Menier Chocolate Factory News

A new production of Johann Strauss Jr.'s New Year's Eve classic, the comedic operetta Die Fledermaus, will open at the Met on December 31. Jeremy Sams, writer and creator of the Met's Baroque pasticheThe Enchanted Island, makes his company debut as director with the new staging, which is set in Vienna at the turn of the 20thcentury. Sams also contributes new lyrics for Strauss's work, which will be performed entirely in English; Tony Award-nominated playwright Douglas Carter Beane makes his Met debut with new dialogue. Adam Fischer conducts a cast of rising opera stars and Broadway performers. The cast is led by Susanna Phillips and Christopher Maltman as the unhappily married Rosalinde and Eisenstein; Jane Archibald as Rosalinde's feisty maid, Adele; Anthony Roth Costanzo as Prince Orlofsky; Michael Fabiano as Rosalinde's former lover, Alfred; Paulo Szot as the bumbling Dr. Falke; and Patrick Carfizzi as the prison superintendent, Frank. Broadway stars Danny Burstein and Betsy Wolfe make Met debuts as the drunken jailer, Frosch, and Adele's sister, Ida. Robert Jones is set and costume designer for the production, with lighting design by Jennifer Schriever and choreography by Stephen Mear in their Met debuts.

West End's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, which was broadcast in cinemas across the United States earlier this fall, is now available for download over on Digital Theatre.

Theatre Rhinoceros presents the Bay Area Premiere of the Stephen Sondheim Musical ROAD SHOW, featuring Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and Book by John Weidman, and running January 2 - 19, 2014

Samantha Bond (Passion Play, Amy's View, Downton Abbey, Outnumbered) plays Muriel Eubanks, a glamorous divorcee looking for love in Beaumont-sur-Mer on the French Riviera and John Marquez (Privates On Parade, The Taming of the Shrew, Doc Martin) plays Andre Thibault, Beaumont-sur-Mer's Chief of Police.

Casting is complete for the world premiere of Greg Edwards & Andy Sandberg's new comedy, Craving for Travel, which will run Off-Broadway January 9 - February 9, 2014 at the Peter J. Sharp Theater (416 W. 42nd Street, NYC).

But I'm a Cheerleader: The Musical, with book and lyrics by Bill Augustin and music by Andrew Abrams, based on the 1999 Lionsgate cult motion picture, will receive its first London presentation in the form of an exploratory reading on Friday 6 December 2013 directed by Jerry Mitchell, it was announced today.

A new production of Johann Strauss Jr.'s New Year's Eve classic, the comedic operetta Die Fledermaus, will open at the Met on December 31. Jeremy Sams, writer and creator of the Met's Baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island, makes his company debut as director with the new staging, which is set in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century. Sams also contributes new lyrics for Strauss's work, which will be performed entirely in English; Tony Award-nominated playwright Douglas Carter Beane makes his Met debut with new dialogue. Adam Fischer conducts a cast of rising opera stars and Broadway performers. The cast is led by Susanna Phillips and Christopher Maltman as the unhappily married Rosalinde and Eisenstein; Jane Archibald as Rosalinde's feisty maid, Adele; Anthony Roth Costanzo as Prince Orlofsky; Michael Fabiano as Rosalinde's former lover, Alfred; Paulo Szot as the bumbling Dr. Falke; and Patrick Carfizzi as the prison superintendent, Frank. Broadway stars Danny Burstein and Betsy Wolfe make Met debuts as the drunken jailer, Frosch, and Adele's sister, Ida. Robert Jones is set and costume designer for the production, with lighting design by Jennifer Schriever and choreography by Stephen Mear in their Met debuts.

Sheffield Theatres will welcome Tom Edden as Fagin in Artistic Director Daniel Evans' production of Lionel Bart's Oliver!. The production runs from today 29 November 2013 until Saturday 25 January 2014 at the Crucible Theatre.

Digital Theatre today (25 November 2013) announced that Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along - recently awarded the Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical at the 2013 Evening Standard Theatre Awards - will be available to purchase online from Sunday 22 December.

Theatre Rhinoceros presents… The Bay Area Premiere of the Stephen Sondheim Musical ROAD SHOW Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by John Weidman, Starring Bill Fahrner * and Rudy Guerrero* Musical Direction by Dave DobruskyDirected by John Fisher Bay Area Premiere - Limited Engagement - 15 Performances Only! January 2 - 19, 2014Wed. - Sat. - 8:00 pm / Sun. - 3:00 pm Previews Jan. 2 & 3 (Thurs. & Fri.) - Opens Sat. Jan. 4 - 8:00 pm Eureka Theatre in SF www.TheRhino.org

Following on from Sunday in the Park with George, Little Shop of Horrors, La Cage aux Folles, A Little Night Music, Sweet Charity, Pippinand Merrily We Roll Along, the Menier Chocolate Factory is delighted to announce that its Christmas musical will be Candide with music by Leonard Bernstein, book adapted from Voltaire by Hugh Wheeler, lyrics by Richard Wilbur and additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, John Latouche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Park and Leonard Bernstein.

Royal Family Productions (Katie Avebe, Mary Bernardi, Chris Henry and Andy Theodorou, Founders) have announced that they are moving to Times Square as they take over the American Globe Theatre located at 145 W 46th St.

The 59th London Evening Standard Theatre Awards were held tonight in London, with Helen Mirren taking home the 'Best Actress' prize for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II inPeter Morgan's THE AUDIENCE. The production also took home the 'Best Design' award. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you photos from inside the special event!

The 59th London Evening Standard Theatre Awards were held tonight in London, with Helen Mirren taking home the 'Best Actress' prize for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in Peter Morgan's THE AUDIENCE. The production also took home the 'Best Design' award.

Application Pending, a new comedy co-authored by Greg Edwards & Andy Sandberg, the writing team behind the upcoming Off-Broadway play Craving for Travel, will present invitation-only readings in New York on November 11th and 12th.

The shortlist for the annual Evening Standard Theatre Awards has been announced. Winners revealed at a ceremony presented by Damian Lewis at the Savoy Hotel on November 17, when the recipients of six special awards will also be revealed.

The full cast for The El. Train, joining the previously announced Ruth Wilson, is Simon Coombs, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Christian Edwards, Nicola Hughes, Adam Sopp, Ony Uhiara and Zubin Varla.

Tickets go on sale today for the second production to be distributed as part of CinemaLive and Digital Theatre's West End Theatre Series, the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Noel Coward's Private Lives, directed by Jonathan Kent and starring Toby Stephens and Anna Chancellor, captured at London's Gielgud Theatre.

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, in association with Staci Levine, will present Tony Award winner Mandy Patinkin and acclaimed actor/performance artist Taylor Mac in THE LAST TWO PEOPLE ON EARTH: AN APOCALYPTIC VAUDEVILLE, a workshop presentation with direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Susan Stroman, and music direction by Paul Ford, for a strictly limited engagement from Saturday, December 14 thru Tuesday, December 31. Performances of THE LAST TWO PEOPLE ON EARTH: AN APOCALYPTIC VAUDEVILLE will be presented at the Abrons Arts Center (466 Grand Street, NYC).