Kerry Ellis in 101 Dalmatians musical

She will play the villain Cruella de Vil on the last two stops of the UK and Ireland tour

When the fashion-forward Cruella de Vil hatches a scheme to acquire all the Dalmatian puppies in town for her extravagant new fur coat, trouble looms for Pongo and Perdi, along with their endearing litter of tail-wagging young pups.

101 Dalmatian is adapted from Dodie Smith’s novel and made its way to fame by the Disney movies based on the novel.

Kerry Ellis is best known for Elphaba in Wicked and Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes. She will join the cast for the show’s final stops at the New Theatre, Oxford from 3 to 7 December and Theatre Royal Brighton from 17 December to 5 January 2025.

She said: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining the cast of 101 Dalmatians. I have always loved the film, and am a massive dog lover, so this one will be a real treat for me. And I cannot wait to play Cruella. What a role!”

The tour version of 101 Dalmatians is based on the production played at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2022. The musical has music and lyrics by Douglas Hodge, book by Johnny McKnight and a stage adaptation by Zinnie Harris.

Members of the company are Charles Brunton as Casper, Victoria Compson-Bradford swing, Ross Dorrington ensemble, Benjamin Durham ensemble, Jessie Elland as Danielle, Benedict Hastings ensemble, Danny Hendrix as Jasper, Linford Johnson as Pongo, Lottie Johnson ensemble, Rachel Lea-Gray ensemble, Tom Norman ensemble, Hugo Rolland ensemble, Lindo Shinda ensemble, Eugene Shire swing, Samuel Thomas as Tom, Emma Thornett as Perdi and Jasmine Triadi ensemble.