Menier Chocolate Factory News

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre has confirmed lead casting for Hobson's Choice and the Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. Mark Benton will play Henry Hobson in Hobson's Choice, with Jodie McNee as his daughter Maggie. Rufus Bonds Jr and Nicola Hughes play the title roles in Porgy and Bess with Phillip Boykin re-creating his Tony Award nominated performance as Crown, and Sharon D Clarke as Mariah.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin tonight, February 18 to the 23rd, 2014 in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater.

FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY, some of our finest West End musical theatre stars will be performing songs from roles they have always wanted to sing but will NEVER be cast in.

Peter Polycarpou, Gary Wilmot and Colin Stinton join the cast of the West End transfer of Chichester Festival Theatre's sparkling production of the Broadway smash hit musical, The Pajama Game, directed by Richard Eyre. Peter Polycarpou and Colin Stinton reprise their roles as Vernon Hines and Hasler, with Gary Wilmot taking over the role of Vernon Hines from 2 June. They join the previously announced Joanna Riding and Michael Xavier. The Pajama Game opens at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 13 May, with previews from 2 May, playing until 13 September 2014.

Following the sell-out success of its workshop as part of Vibrant 2012 - A Festival of Finborough Playwrights, and as part of the Finborough Theatre's acclaimed Celebrating British Music Theatre series, the world premiere of a new musical adaptation of the classic French novel Therese Raquin opens at the multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre for a four week run, opening Tuesday, 25 March 2014 (Press Night: Thursday, 27 March 2014 at 7.30pm), starring Julie Atherton and Olivier Award nominee Tara Hugo.

Following a string of sold-out performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and London's Southbank Centre, DAVID BADDIEL announces a four week run of dates at London's Menier Chocolate Factory, with his critically-acclaimed show Fame: Not The Musical, beginning on Tuesday 29th April 2014.

According to Deadline, FAST & FURIOUS' Lucas Black has signed on to join Scott Bakula in CBS's upcoming NCIS spin-off, which will air in a two-part episode this Spring. Gary Glasberg and Mark Harmon will serve as executive producers. Zoe McLellan also co-stars.

Theatrica Ltd. in association with Cheltenham Everyman Theatre is delighted to announce the World Premiere of new British musical The Man Inside starring Dave Willetts, which will play at the Landor Theatre from Wednesday 12 March to Saturday 29 March 2014, following previews at Cheltenham Everyman Theatre. On sale now.

Greg Edwards & Andy Sandberg's acclaimed two-actor, 30-character comedy about travel agents and the people they serve, Craving for Travel, now making its world premiere at the Peter J. Sharp Theater (416 W. 42nd Street, NYC), will close as scheduled this Sunday, February 9. The play is commissioned and produced by Jim Strong, one of America's leading luxury travel agents, and directed by Sandberg.

The full cast is announced for the UK premiere of Jon Robin Baitz's acclaimed play, Other Desert Cities, opening at The Old Vic on Monday 24 March with previews from Thursday 13 March. Directed by Lindsay Posner, the new production will star Sinead Cusack, Peter Egan, Clare Higgins, Daniel Lapaine and Martha Plimpton.

Aria Entertainment is delighted to announce final casting today for the second annual From Page To Stage Festival, a season of new musical theatre at the Landor Theatre from Monday 10 February toSunday 9 March 2014.

Scott Bakula has signed on to star in the upcoming NCIS spin-off series on CBS.

The cast has been announced for Gerard Alessandrini's FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, one of NYC's best-loved and highly anticipated productions, which happily returns to New York with FORBIDDEN BROADWAY; Alive and STILL Kicking on February 22nd at the newly refurbished Davenport Theatre (354 W. 45th Street, Between 8th and 9th Avenues). ERICA DORFLER (Book of Mormon, Memphis), CARTER CALVERT (Ain't Nothin' But The Blues, Smokey Joe's Cafe) and join SCOTT RICHARD FOSTER and MARCUS STEVENS, who starred in last year's edition. FORBIDDEN BROADWAY; Alive and STILL Kicking features brand new takes on the shows that opened in Forbidden Broadway's absence: Pippin, Kinky Boots, Matilda and Motown along with highlights from last season's acclaimed and very popular edition: Once, Evita, Newsies, Book of Mormon, among others. Over the course of the spring, Alessandrini will continue to add new material to reflect the season's openings, and unveil the new edition around the time of the Tony Awards.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin February 18 to 23, 2014 in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Appearing together again after their Tony Award winning performances in Evita, Patti LuPone joins Mandy Patinkin onstage for eight performances. Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin are two of Broadway's most venerated performers, having both won a Tony Award for their performances in Andrew Lloyd Webber's groundbreaking Evita in 1980. Since then they have both starred in film, television, the concert stage and back to Broadway. An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin brings them together again - at last. Press opening night is Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.

Mark Bazeley and Kristin Davis will join the previously announced Natascha McElhone in Trevor Nunn's production of Fatal Attraction to play Dan and Beth Gallagher. Written by James Dearden, the world stage premiere of Fatal Attraction will open at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on 25 March 2014, with previews now starting on 11 March and currently booking to 21 June 2014. Designs are by Rob Jones with lighting by Paul Pyant and sound by Paul Groothuis.

The film will be screened only once on Monday, February 3rd at 7 PM at the Ware Center, 42 North Prince Street, Lancaster, PA. The film is being shown on the big screen at the Ware Center in high definition and high-fidelity surround sound. Also, the films which will make up the Winter/Spring Season of the Series will be announced at the top of the program. The list includes foreign, independent, animated and documentaries that are also Academy Award nominees & Festival Award Winners.

Sinead Cusack and Clare Higgins are to play sisters Polly Wyeth and Silda Grauman respectively, in The Old Vic's UK premiere of Jon Robin Baitz's acclaimed play, Other Desert Cities, directed by Lindsay Posner. Further casting will be announced shortly.

After a 10-month hiatus, Gerard Alessandrini's FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, one of NYC's best-loved and highly anticipated productions, happily returns to New York, beginning February 22nd at the newly refurbished Davenport Theatre (354 W. 45th Street, Between 8th and 9th Avenues) with FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: Alive and STILL Kicking, featuring brand new takes on the shows that opened in Forbidden Broadway's absence: Pippin, Kinky Boots, Matilda and Motown along with highlights from last season's acclaimed and very popular edition: Once, Evita, Newsies, Book of Mormon, among others.

The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the United States, announces Emmy Award-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris as the recipient of its 2014 Man of the Year Award. Harris joins Dame Helen Mirren, who was recently announced as their 2014 Woman of the Year.

Written by Ray Cooney in 1984, Two Into One focuses on one of Cooney's favourite topics -infidelity - this time among England's political elite. Cooney depicts politicians as hypocritical sex fiends far more concerned with satisfying their hormonal urges than serving their constituents.