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Olivier Award winning Jenna Russell, who is currently Olivier-nominated for the 4th time, will play Dolly, Frank Sinatra’s mother, in the West End premiere of Sinatra The Musical, the new musical based on the life and career of the legendary artist and cultural icon.
Jenna Russell can currently be seen playing her Olivier nominated role of Maureen Fry in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Her extensive theatre work also includes Sunday in the Park with George in London and on Broadway, for which she won an Olivier Award and was nominated for a Tony Award; Hello Dolly! (London Palladium); and Flowers for Mrs Harris (Riverside Studios). She previously appeared at Chichester in Woman in Mind and Celebrating Sondheim. Her television work includes Midsomer Murders, Gentleman Jack, EastEnders and Call The Midwife.
She joins the already announced Joel Harper-Jackson as Frank Sinatra, Ana Villafañe as the movie goddess Ava Gardner and Phoebe Panaretos as Frank’s first wife, Nancy Sinatra.
The company is completed by: Oliver Adam-Reynolds (Nat King Cole/Ensemble) Becky Anderson (Lana Turner/Ensemble), Carl Au (Lee Mortimer/Ensemble), Sam Brown (Tommy Dorsey/Ensemble), Helen Colby (Hedda Hopper/Ensemble), Emma Crossley (Swing), Adam Davidson (Gene Kelly/Ensemble), Alexander Day (Swing and Dance Captain), Christopher Gopaul (Swing), Stuart Hickey (Swing), Jenna Innes (Judy Garland/Ensemble), Marty Maguire (Marty Sinatra), Mia Musakembeva (Ensemble), Melissa Nettleford (Billie Holiday/Ensemble), Samuel Nicholas (Ensemble), Nardia Ruth (Swing), Christina Shand (Swing and Assistant Dance Captain), John Stacey (Mitch Miller/Harry Cohn/Ensemble), Allana Taylor (Marlene Dietrich/Ensemble) and Lee Zarrett (George Evans). Sylvie Regan, Mia Savident and Felicity Walton share the role of Little Nancy.
Director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall said: “I’ve been a huge fan of Jenna Russell’s ever since I had the great pleasure of seeing her astonishing performance in Sunday in the Park with George on Broadway. I’m so excited to be collaborating with Jenna and with our entire brilliant cast on Sinatra The Musical. We can’t wait to welcome audiences into Sinatra’s world at the Aldwych Theatre this summer!”
Sinatra The Musical, which features over 20 timeless hits including That’s Life, One For My Baby, The Best Is Yet To Come & Come Fly With Me, is to begin performances at Aldwych Theatre, London on Wednesday 3 June 2026. Press Night will be Wednesday 24 June 2026.
It is New Year’s Eve, 1942, and a skinny 27-year-old Italian American singer is about to step onto the stage of New York’s Paramount Theatre and give a performance that will change music history. As Frank Sinatra’s career suddenly skyrockets, he struggles with balancing the love of his wife, Nancy, against the demands and temptations of being the most popular singer in America. But when he begins a torrid affair with movie goddess Ava Gardner, his records stop selling and the press turns against him, sending his career into a tailspin. Driven by his devotion to his family, Sinatra employs his peerless artistry and dogged determination to stage the greatest comeback in showbiz history.
Sinatra The Musical is written by the two-time Tony award-winning writer Joe DiPietro (Memphis the Musical, What’s New Pussycat?), directed and choreographed by three-time Tony Award-winning Kathleen Marshall (Top Hat, Anything Goes) and the set is designed by Olivier Award-winning Peter McKintosh (Top Hat, When We Are Married). The orchestra of seventeen musicians will be supervised by Gareth Valentine (My Fair Lady, 42nd Street). They are joined by Jon Morrell (Costume Designer), Bruno Poet (Lighting Designer), Jonathan Deans (Sound Designer), Akhila Krishnan (Video Designer), Campbell Young Associates (Wigs, Hair and Make-up Designer), Larry Blank (Orchestrator), Gareth Valentine & Ian Eisendrath (Arrangements), David Chase (Dance Arrangements), David Grindrod, CDG for Grindrod Burton Casting (Casting Director), Jim Carnahan (US Casting Director), Jason Thinger (US Casting (Carnahan), and Carol Lee Meadows (Associate Director/Choreographer).
