Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge on stage during the curtain call on the opening night of the musical 42nd Street, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. Photo: Steve Parsons/ Reuters

The Duchess of Cambridge dazzled in a maroon Marchesa gown as she brought some royal glamour to the red carpet at the opening night of the musical 42nd Street in London.

Kate attended the West End revival of the Broadway hit at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in her role as royal patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).

The stage show, which stars Grammy award-winning singer Sheena Easton, is helping to raise money for the charity as funds are required for a vital new purpose-built hospice in Norfolk called The Nook.

Kate sat in the theatre’s royal box between Lord Grade and executive producer Johnny Hon and could be seen smiling broadly and clapping enthusiastically. After the curtain call, she joined the cast on the stage, where she was presented with a pair of gold tap shoes with red bows.

Kate became the royal patron for the charity in 2012 and has attended several official engagements since then. In 2014, she helped to launch the appeal for The Nook, which will help to provide more families with the same facilities as those offered by EACH facilities across Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk.

Tony Award-winning musical 42nd Street debuted in New York in 1980.

Other famous faces attending the show included Hollywood star Morgan Freeman, The Royle Family actress Sue Johnston and choreographer Arlene Phillips.

Easton is making her West End debut in the classic musical. The Scottish star plays Dorothy Brock in the show, which is a tribute to the world of musical theatre and has returned to the West End after more than 30 years.

The show, which features classic songs We’re in the Money, Keep Young and Beautiful and Lullaby of Broadway, returns to the theatre where it made its first UK run from 1984 to 1989, starring a then-unknown Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The new production features a cast of more than 50 high-kicking performers and will run until October 14.