Mead, who was recently seen in the London production of Wicked, will assume the role of Emmett Forrest in mid-June. He will succeed Alex Gaumond, who has played the role of Emmett since the U.K. premiere of the show.
Mead will join a cast that includes Susan McFadden as Elle Woods, Carley Stenson as Margot, Nicola Brazil as Serena, Siobhan Dillon as Vivienne and Peter Davison as Professor Callahan.
Legally Blonde The Musical opened at the Savoy Theatre in December 2009. In addition to winning the 2011 Laurence Olivier Awards for Best New Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Sheridan Smith) and Best Performance is a Supporting Role in a Musical (Jill Halfpenny), the musical is now booking until March 31, 2011.
"College sweetheart and homecoming queen Elle Woods doesn't take no for an answer," according to press notes. "So when her boyfriend Warner dumps her for someone serious, Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and heads for Harvard Law! Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style."
The current full cast is Stephane Anelli (Padamadan, Nikos), Emma Bateman (Stenographer), Nicola Brazil (Serena), Thomas Camilleri (Carlos), Peter Davison (Professor Callahan) Siobhan Dillon (Vivienne Kensington), Chris Ellis-Stanton (Grandmaster Chad, Dewey, Kyle), Kimmy Edwards (Judge, Saleswoman), Alex Gaumond (Emmett), Ibinabo Jack (Pilar), Suzie McAdam (Enid), Susan McFadden (Elle Woods), Sorelle Marsh (Courtney, Mom, Whitney), Aoife Mulholland (Brooke), Sean Mulligan (Pforzheimer), Dawn Sievewright (Kate, Chutney), Carley Stenson (Margot), Lincoln Stone (Dad, Winthrop, Reporter), Simon Thomas (Warner), Robbie Towns (Aaron), Dominic Tribuzio (Kiki), Denise Van Outen (Paulette), Tamara Wall (District Attorney) and Stephen Webb (Lowell), as well as Jonathan Mawson, Jane McMurtrie, Lucy Miller, Ruthie Stephenson and Gregor Stewart as swings. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winning Jerry Mitchell, Legally Blonde The Musical has music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, book by Heather Hach, set design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller, sound design by ACME Sound Partners and orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke.
The musical is produced in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions, Robert G. Bartner, Ambassador Theatre Group, Bud Martin, Adam Zotovich, Jamie Hendry Productions, Matthew Byam Shaw and Act Productions.
For ticket information visit www.legallyblondethemusical.co.uk.