Miranda Hart to make West End debut in Annie

Miranda Hart will make her West End debut in Annie at the Piccadilly Theatre in May.

Hart will play Miss Hannigan in Nikolai Foster's production, which has a book by Thomas Meehan music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin.

Based on the comic strip Little Orphan Annie, the musical is set in 1930s New York during the Great Depression and follows Annie who is forced to live a life of misery in Miss Hannigan's orphanage.

Hart is best known for her BBC sitcom Miranda, and her theatre credits include Cruising (Bush Theatre), Come Out Eli (Battersea Arts Centre) and All About Me (Soho Theatre).

She said that Miss Hannigan, which was played by Carol Burnett in the 1982 film, was a "dream role".

"I have a newly found musical theatre-esque spring in my step! I hope people will leave the theatre feeling life is a little better and dreamier and jollier after watching it, as much as we feel that performing it. "

The last West End production of Annie opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in 1998.

Further casting is to be announced.

Annie will run at the Piccadilly Theatre from 5 June 2017 to 6 January 2018, with previews from 23 May.