Menier Chocolate Factory News

And they're off! London theatres have been open for several weeks now, and the reviews once again are coming hard and fast as a glance at this very site will confirm. Quick off the mark have been the smaller-sized shows: solo plays like Cruise or Harm or a three-person West End entry like Amy Berryman's Walden (though that title was beset by pre-opening dramas of its own, more of which below). But as the big musicals prepare their own re-emergence on to a scene marked out already by the producer Sonia Friedman's RE:EMERGE season (of which Walden is the first of three to open), excitement is in the air. The question now remains as to who, precisely, the audience is likely to be for these shows, given the difficulty for many in travelling to the UK.

With Lucinda Coxon's Herding Cats opening last night at Soho Theatre and via live stream until 22 May, New York-based, Olivier-winning, and Tony-nominated OHenry Productions and Stellar, in association with Soho Theatre, today announce the on-demand extension of the run.

Platt's concert will air on August 13th, while Erivo's is scheduled for the following week on August 20th.

The fabled date is getting nearer!  For months, May 17 has loomed large in the calendar of London theatreland as the signal for playhouses to reopen their doors after a five-month lockdown - a period of closure that has, of course, been much longer in New York for the simple reason that London theaters did at least flicker partially to life last autumn.

Hace 37 años, Stephen Sondheim estrenaba en Broadway su primer trabajo con James Lapine.

45North and Ellie Keel Productions today announce CUNCH by Marika McKennell as the final audio play in the first series of Written on the Waves.

Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt, directed by Patrick Marber and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, will return to Wyndham's Theatre for a 12-week run from 7 August – 30 October 2021.

Marking a new type of international collaboration, the production is simultaneously accessible online to audiences across the globe via Stellar and in person, with social distancing in line with current UK government guidelines, at Soho Theatre. Running 20 – 23 May 2021 - with press performance on 20 May, Herding Cats is a Stellar Original production.

Former Secretary of State and avid theatergoer Hillary Rodham Clinton will participate in Classic Stage Company's event Tell the Story: Celebrating Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Assassins, delivering remarks about the timely and timeless American musical.

Earlier this month, we marked the 91st birthday of the living legend that is Stephen Sondheim with a look back at five London productions of his work that are embedded in my memory. This week, we honour a quintet of performances that has achieved the same result, even if this has meant choosing from an astonishing array of riches that could populate a column like this ten times over. In any case, here are just a few of the Sondheim star turns that linger in the mind.

Following critical-acclaim, and due to popular demand, the digital revival of Steven Carl McCasland's Little Wars, will once again return for a limited streaming season.

This week, Through our Women in Theatre Through the Decades features, we are be highlighting the impact of women in theatre such as Sutton Foster, Kelli O'Hara, Kathleen Marshall, Lynn Nottage and more!

Last week, we acknowledged the forthcoming birthday of Andrew Lloyd Webber via a look back at five defining London stagings of his work. This time, we offer the same tribute to Stephen Sondheim, with whom Lloyd Webber, 18 years Sondheim's junior, shares a birthdate of March 22: on that day, the great man turns 91.

Episodes will be available the next day on Hulu, culminating in a celebration of Aretha Franklin’s birthday, with all eight episodes available to stream by Thursday, March 25.

The cast will also include Ishmail Aaron, Michelle Andrews, Delycia Belgrave, Joel Benjamin, Tanisha-Mae Brown, Callum Fitzgerald, Emily Goodenough, Billy Hardy, Aaron Jenkins, Liam Marcellino, Theo Reece, Hollie Jane Stephens and Harrison Wilde. 

Nationally syndicated morning talk show “Live with Kelly and Ryan” announced the lineup of guests appearing on the show the week of March 15-19, including Tony winner Cynthia Erivo! 

Classic Stage Company will present Tell The Story: Celebrating Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Assassins. The evening will feature cast members of the original Off-Broadway company, the Broadway revival, and Doyle’s upcoming CSC production.

Tom Hanks will play Geppetto in the film, with Luke Evans taking on the role of the coachman.

Apple has ordered eight episodes of 'Roar,' described as a series of darkly comic feminist fables.

Cynthia Erivo's children's book, Remember to Dream, Ebere, illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, is set to be published on September 28th 2021! 'When Ebere's mother puts her to bed at night, she always says, 'Remember to dream, Ebere.' And dream, Ebere does!'