Leading Ladies cover 'Hamilton' tune 'Helpless' and speak out on diversity in theatre

Fresh from their sassy performance of ‘I’m Every Woman’ on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing last Sunday, West End’s most exciting new supergroup Leading Ladies has taken on ‘Helpless’ from “Hamilton: The Musical”, the hit show that is taking the UK by storm.



Beverley Knight praised “Hamilton” for leading the charge with showcasing diversity in musical theatre. She told PRIDE Magazine: “I like the fact that the story of Alexander Hamilton is being told with a cast diverse as you like. I think theatre has always led the charge on trying to be more diverse, ahead of other mediums. You’ll see casting decisions that you wouldn’t see on TV in theatre first. ‘Motown: The Musical’ and even my show ‘Memphis’ had majority black casts, and it’s great to see that.”

Amber Riley, who won an Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical Performance last week, added: “I love when I see young black girls in the audience, and they come to the Stage Door afterwards and tell me about how they never really thought that it was possible to do musical theatre, but the show’s inspired them. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Cassidy Janson added: “Showing diverse examples of who can be on stage is so important - and it really gives you the push to go on stage on days when you might not want to.”

‘Helpless' is featured on the Top 20 hit new album “Songs From The Stage” – which also includes the BBC Radio 2 A-List single ‘One Night Only’ and new single ‘I’m Every Woman’/ ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’.

“Songs From The Stage” hears the Leading Ladies bring to life classics from musicals such as “Dreamgirls”, “The Bodyguard”, “Beautiful”, “Cats”, “Rent”, “Funny Girl”, “Memphis” and more. The album is produced by Grammy Award-winning British producer Brian Rawling, who has worked with chart-topping artists such as Cher, Tina Turner and Lionel Richie.

“Songs From The Stage” tracklisting

1. One Night Only (“Dreamgirls”)
2. Seasons of Love (“Rent”)
3. I’m Every Woman (“The Bodyguard”)
4. You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman (“Beautiful”)
5. Wind Beneath My Wings (“Beaches”)
6. Helpless (“Hamilton”)
7. Memory (“Cats”)
8. Somebody to Love (“We Will Rock You”)
9. Falling Slowly (“Once”)
10. Love Will Stand (“Memphis”)
11. Raise The Roof (“The Wild Party”)
12. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (“Beautiful”)
13. Don’t Rain On My Parade (“Funny Girl”)
14. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (“Meet Me in St. Louis”)