Keala Settle to make pantomime debut this festive season

Tony Award nominee Keala Settle is set to make her panto debut this Christmas.

Settle will star as the Fairy in Jack and the Beanstalk at Northampton's Royal and Derngate, alongside Richard David-Caine (Horrible Histories) as the villainous Luke Backinanger, Alex Lodge (The Book Of Mormon) as Jack, and Bob Golding (Morecambe) as Dame Trott.

Jo Gordon, chief executive at Royal and Derngate said: "We're delighted to have Keala Settle joining our panto cast this year, and to be working with the same great team that made Dick Whittington such a success last year. Christmas is such a special time of year, when many children are introduced to theatre for the first time, and Jack and the Beanstalk promises to be one of our greatest pantomimes ever!"

Written by Paul Hendy and co-directed by Golding and Emily Wood, the panto is produced by Evolution Productions and is set to run from 9 December 2022 until 2 January 2023.

Settle is scheduled to play her final performances as the Nurse in & Juliet tomorrow, 18 June, and will go on to appear as Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act at London's Eventim Apollo from 19 July to 28 August.

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