Menier Chocolate Factory News

Accomplished UK TV host Jonathan Ross spotlights the current hit West End revival of Stephen Sondheim & George Furth's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG in a new clip just released.

Glenn Carter* (Jersey Boys, Jesus Christ Superstar, Whistle down the Wind), Stephen Rahman Hughes* (Emmerdale, Dream Team, Bombay Dreams, West Side Story), David Thaxton (Passion, Les Miserables) and Matt Willis (Wicked, Flashdance, Footloose and BRIT award winning member of Busted), join the previously announced Lee Mead (Wicked, Legally Blonde, BBC Series Winner of Any Dream Will Do) to complete The West End Men. All four will be joined by special guest star Kerry Ellis* (Wicked, Oliver, We Will Rock You, Born Free Tour with Brian May) for the limited run at the Vaudeville Theatre from 25 May to 22 June.

Further casting has been announced for the four new in-house productions which will make up the 2013 Summer Season Theatre Royal Bath.

Celebrating the 80th birthday of playwright and novelist David Storey, the first London production in over 30 years - and the first production in London since the original National Theatre production- David Storey's Early Days plays at the Finborough Theatre for a limited run of nine Sunday and Monday evening and Tuesday matinee performances from Sunday, 16 June 2013 (Press Night: Monday 17 June 2013 at 7.30pm).

Donmar Warehouse announces 2013 Autumn Season

Fresh and funny, Payback The Musical, with a sharp, original script and catchy score, recaptures the excitement of the very best traditional musicals. A new performance for the stage amongst revivals, this 2016 tale of love stretches from Brazil to England. Featuring a blend of jazz, Latin and traditional ballads, it's a wry, contemporary look at today's celebrity and story hungry media culture.

Award-winning theatre company, Son of Semele Ensemble (SOSE), has extended the west coast premiere of Our Class, by Polish playwright Tadeusz S?obodzianek, in an English version by Ryan Craig. Directed by Matthew McCray, the critically-acclaimed production of Our Class will continue its run at the Atwater Village Theatre, with performances resuming May 24.

Shakespeare's classic exploration of ambition, guilt and destiny opens at the Globe on 22 June 2013, the third and final play in the Season of Plenty's trio of supernatural Shakespeares. The production features Joseph Millson and Samantha Spiro as the murderous couple at the heart of the play, with Billy Boyd as Banquo and Gawn Grainger as Duncan. Celebrated cabaret artist Bette Bourne will play the Porter.

Angus Jackson - director of the 2013 Olivier Award-winning production Goodnight Mister Tom - returns to Chichester with the world premiere of If Only by David Edgar. This political drama is described as a witty and astute exploration of the moral dilemmas at the heart of coalition government.

To coincide with the 20-year anniversary of the Ford Partnership Program, which nurtures locally based artists and arts organizations, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission presents the inaugural Zev Yaroslavsky Signatures Series. This two-concert program benefiting the Ford Theatre Foundation pairs world-renowned performers with a local artistic treasure, celebrating Los Angeles as a destination for world-class artists, who find here both collaboration with, and inspiration from, celebrated local artists.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Following a highly praised run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Maria Friedman's directorial debut of Merrily We Roll Along transferred beautifully to a larger space, enjoying a strictly limited run at the Harold Pinter Theatre until June 1.

The Menier Chocolate Factory's production of Travels with My Aunt runs tonight, 2nd May to 29th June, for a strictly limited 8 week season. Adapted for the stage by Giles Havergal and directed by Christopher Luscombe the cast features Jonathan Hyde and David Bamber.

Principal casting has been announced for the European premiere of The Color Purple, beginning performances at London's Menier Chocolate Factory July 5 prior to an official opening July 15 for a run through Sept. 14.

Tickets go on sale today to Menier Chocolate Factory priority bookers for the European premiere of the landmark musical The Color Purple, which runs from 5 July to 14 September. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 9am on Tuesday 7th May

59E59 Theaters will welcome the Finborough Theatre production of J.B. Priestley's CORNELIUS, directed by Sam Yates, to Brits Off Broadway. Produced by Jagged Fence, Handsome Dog and 31 Productions, CORNELIUS begins performances on Saturday, June 1 for a limited engagement through Sunday, June 30. Press opening is Tuesday, June 11 at 7 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7 PM; Friday at 8 PM; Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM; Sunday at 3 PM & 7 PM. Single tickets are $70 ($49 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org. For more information, visit www.britsoffbroadway.com.

Noma Dumezweni plays Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela and Matthew Marsh plays Eugene de Kock in Nicholas Wright's new play.

Casting has today been announced for Graham Linehan's award-winning comic adaptation of The Ladykillers, which returns to the West End from 29 June. The new cast will include Ralf Little (The Royle Family), Simon Day (The Fast Show), Angela Thorne (To the Manor Born) and Olivier Award winning actors John Gordon Sinclair (She Loves Me and classic film Gregory's Girl) and Con O'Neill (Blood Brothers and Telstar). Chris McCalphy will reprise his role as One Round following the show's recent UK tour.

Sheffield Theatres will stage Alan Bennett's award-winning modern comedy, The History Boys, for the first time on the Crucible stage from Thursday 16 May - Saturday 8 June, in a new production which sees the play staged in the city where it is set.

There are only a few more performances to catch for Gerard Alessandrini's FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: ALIVE AND KICKING! at the 47th Street Theatre (304 West 47th Street). The smash musical, which received unanimous raves from critics and audiences alike, broke all box-office records at the 47th Street Theatre and won spots on the Top Ten Lists of Time Magazine and the Associated Press, will begin its hiatus on Sunday, April 28, in order to make room for The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre's own season, as required by the show's lease agreement with the theatre.