Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy at Stratford East, Review ★★★★★
September 11, 2026
Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle will direct and choreograph a brand-new concert production of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, starring Megan Hilty and Rachel Tucker, for three performances only at the London Palladium on 26 and 27 March 2027.
Produced by Darren Bell Productions and Cuffe & Taylor, part of Live Nation Entertainment, the production brings together the classic Jule Styne and Leo Robin score, including “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”, “A Little Girl from Little Rock” and “Bye Bye Baby” performed by a 30-piece orchestra.
Set in the roaring 1920s, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES follows showgirl Lorelei Lee and her best friend Dorothy Shaw as they sail from New York to Paris in search of love, laughter and a few good diamonds along the way. Adapted from Anita Loos’s novel and immortalised on Broadway in 1949 with Carol Channing, then on screen by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in 1953, the musical comedy returns to the stage in a brand-new concert staging led by Tony winner Warren Carlyle.
Megan Hilty plays Lorelei Lee. She was most recently seen on Broadway in Death Becomes Her, for which she received a Tony Award nomination, and is known to television audiences as Ivy Lynn in NBC’s Smash. Her other stage credits include Glinda in Wicked and Doralee Rhodes in 9 to 5: The Musical, and she previously played Lorelei Lee in New York City Center’s Encores! concert staging of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Rachel Tucker plays Dorothy Shaw. Rachel holds the record for the most performances as Elphaba in Wicked in both the West End and on Broadway, and originated the role of Beverley Bass in Come From Away in both London and New York. She has also starred in Sunset Boulevard, Sting’s The Last Ship and is currently playing the title role in Thelma and Louise at the Young Vic.
Directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle
Musical direction by Alan Williams
Set and costume design by Rebecca Brower
Lighting design by Zoe Spurr
Associate choreography by Joanna Goodwin
Associate direction by Mark Hedges
Casting by Pearson Casting
General management by QUBE Theatricals
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES plays at the London Palladium for three performances only, 26 – 27 March 2027
Performances: Friday 26 March 2.30pm & 7.30pm, Saturday 27 March 7.30pm
Tickets go on sale from 18 September 2026. For more information and tickets visit lwtheatres.co.uk
