Back to Productions IN CELEBRATION This production began performances on 5th July and closed on 15th September 2007. A piece of serious theatre about issues that matter? A welcome sight in the West End. Financial Times David Storey 's modern classic took audiences by storm at the Royal Court in the 1960s and established him as one of the country's most powerful playwrights. Three brothers - Andrew, Colin and Steven - return home to the northern roots of their childhood for a family reunion. Although they have returned to celebrate, the explosive complexities of family life and long-held grievances are unlikely to improve the chances of a decent party. Compelling and emotionally thrilling, In Celebration is an exploration of family love and of how the consequences of best intentions can threaten to destroy treasured hopes and dreams. The acting is excellent in this moving piece of compelling drama Mail on Sunday In Celebration received its world premiere at the Royal Court Theatre in 1969 and subsequently Lindsay Anderson directed a film version with a cast including Alan Bates , James Bolam , Constance Chapman , Brian Cox , Gabrielle Dray and Bill Owen . A fine play, richly satisfying. The Guardian CAST ORLANDO BLOOM – Steven TIM HEALY – Mr Shaw LYNDA BARON – Mrs Burnett DEARBHLA MOLLOY – Mrs Shaw PAUL HILTON – Andrew GARETH FARR – Colin CIARAN MCINTYRE – Reardon CREATIVES DAVID STOREY – Playwright ANNA MACKMIN – Director LEZ BROTHERSTON – Designer MARK HENDERSON – Lighting STEPHEN WARBECK – Music JOHN LEONARD – Sound SCARLETT MACKMIN – Choreographer

Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman: ‘Sexist guys? It’s not their time any more’ in Financial Times Thursday, 4 October 2018 An article by Hannah Beckerman .Sonia Friedman rushes past the spot where I’m waiting for her, shakes my hand and apologises for being late. “I’ll be about 10 minutes,” she says, before disappearing through a door disguised as a bookcase, the kind of exit that would not look out of place in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , one of the hit plays for which Friedman is responsible. Meanwhile, I’m ushered into the boardroom of her Covent Garden offices — a narrow room dominated by a long, thin black table. Apparently, Friedman likes conducting interviews here because you get a feel for the company. You certainly get a feel for its success. One wall displays a gallery of framed Olivier Awards: I don’t count them but Friedman has 48 in total. On another wall are photographs from a selection of productions: it’s not every single one of the more than 160 shows Friedman has produced since 1990 — from David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow to The Book of Mormon — but it’s enough to remind you why she is regarded as the world’s most successful theatre producer, and why this year she featured on Time magazine’s 100 list of the most influential people in the world. When Friedman, 53, enters the boardroom she sits down opposite me, a bottle of water in one hand, a bottle of juice in the other. It’s lunchtime but I get the impression that she probably doesn’t take many breaks in the middle of the day. I tell her that I recently saw The Jungle , her critically acclaimed play about life in the Calais refugee camp, directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin and starring a number of refugee actors. “The Jungle is a defining moment in my career,” she says, “because I don’t think I could produce it in the West End now if I hadn’t had the 20 years of experience behind me. I’ve got to the place professionally where I can say, ‘Let’s do this’: convince the theatre owner, convince investors, convince artists to do it in that space. It’s a defining moment for me because if I can’t do that type of work alongside all the rest of it, I don’t want to do my job. I have to be able to tell those stories too.” Friedman is right that it’s hard to imagine many producers who could bring a play like The Jungle — a vibrant but politically and emotionally challenging piece of immersive theatre — to the West End. And yet it’s been playing to healthy audiences throughout its run. Is she only able to produce such projects — which carry more commercial risk — because she has numerous profitable shows already under way? “Absolutely not. I can’t think of my work in terms of commercial versus non-commercial. Everything I do has to start from a passion to tell that story with that group of actors and creatives. Somewhere in the process I’ll have to look at the recoupment sheet and budgets and go, ‘Is this going to make any financial sense or not? Is this a going concern?’ But it’s not my starting point. [That] has to be how I respond to an idea. Having said that, it would be disingenuous for me to say that having something like Harry Potter and The Book of Mormon in my life doesn’t enable me to make things like The Jungle possible. But they’re all completely different financial models. So it’s not that Harry Potter pays for The Jungle . I have different investors [for each]. But my own money — my own income — can support these ventures if I feel that they’re going to need a bit more help.” Friedman pauses and when she begins to speak again her voice is impassioned. “Nothing I do sets out to be commercial. I’ve had an allergy towards that word since I worked in the subsidised sector. I hated commercial theatre. I think it’s anti-art, anti-theatre, anti-creativity, anti-audience, and so I like to think of myself as an independent producer as opposed to a commercial producer.” Those who have worked with Friedman support this view: far from the conventional image of the bean-counting producer, she has a reputation for being on the side of writers, actors and directors. Actor Mark Rylance has said that what sets her apart is that she shares more traits with an artistic director than a traditional producer. Jez Butterworth , creator of Jerusalem and The Ferryman , has spoken of how she makes him feel special and looked after, while Tom Stoppard has called her the go-to theatre producer of her generation. At one point during our interview, Friedman pulls out her phone and shows me a text message she received from Stoppard earlier. “He’s writing me a play at the moment and just before I came in here he wrote me a text saying he’s on page 35.” I ask what the play is about. “I don’t even know what he’s writing,” she says. “But to know that Tom Stoppard is somewhere locked away in a room right now writing a play for me to produce maybe — if I’m lucky enough — is just extraordinary.” Friedman’s range has always been eclectic. Having started her career as a stage manager at the National Theatre, she moved into producing in the 1990s, forming the Out of Joint Theatre Company with Max Stafford-Clarke, before establishing her own eponymous production company in 2002. From the outset, Friedman didn’t shy away from controversy, taking on productions such as Mark Ravenhill’s Shopping and F**king (1996), and has always been a champion of new writers: Lee Hall, Sebastian Barry and Patrick Marber all had early work produced by Friedman. Her Midas touch has been well documented: The Book of Mormon has smashed box office records at the Prince of Wales Theatre since Friedman brought it to the UK in 2013. Nine Olivier awards later, it is still a sell-out despite being, according to a ticket survey last year in the theatre newspaper The Stage, the most expensive West End musical, with tickets costing up to £202. Friedman acknowledges there have been productions that didn’t work out as she’d hoped but, diplomatically, declines to name them. If she is impossible to pigeonhole as a producer, I ask whether there is a shared DNA among her projects, and what it is that piques her interest at the outset. She thinks for a moment, begins a sentence, stops herself and thinks some more. “I’ve got lots of answers to this. The only reason I’m hesitating is because I don’t know which one to start with. What piques my interest is where I am in my life at that particular moment. What’s preoccupying my mind, not just politically but also my own personal interests, my own personal problems, griefs, issues. Is it in any way helping me understand what’s going on? But, most importantly, it has to surprise me. If I turn a page and I don’t know what’s going to happen next but I’m engaged, I’ll keep going. Or it can be a director. I have long-standing relationships with several directors and so a lot of projects emerge through discussion, debate, reading with a particular director who I want to keep working with. And then, of course, there’s writers and actors.” From Harold Pinter, Trevor Nunn and Rupert Goold to Keira Knightley, Elisabeth Moss and Carey Mulligan, the cast of those Friedman has worked with reads like a Who’s Who of contemporary dramatic talent. It is perhaps not surprising that Friedman has such a natural affinity with creatives. Her father — who left home before she was born — was the renowned violinist Leonard Friedman. Her mother, Clair Sims, was a concert pianist who relinquished her career in order to raise her four children, becoming a London tour guide and piano teacher to pay the bills. Her siblings include the actress Maria Friedman and the violinist Richard Friedman. They are a remarkably successful group despite the instability of their childhood. I ask Friedman whether she sees a link between the estrangement from her father and her own drive to succeed. A notoriously hard grafter, she rarely gets home before 11 o’clock at night and never takes holidays. “Of course. I was looking for approval from both my mum and my dad but particularly from my absent dad, who was very much out there and active but didn’t know who I was. In fact, the only time he contacted me — and I’m not exaggerating — was when he wanted some money. I don’t think I was aware of it then, that what I was looking for was approval. I don’t think you understand what your motivation is when you’re young, do you?” The estrangement from her father, who died in 1994, has affected her career in unexpected ways. Many producers had tried to persuade the best-selling Harry Potter author JK Rowling to collaborate on a stage version of her stories but it was Friedman’s idea that finally convinced her. “Harry Potter