Henshall told Playbill reporter Harry Haun that she will take part in the May 2007 workshop of the new musical, which is based on the durable Alexandre Dumas fils play, La Dame aux camélias. She will also head the London production of the musical, which is aiming for a March 2008 bow under the direction of Jonathan Kent. A Paris production of the musical, Henshall said, will likely star Boublil's wife, Marie Zamora.
Playbill.com previously reported that Marguerite will feature book and lyrics by Les Miz and Miss Saigon creators Boublil and Schönberg and music by Amour's Michel Legrand.
"Our next show is something unusual for us because we are working together as book writers on a show which will have music written by Michel Legrand," Boublil recently revealed. "It's 'The Lady of the Camellias' during the Second World War — La Traviata during the German Occupation in France."
Ruthie Henshall made her professional debut in A Chorus Line, and her other West End credits include The Woman in White, Cats, Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Oliver!, Crazy for You, She Loves Me, Peggy Sue Got Married and Chicago. She received Olivier Award nominations for her work in Crazy for You and Chicago, and she nabbed the Olivier for her performance in She Loves Me. In New York, Henshall was seen in Chicago, Miss Saigon, Putting It Together and the City Center Encores! staging of Ziegfeld Follies of 1936. Her solo albums are entitled "Pilgrim," "The Ruthie Henshall Album" and "Love Is Here to Stay."
Michel Legrand, the composer widely known for his fetching jazz waltzes and alluring melodies in films, was Tony Award-nominated for his score to the musical Amour, which was preserved on a cast album. He has received three Academy Awards and five Grammy Awards and composed many memorable motion picture scores including "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg," "The Young Girls of Rochefort," "The Go-Between," "Ice Station Zebra," "Forty Carats," "The Three Musketeers," "Summer of '42," "The Thomas Crown Affair," "Lady Sings the Blues," "Atlantic City" and "Yentl." Legrand's songs include "I Will Wait for You," "The Summer Knows," "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?," "The Windmills of Your Mind," "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?," "The Hands of Time" (from "Brian's Song") and "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" (the last six written with Alan and Marilyn Bergman). A conductor and virtuoso jazz pianist, he has appeared with symphony orchestras worldwide. He has made more than 100 albums.
Boublil and Schönberg won 1987 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Score of Musical for Les Miz (now being revived on Broadway), and were nominated in the same categories for 1991's Miss Saigon (Richard Maltby Jr. was their lyricist collaborator on the project and was also nominated as a songwriter).
Their new musical with Maltby is The Pirate Queen, a slice of Irish history coming to Broadway this spring following a run fall 2006 run in Chicago. Frank Galati directs.
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The Dumas play is known in English as Camille and was also a popular movie starring Greta Garbo.
