Summer warms up the Palladium

Rising West End star, Summer Strallen, took to the stage for the first time last night as singing nun Maria in The Sound of Music. You may recognise Strallen from the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks; where she played the ambitious, musical wannabe Summer Shaw, who pursues Andrew Lloyd-Webber for a part in his musical.

23-year-old, Strallen, was originally cast as the new Maria last summer, but media wizz Andrew Lloyd Webber arranged for her to appear in Hollyoaks before the announcement of her casting, to generate renewed interest in The Sound of Music. In Hollyoaks, Summer’s dreams of becoming a West End performer came to the fore: culminating in an audition for Lloyd-Webber and the offer of The Sound of Music lead.

Summer Strallen is far from inexperienced in theatre-world, having appearing in The Drowsy Chaperone and The Boyfriend: roles for which she has been Laurence Olivier Award nominated. Strallen is the daughter of dancers Cherida Langford and Sandy Strallen; niece of Bonnie Langford and the sister of Mary Poppins star Scarlett Strallen. She has been performing professionally since the age of 16 when she was cast in Cats. Her other stage credits include Guys and Dolls, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Scrooge.

Strallen was supported on opening night by some of her former soap co-stars, including current Dancing On Ice favourite Chris Fountain (Justin), Gerard McCarthy (Chris), Zoe Lister (Zoe) and Carly Stenso (Steph). In the performance, Strallen showed off her impressive vocal ability, dancing talent and comic timing.

In an exciting week, Strallen will have to wait until Sunday to see if she wins the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance opposite Elaine Paige in the Drowsy Chaperone. In the meantime don't miss your opportunity to see this up-and-coming actress in The Sound of Music. Summer really does brighten up the London Palladium stage.

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