Chaos unfolded at the opening night of the new Chaka Khan musical after the show was delayed by 40 minutes while organisers waited for the music legend to take her seat.
The opening night performance of I’m Every Woman: The Musical, starring Alexandra Burke, was due to begin at 7pm at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre in north London.
But organisers delayed the curtain until guest of honour Chaka Khan, 73, had arrived and taken her seat, after the singer was held up carrying out red carpet interviews.
The ten-time Grammy winner eventually sat down at around 7.40pm, allowing the performance to begin 40 minutes late.
One attendee told the Daily Mail: ‘Chaka was really late arriving for the show. She kept everyone waiting. It was a nightmare for the organisers. They couldn’t start the show without her, so they had to keep everyone waiting.
‘The crowd got very restless. Everyone was told to be seated by 7pm, so when the show didn’t start, people got annoyed. After a while, some people got fed up with waiting and went back out to go to the loo.
Chaos unfolded at the opening night of the new Chaka Khan musical after the show was delayed by 40 minutes
During the interval, BBC presenter Naga Munchetty was seen leaving the theatre and did not return for the second half
‘The whole event was chaotic. It was really insulting to the cast and crew.’
During the interval, BBC presenter Naga Munchetty was seen leaving the theatre and did not return for the second half.
She had been among the last celebrity guests to arrive and also bypassed the red carpet despite the publicity team hoping invited stars would pose for photographs.
In video obtained by the Daily Mail, Naga is seen smoking a cigarette before walking hand-in-hand with her husband James Haggar towards the Tube station.
‘Naga’s early departure is likely to ruffle feathers among the publicity team,’ a source said. ‘The venue was at capacity for the performance, and they were only able to offer VIP tickets to a select number of celebs.’
The difficult opening comes as the production has received poor reviews, including a one-star verdict from The Standard.
The show, which tells the untold story of Chaka Khan’s life, stars Alexandra Burke in the lead role.
It has a running time of two hours and 30 minutes, with tickets priced between £28 and £65.
Naga’s appearance at the event came just days after it was announced she will leave BBC Breakfast after 17 years.
The presenter is preparing to join Radio 5 Live’s flagship breakfast programme from the new year, replacing Rachel Burden, 51, and Rick Edwards, 47, after they announced they would step down in December.
Organisers delayed the curtain until guest of honour Chaka Khan, 73, had arrived and taken her seat, after the singer was held up carrying out red carpet interviews
Her shuffling towards a full-time radio job comes after a series of controversies involving the presenter.
Her future at BBC Breakfast was thrown into doubt last year due to a formal probe being launched over allegations she had bullied a junior staffer.
It was also reported the broadcaster was called into a meeting over a sex jibe made during an ad break on her radio programme.
She was accused of bullying a female colleague and making a ‘wildly unprofessional off-air sex joke that left a co-worker ‘humiliated,’ but remained in her job at the BBC.
The probe into Ms Munchetty was launched after an internal review of bullying and misconduct allegations was opened into the beleaguered flagship breakfast programme last year.
This followed BBC Breakfast editor Richard Frediani taking an extended period of leave after facing his own allegations of bullying and misconduct.
On Wednesday the Daily Mail revealed the presenter believes she was made to look like a ‘monster’ during the fallout from the complaints, with sources close to the presenter claiming her exit marks a victory for Frediani and his so-called ‘boys’ club.’
Sources told the Daily Mail it was an ultimatum for BBC bosses between keeping the presenter or her editor.
