Embers, Whistle, Rat Pack and Producers Extend West End Runs

Four hit West End productions--Embers, Whistle Down the Wind, The Rat Pack--Live From Las Vegas and The Producers--have extended their runs, according to the London Theatre Guide.

Christopher Hampton's play Embers, starring Jeremy Irons, will play through June 24th at the Duke of York's Theatre rather than its previously-announced closing date of May 27th. Helmed by Tony Award-winner Michael Blakemore, the show is based on a novel by Sandor Marai and also features Jean Boht and Patrick Malahide. "Retired general Henrik waits, in his Hungarian castle, for the arrival of his long-lost friend Konrad. Thirty years earlier, Konrad had abruptly deserted a hunting party, fleeing Vienna the very next day in mysterious circumstances. Though decades have passed, the memories and questions have remained in Henrik's mind."

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Whistle Down the Wind, playing the Palace Theatre, has extended through August 12th; it was to have closed on June 3rd. Based on Mary Hayley Bell's novel and the classic 1961 film of the same name, Whistle Down the Wind recounts the tale of three farm children who meet a convict hiding in a barn; they come to believe that he is Jesus Christ. With music by Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Jim Steinman (Dance of the Vampires) and a book by Lloyd Webber and Patricia Knop, Whistle Down the Wind is set in 1959 Louisiana, and not the rural England of the book and film. Bill Kenwright directs.

The Rat Pack--Live from Las Vegas has extended through November 18th at the Savoy Theatre. "Set in the glamorous Las Vegas nights when ladies sparkled in glorious gowns, men looked suavely sophisticated in lounge suits and everybody's favourite friend was Mr Jack Daniels, The Rat Pack--Live From Las Vegas transports audiences to the Sands Resort, where Frank, Sammy, and Dean croon the night away." Directed by Mitch Sebastiam, the show features a 15-piece orchestra backing the actors playing the entertainment legends.

The Producers, the West End production of the Broadway hit about two swindling Broadway backers who hope to stage the biggest flop ever, has also extended by two months at the Drury Lane Theatre; it will now play through January 6th, 2007. The musical, with a score by Mel Brooks and a book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan (based on Brooks' film of the same title), currently features Reece Shearsmith as Leo Bloom, and Cory English as Max Bialystock. Susan Stroman is the show's director and choreographer.

To buy tickets for any of the above shows, visit www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk.