Frances Ruffelle - Albums

Albums

"Lonely Symphony" was released as a single in the UK, as well as in other countries, and also appeared on her first solo album, Fragile. It reached number 25 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1994.

Ruffelle's second album, Frances Ruffelle, came out in 1998, on the small Dress Circle label. It was a change in direction, featuring stripped-down arrangements of mostly musical theatre songs, as well as a couple of classics, original songs and covers. In 2004, she released Showgirl on her own label, a return to fuller arrangements, but far from a pop sound. Ruffelle also collaborated with Sam Bonner in the group, paTala, making an album called Purify, featuring "a fusion of traditional Sanskrit chants with unique arrangements of contemporary Western beats". A new solo album, Imperfectly Me, was released in September 2010.

Ruffelle was set to appear in a revival of the Sherman Brothers musical Over Here! in January 2007, alongside Donna McKechnie, Diane Langton and Richard Fleeshman, however it was postponed, and was scheduled to open in Toronto in 2009.

Ruffelle returned to London's West End to play Roxie Hart in Chicago; she stayed in the role from 5 November to 8 December. This marks her third time in the role, having previously played it from late 2003 to June 2004 and for five weeks in Summer 2005. On 5 December the 10th anniversary celebrations for Chicago in London and Frances were performed at the special celebratory performance. Her return to Chicago marked the first time she has performed in the show in the Cambridge Theatre, having only appeared in it when it was on at the Adelphi Theatre.

In 2006 she performed in a musical based on the works of Stephen Schwartz, Schwartz Stories. In March 2008 she commenced a limited five week season in the musical, Make Me A Song. She played the title role in Mathilde at the Edinburgh festival in 2008.