Menier Chocolate Factory News

McQUEEN, which received its world premiere in May at St. James Theatre, where it broke box office records, will transfer to London's West End, opening at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on Thursday 27 August, following previews from 13 August, for a strictly limited season until 7 November.

 Segerstrom Center for the Arts' 2015 - 2016 Spotlight Series opens with the sidesplitting savagery known as Forbidden Broadway October 1 - 4, 2015. There will be just four performances of a special adaptation of their recent hit edition, Forbidden Broadway Alive and Kicking! The cast includes members of the Tony Award®-winning New York company, including Forbidden Broadway stalwarts Gina Kreiezmar, Marcus Stevens, Kevin B. McGlynn and Trisha Rapier (who hails from Orange County!). This touring edition is presented by John Freedson and Harriet Yellin.

The Menier Chocolate Factory  recently confirmed the international cast - hailing from across the UK, US and Canada, for the UK premiere of What's It All About? Bacharach Reimagined. Burt Bacharach's celebrated songbook is given an exciting new interpretation with Kyle Riabko's thrillingly original musical arrangement. This show, directed by Oliver Award-winner Steven Hoggett, is a dynamic 90-minute non-stop musical journey in which the 27-year-old Riabko leads a talented group of young performers through Bacharach's classic melodies, blending nostalgia and innovation, where generations old and new can revel in the joy of these hits as if for the very first time.

National Alliance for Musical Theatre has announced the line up of new musicals for their 27th ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS, which takes place on Thursday, October 15 and Friday, October 16 at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues). Registration for Industry members is free and now open at www.namt.org/festival.

Christina Bianco is at it again- this time with a patriotic twist. Below, watch the diva impressionist sing the National Anthem as Christina Aguilera, Kristin Chenoweth, and Celine Dion!

Produced by Scott Sanders, Roy Furman, Oprah Winfrey, David Babani, and Tom Siracusa, The Color Purple will return to Broadway this fall in the acclaimed Menier Chocolate Factory production directed by Two-time Tony Award winner John Doyle. The highly anticipated staging will feature Grammy, Academy Award, and Golden Globe award winner JENNIFER HUDSON; CYNTHIA ERIVO, the breakout star from the London production; and Orange is the New Black's DANIELLE BROOKS. All three women will be making their Broadway debuts. Tickets are now available! Can't wait until the show returns to Broadway this fall? Get your Color Purple fix today with a free download of 'Too Beautiful for Words,' performed by Jennifer Hudson. CLICK HERE to download the song now!

BroadwayWorld has confirmed that The Dramatists Guild Fund, the charitable arm of The Dramatists Guild of America, has elected Tony nominee Andrew Lippa as its new president, succeeding Gretchen Cryer, who has held the position since 2005.

The New Group has announced complete casting for the Off-Broadway premiere of Philip Ridley's Mercury Fur, the production launching the company's upcoming season, and initial casting for the world premiere of Mark Gerrard's Steve, the second production in the company's 2015-2016 season.

Full casting is announced for the new London production of the acclaimed Broadway musical Grand Hotel, produced by Danielle Tarento and directed by Thom Southerland, the award-winning team behind Titanic, Parade and Mack & Mabel.

Tickets for THE COLOR PURPLE will be available Monday, June 22, 2015, exclusively for Audience Rewards members, who get first access to tickets by visiting www.AudienceRewards.com. Single tickets go on-sale to the general public beginning Tuesday, June 30, 2015.

As BroadwayWorld reported last week, Sheridan Smith has been in negotiations to star as 'Fanny Brice' in FUNNY GIRL at the Menier Chocolate Factory, directed by Michael Mayer. An official announcement has not been made, and according to the Daily Mail, the team is still working out if the show might transfer after its run in Southwark. Baz Bamigboye writes that the production could be heading to the West End, or even New York in the future.

The Daily Mail writes that Rosalie Craig will star as 'Rosalind' in AS YOU LIKE IT at the National Theatre, after Andrea Riseborough has had to withdraw from the show for personal reasons.

Winner of an Edinburgh Fringe First 2014 and The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence, Sabrina Mahfouz's highly acclaimed Chef starring Jade Anouka now comes to London's Soho Theatre - Upstairs, 15th June - 4th July 2015. Press night: Tonight, 17th June, 7pm.

The Menier Chocolate Factory today announces the international cast - hailing from across the UK, US and Canada, for the UK premiere of What's It All About? Bacharach Reimagined. Burt Bacharach's celebrated songbook is given an exciting new interpretation with Kyle Riabko's thrillingly original musical arrangement. This show, directed by Oliver Award-winner Steven Hoggett, is a dynamic 90-minute non-stop musical journey in which the 27-year-old Riabko leads a talented group of young performers through Bacharach's classic melodies, blending nostalgia and innovation, where generations old and new can revel in the joy of these hits as if for the very first time.

My Fair Lady (running tonight, June 15, through June 21) is the opening production of The Muny's 97th summer season. 

The highly acclaimed and sell-out production of Guys and Dolls will transfer to London's Savoy Theatre in December for a strictly limited 13 week run. Chichester Festival Theatre continue their triumphant musical successes with this exuberant revival which follows transfers of Singin' in the Rain, The Pajama Game and, most recently, Gypsy. Sophie Thompson and Jamie Parker will reprise their roles, with further casting to be announced.

GUYS AND DOLLS, staged at Chichester's Festival Theatre last year, is headed to the West End's Savoy Theatre with some of its original stars intact! According to the Daily Mail, the musical will begin December 10 after GYPSY ends its run.

According to the Daily Mail, Sheridan Smith is in negotiations to star as 'Fanny Brice' in FUNNY GIRL at the Menier Chocolate Factory in Southwark. She met with director Michael Mayer today. No word yet on the final decision, but it seems if Smith is out, the musical will go back in storage for now.

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Jennifer Hudson, Cynthia Erivo and Danielle Brooks are set to make their Broadway debuts in the critically acclaimed staging of The Color Purple, as performed at London's Menier Chocolate Factory in 2013. Directed by Tony Award winner John Doyle, The Color Purple will begin preview performances on Monday, November 9th at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th street) and will officially open on Thursday, December 10. BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge just met with the three leading ladies, plus their director John Doyle, to chat about the upcoming production. Check out what they had to say about their new roles below!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? This weekend's big news: The new ANASTASIA musical gets a reading in NYC today!