From Poppins to pop star: former West End musical songstress Laura Michelle Kelly trades in the boards for the pop star stage.(The Plot)

Angel Music will begin the next phase of its campaign to help Laura Michelle Kelly make the transition from West End star to a viable contemporary music proposition with the release of her debut album The Storm Inside today (Monday).

Already a familiar face thanks to various West End and broadway roles over the past few years, Michelle Kelly spent 2005 playing the lead in Mary Poppins before signing with Mark Collin's EMI label division Angel Music in August. She recorded her debut album with producer Marius de Vries, working with songwriters including Jamie Cullum, Guy Chambers, Felix Howard and Neil Hannon from The Divine Comedy and the result is a collection of songs that are more "pop" than Poppins. The album also features six covers, including Paul Weller's You Do Something To Me, Nick Drake's Riverman and Stephen Sondheim's Losing My Mind.

A showcase at London's Cafe de Paris in February was, for many, their first introduction to her talents and Angel director Mark Collins says it was successful in breaking down any stereotypes people may have formed about her. "Culturally, taking someone from a theatre background and establishing them as a music artist is not a million miles away from breaking a new artist," he says. "It's about changing perceptions and the easiest way to do that is to get Laura performing her songs in front of people."

In promoting the album, Angel has taken ...