This will tour the UK and arrive to Derby Theatre from Tuesday 24 – Saturday 28 February 2026 with Wendi Peters reprising the role of Florence Foster Jenkins.
Matthew James Morrison direct from EastEnders, after more than three years playing Felix Baker and his alter ego “Tara Misu” – the first drag queen to appear as a regular character in a British soap opera – is announced as joining Wendi Peters in the 20th anniversary UK tour of the critically acclaimed West End hit comedy, Glorious! as Cosme McMoon.
Glorious! is the true story of American socialite Florence Foster Jenkins (Peters), dubbed ‘the worst singer in the world’, who staged and starred in classical recitals in major venues including Carnegie Hall.
Mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and poor off key singing, she nonetheless became a cult-figure in New York City during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s and celebrated composer and songwriter Cole Porter and classical conductor Sir Thomas Beecham were among her dearest celebrity fans.
Glorious! follows Florence’s journey as she prepares for her biggest ever sold-out recital at New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall, building an unlikely friendship with her accompanist, Cosme McMoon, and defying her army of critics to follow her dreams.
The Olivier nominated comedy is by Peter Quilter, whose Olivier and Tony-nominated West End and Broadway play End of the Rainbow became the hit movie, Judy, starring Renée Zellweger – her performance as Judy Garland winning her the Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as the Golden Globe Award, SAG Award, BAFTA Award and Critics’ Choice Movie Award.
Stage and screen star Wendi Peters is best known for her long-running role as Cilla Battersby in the hit ITV soap Coronation Street and most recently was a regular on the BBC show Doctors as Nina Bulsara. Her many other TV credits include Midsomer Murders, Hetty Feather, Hacker Time and Sadie J. Wendi has also competed on various shows including Soapstar Superstar, Celebrity Mastermind, Celebrity Masterchef and Celebrity Sewing Bee for Children in Need, which she won. Wendi was most recently seen as Mother Superior in the UK Tour of Sister Act. Her other theatre credits include: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (UK Tour), You Are Here (Southwark Playhouse), BIG The Musical (West End), The Game (Northern Broadsides) and White Christmas (West End, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, The Lowry, Salford).
Wendi Peters said: “I’m so thrilled to be visiting Florence again, and to bring GLORIOUS! to all the beautiful theatres around the UK in 2026. It’s fun, heartbreaking but, above all, glorious!!”
Florence Foster Jenkins is about to blow your mind…and possibly your eardrums. Dubbed ‘the worst singer in the world,’ Glorious! is the true story of American socialite Florence Foster Jenkins, who was known for her flamboyant costumes, enigmatic performances, and decidedly off-key voice.”
The cast also features West End leading ladies, Caroline Gruber (Leopoldstadt and Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution, London County Hall, 2000 Years – National Theatre) as Florence’s long-suffering maid, Maria and society busybody Mrs Verrinder-Gedge; and Sioned Jones (Thirteen, Women Beware Women, All’s Well That Ends Well – all National Theatre) as Florence’s best friend and biggest fan, Dorothy. Sioned will also Cover the role of Florence Foster Jenkins, as she did 20 years ago alongside Dame Maureen Lipman in the original West End production.
Completing the cast are Ella-Maria Danson as ASM/Cover Maria/Dorothy and Mrs Verrinder-Gedge and Ryan Hall as ASM/Cover Cosme McMoon.
The tour celebrates the show’s 20th anniversary. Glorious! wowed audiences in its original long-running West End production starring Dame Maureen Lipman in 2005, before coming to the silver screen, starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant in what critics simply called “Glorious!”. The show has since been seen by millions of people around the world, translated into 25 languages, and performed in 36 countries to date. The current production, directed by Kirk Jameson (Song From Far Away, Madagascar the Musical) premiered at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre.
The 20th anniversary tour of Glorious! is produced by Thomas Hopkins (on Broadway – Liberation ,Two Strangers Carry A Cake, West End – This Bitter Earth, Rose, UK tour – The Talented Mr Ripley) with co-producers Craig Haffner & Sherry Wright (Tony Award-winning producers, This Bitter Earth – Soho Theatre, Midnight In Garden of Good and Evil – pre-Broadway and West End and Plaza Suite – Broadway and Savoy Theatre) and Sams Entertainment (Tony Award winning producers, The Talented Mr Ripley – UK Tour, on Broadway – Merrily We Roll Along, Our Town).
Follow Us!
For more information and GLORIOUS! updates, visit the Derby Theatre website here: Glorious! – Derby Theatre or follow us on social media (Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube – @derbytheatre).