From singing along to Sinatra to starring in ‘High Society’

Helen George is embarking on a 20-week UK stage tour as the star of a lavish new production of the classic Cole Porter musical High Society.

The show, which plays at New Theatre, Cardiff next week (21-25 July) is based on the classic 1956 film (which itself was based on the 1939 stage comedy The Philadelphia Story and the following year’s big-screen version).

It features a string of Cole Porter hits, including I’ve Got You Under My Skin; Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love; and You Do Something to Me.

So it's a perfect fit for Helen, who used to listen to her jazz-fan father's records as a child.

“So I grew up listening to all the greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra singing those wonderful Cole Porter melodies,” Helen recalls in an interview on our associate arts and entertainment blog Piece of Pink Pie.

“Doing this show is really special for me because this is the music that I grew up with and sang along to.”

Helen, best known for Call the Midwife on TV and the acclaimed revival of Rogers and Hammerstein’s The King and I on stage, heads a 28-strong cast that also features Freddie Fox, Julian Ovenden and Nigel Lindsay.

“It’s a wonderful, fabulous, sophisticated escape of an evening, with a huge orchestra and a big brass section. There’s just so much joy in this show, the costumes are incredible, the songs are amazing, and I’m over the moon with the cast and crew that I get to work with.”

You can read the full interview here.

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