Jenna Russell

She plays Ava Gardner in this production.

And then we also have a beloved British West End legend, Jenna Russell, as Frank Sinatra's mother.

The reason why the tagline is The Legend That Almost Wasn't is that unlike most bio jukebox musicals, Sinatra does focus mostly on a specific decade of Frank Sinatra's life, which is for somebody who came out swinging, who had immediate success as a popular singer and then went into the movies and had immediate success there.

He then followed that up with about eight or so years of just a complete flop era.

Or Hedda Hopper, who's like, Frank Sinatra, I hate you, and my agency is that I'm always going to spread rumors about you.

Meh.

And then Jenna Russell, as his mom, just comes in every 20 minutes to go, I'm Italian, and your mother eats some meatballs.

It's not very well-rounded writing, let's just put it that way.

Um, and again, just made some, some really good friends.

Um, Jenna Russell, who I'd worked with before and known for, for a while, Harry Hepple and Emily Lane, we were sort of quartet in the show, so we were always together when we're on stage and, and, um, that relationship I carry with me today.

Like, the, you know, we, we got really, really close, and so that was really special as well.

Amazing.

And I'm so glad that he did that because I rang back and said, oh Jim, changed my mind.

Because it meant I then got to play the baker for one night with Jenna Russell in an incredible, because that came with an understudy, and got to meet Stephen Sondheim.

So there were so many things and pictures with him and talked to him.

And it was a really interesting version that won the Olivier Award.

like that.

When I did Into the Woods for Regent's Park, I worked alongside Jenna Russell.

You were working alongside some absolute stalwarts.

And yeah, you can't help but learn and watch how they work and watch what they bring to the table.

Yeah.

[laughs] And I was so worried about it, you know, but it was, um, stunning, stunning production and gosh, the cast, you know, Hannah Waddingham, Jenna Russell.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Can you remember your first experience with Sondheim? The first time you ever heard a Sondheim song or saw a Sondheim show?

My first Sondheim show that I saw was the production of Sunday in the Park with George with Jenna Russell and Daniel Evans in the West End.

And it was just absolutely mind-blowing.

I'd never seen anything like it.

Yeah.

So Jenna Russell, Daniel Evans.

And there were only five of us.

And Studio 54 doesn't have a pit really.