffelle will be followed, as previously reported, by evenings with Lynda Carter (17-18 September), Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown and Anika Noni Rose (24-25 September) and Australian stage and screen star, and previous Whatsonstage.com Award winner, Caroline O’Connor (27 September-3 October).

In Beneath the Dress, Frances Ruffelle is accompanied by a six-piece band in an exploration of her musical influences from Cole Porter, Duke Ellington and Kurt Weill to lesser-known songwriting talents whose work she has been inspired by.

The daughter of stage school guru Sylvia Young and mother to pop star Eliza Dolittle, Ruffelle is best known to theatregoers for creating the role of Eponine in Les Miserables in the West End and on Broadway, where she won a Tony Award for her performance. Her other musical credits include The Sleeping Prince, Children of Eden and Chicago.

The West End date for Frances Ruffelle: Beneath the Dress will coincide with the release of the singer’s fifth solo album, Imperfectly Me, on 13 September. Ahead of London, the live show continues at the Edinburgh Fringe, running at the Pleasance Ghillie Due venue until 30 August.

Frances Ruffelle: Beneath the Dress is devised by Ruffelle and Matt Ryan, directed by Paul Baker and Matt Ryan, with musical direction by David Barber, design by John Risebero, lighting design by Mike Robertson and sound design by James Tebb. Originally produced by Danielle Tarento, it’s presented at the Garrick by Neil Eckersley and Paul Spicer for Speckulation Entertainment and Stuart Piper and Jon Bath for Cole Kitchenn.