The Menier Chocolate Factory News

'What did you do during the war, Dada?' Somewhere underneath the relentless punning and the pastiche, the whistle-stop wit and the whirling theoretical debate, there's a seriousness to Tom Stoppard's 1974 Travesties that feels horribly prescient. The intellectual hijinks are genuinely hilarious, but there's no disguising the weight of the question they restlessly scamper over and clamber round: what can artists do when faced with social crisis? Can their work claim political agency, or are they just schoolboys with a chit to get them off chores, daubing happily away in a corner?

The acclaimed Fiasco Theater production of INTO THE WOODS, the celebrated new production of the Tony Award-winning musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, launched a national tour in December, and will continue to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Dallas this spring. Book writer James Lapine and original Broadway cast member Joanna Gleason recently visited the touring company in Purchase, NY - scroll down for photos of them with the cast!

London is never short of theatre temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From a major Albee revival to starry Shakespeare and a steamy musical, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews...

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, July 10, 2016 - Sunday, July 10, 2016.

Sheridan Smith, star of the current West End production of FUNNY GIRL, turned to Twitter to announce that she would be unable to perform at last evening's performance. Today, producers of the musical issued the following statement on her absence

FUNNY GIRL returns to the London stage for the first time since its 1966 premiere in a sold-out run, led by Olivier and BAFTA award-winning actress Sheridan Smith as 'Fanny Brice'. The multi award-winning Michael Mayer directs the production, opening tonight, 2 December, at Menier Chocolate Factory before a West End transfer. Let's see what the critics had to say...

The latest play from French sensation Florian Zeller, who has already enjoyed a pair of London hits with THE FATHER and THE MOTHER, premieres at Menier Chocolate Factory next month, and the theatre today announces the full UK cast. THE TRUTH is about two couples - their friendship, suspicion and deceit.

Michael Xavier, Siobhan Dillon and Fred Johanson will join Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard, the second production in the partnership between English National Opera (ENO) and the GradeLinnit Company. 

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, November 15, 2015 - Sunday, November 15, 2015.

The Menier Chocolate Factory today announces the dates for UK premiere of Jonathan Tolins' Buyer & Cellar - this one man comedy was a major Off-Broadway hit in 2013. Buyer & Cellar opens on 19 March, with previews from 12 March, and runs until 2 May.

The Muny announced today the directors, choreographers and music directors for the Muny's 2015 Season, which opens on June 15 with My Fair Lady. 'This is a thrilling roster of artists,' said Muny Artistic Director and Executive Producer Mike Isaacson. 'We look forward to bringing their vision and talent to our grand stage.'

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: ASSASSINS opens in London, CHICAGO welcomes a new 'Billy Flynn' and 'Mama Morton', Jim Parsons returns to Roundabout for its 'MERTON' benefit reading and more!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: Two more shows begin off-Broadway, JERSEY BOYS welcomes two new cast members on tour, and two stars -- Susan Boyle and Billy Crystal -- release their latest projects!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: I AM HARVEY MILK plays Lincoln Center, CHICAGO welcomes back a veteran 'Roxie', Cherry Lane celebrates 90 years and more!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? This weekend's big news: LENNON kicks off tonight, FOUND appears at the Apple Store, and 'CURIOUS INCIDENT' opens on Sunday!

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.

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

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.

If you haven't had the chance to catch up on your theater news, look no further than today's recap of all things theater - exclusive features, interviews, reviews and more! - around the Broadway World for the week of March 18!

David Auburn's Pulitzer-winning drama, Proof,takes place on a decrepit back porch in Chicago and tells the story of Catherine, the perhaps exceptionally talented and perhaps unbalanced daughter of a similarly exceptional mathematician. Proof runs at the Menier Chocolate Factory until April 27 2013.