West End and Broadway star Kerry Ellis, from Haughley, near Stowmarket, is set to bring her show to The Apex, in Bury St Edmunds

Local girl Kerry Ellis always dreamed of being on stage. Having starred in the West End and on Broadway that dream has certainly come true and next month she will be showcasing her talents at The Apex.

From My Fair Lady and We Will Rock You, to Les Miserables and Wicked, Kerry has starred in musical theatre’s biggest roles. She has also recorded four studio albums and toured the world, both as a solo artist and with her good friend, Sir Brian May.

Kerry was born in 1979 in Haughley, near Stowmarket, and it has been quite a journey for the child who grew up wanting to be a pop star. This autumn, she will reflect on how far she’s come in her new solo show Queen of the West End, which comes to Bury St Edmunds on October 24. The nationwide tour will give fans the opportunity to get up close and personal with Kerry, as she shares stories of her life and her favourite West End songs.

“It all started for me when I was a young girl. I must’ve been three or four when I went to a local dance centre. They’d hold classes in a little church hall and I’d go there with other children to learn my first steps,” she said.

“There wasn’t a grand plan back in those days. I was probably sent there because my parents wanted to give me something positive to do. Well, either that or they wanted a bit of childcare and someone else to wear me out! Whatever their motivation, I loved dance from the moment I stepped through the door and I still do now.”

Kerry was a dreamer as a child and her parents were incredibly supportive: “I wanted to be in the West End, I wanted to be on Broadway, I wanted to sing in stadiums.”

Her first stage role, at age nine, was playing a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz at the Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich. “I loved singing, I loved dancing and I loved the world of entertainment. I’d do anything I could. I was rehearsing myself without realising it. I think dance gave me discipline, which stood me in brilliant stead later in my career.”

At age 19, she got a job singing on a nine-month cruise around the Caribbean and she never looked back. She toured Magic of the Musicals with Marti Webb and then went into My Fair Lady as the understudy for Eliza Doolittle, played by Martine McCutcheon.

When Martine became unwell, Ellis stepped up.

“Because Martine was such a big superstar, there was loads of media interest. When she was off, it was a big story, big news,” Kerry said.

“I found myself in the papers for the first time because I was the person taking on that role while Martine was off. It was in at the deep end, but I was still young enough not to be phased by it and in a sense, there was no pressure on me because nobody knew who I was. I just needed to do the job. Afterwards, I got to go on quite a few times, because Martine became unwell again and eventually had to leave the show.”

Her life changed forever and the offers flooded in.

“There was another show where I only sang a few lines. However, Brian May was in the audience with the casting director for We Will Rock You. I literally had no idea. Brian saw something in me, I don’t know what or why he picked me out.

“They enjoyed my performance and asked me to audition for We Will Rock You. I think I had seven auditions in all. Brian and I even joke about that, even to this day.”

Then, Ellis moved into Miss Saigon, “It was a show that I loved, growing up. The role of Ellen wasn’t massive, but it was a well-respected, leading female role. It was a big tick off the list. You want to be part of these big, iconic shows”, and starred in Les Misérables – a show she’d gone to see as an impressionable 13 year old. “Fast forward to 2005 and I was in that show, on that stage. I’d come full circle. I was doing all of those iconic songs that I’d always wanted to sing.”

Wicked was a game-changer – it took Ellis to Broadway and helped her to fulfil another big ambition in her life. “Broadway was everything I thought it would be – good and bad. I finished the show in London on the Saturday, flew on the Sunday, then was in rehearsals on the Monday. Two days later, I was opening the show on Broadway and I was absolutely knackered. I was there for six months and it was wonderful, it was absolutely a dream come true.

“There’s something special about the big hits, like Memory, in Cats, or I Dreamed A Dream, in Les Mis. To have that moment with those iconic songs is magical. I do look back very fondly and gratefully for that. I got to be part of those musicals and sing those great songs.”

There’s been a lot more, of course, and Ellis will unpack the highlights of her career in her autumn show.

“I can’t wait for my own solo tour when I’ll be singing and reflecting on my career. And there’s another new record just around the corner, as well as lots more concerts on the horizon. I’m having the time of my life and I can’t wait for whatever comes my way.”

You can hear more from Kerry Ellis at The Apex on October 24 at 7.30pm. For more information or to book tickets, visit www.theapex.co.uk or call 01284 758000