and the Cursed Chil d as it is wouldn’t have happened unless there’d been the father issues. My father had terrible parenting himself: how does that impact on your own children? And if you’re a great man — if you’re a great artist — does that mean that you can’t be a good dad? In terms of that narrative, I have my absent dad to thank for that story because that was the conversation that Jo [Rowling] and I had,” she laughs. Friedman describes how she and her siblings coped with their father’s desertion by putting on plays together when they were home alone. “My very early childhood was wild and boisterous and crazy and bohemian and full of music and creativity and then it stopped. Bang — just stopped when I was eight. They [her siblings] all left home in the space of a year and it was a very difficult time. Very, very difficult. And that was the time when the only survival was to escape through my dolls’ house, and by plugging into the thing that my brother and my sisters had given me which was storytelling. So I created stories on my own for about three or four years. And then I left home when I was very young — when I was about 13. I left home to go to a boarding school and then I never really went back.” Having spoken in a thoughtful, considered way thus far, Friedman suddenly becomes visibly distressed. She tells me that her mother, to whom she was incredibly close, died recently and that this is the first interview she has given since. Her mother’s death has, she says, reshaped the way she views her own motivations. “Losing my mum has crystallised for me everything to do with the absent father and actually who I was really doing it for. I was actually really doing it for my mum. Because my mum had such a difficult time: four children under 10, on her own, no money, rejection from my father’s side completely. He had multiple affairs and he didn’t ever give her a penny. And she put her whole career on hold, her life on hold. I thought I was doing it for my dad. I wasn’t. I was doing it to prove to mum that it was worth it.” Does she think this will influence the kind of plays she produces in future? “When I saw Harry Potter just after my mum died, up until that point, the play had been about one thing for me. And then I saw it again and it became a completely different play to me. Before, it was a play about father-son issues, parent-children issues, how you communicate. And then after, it was a play about grief and loss, and that’s what it is to me now. Because I am a girl who is grieving and has lost. So that will no doubt inform how I move forward creatively… Yes, I lost my dad, but I didn’t grieve. That was anger. So we’ll see how it affects the next period of my working life.” Throughout, Friedman is candid — at one point, she jokingly comments that the interview feels like a therapy session. I wonder if she has a theory as to why, in 2018, a successful female theatre producer is still a rarity. Is theatreland still a sexist place to operate? “I think if it’s sexist, those guys have to keep their mouths shut, don’t they? It’s not their time any more. And my God, doesn’t it feel good? “But there are still some very real issues and challenges women have to face: having a child, bringing up a family. I, for various reasons, have never had that choice put in front of me, so I haven’t had to make that choice. I think it would be very hard for women to have the sort of career I’ve had and bring up a family because of the hours and time it takes to do it. So I don’t think that’s sexist, but I think it’s still very real.” But is she optimistic that, a year after the #MeToo movement went viral, there is a brighter future ahead for women in the theatre industry? “In terms of female directors, female-led plays, female writers — this is the shift. It’s certainly, in our lifetime, the biggest shift and the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen, happening right now. I think we are now seizing the moment and I can’t see it going backwards.” Meanwhile, Friedman has another packed season ahead. In addition to the current slate of shows on both sides of the Atlantic, she has two new plays in London — The Inheritance, a two-part Matthew Lopez play inspired by EM Forster’s Howards End, and Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke — as well as Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman on Broadway. I ask her if it’s true that it’s a much tougher nut to crack than the West End. “Broadway is primarily about the one review — The New York Times. For plays, if you don’t get a good New York Times review and you don’t have a massive, massive star in it, you’re dead. You’re dead within days.” Does she manage to sleep much before Broadway openings? Friedman laughs. “No. Literally every time I open a show on Broadway I go, ‘I don’t know why I’m doing this to myself. What am I doing?’ But Broadway is the best place to produce in the world because of the high-wire act. It’s intoxicating. It’s devastating when it doesn’t work but, my God, when it does it just feels like you’ve conquered the world.” Given how often Friedman has conquered the theatrical world — a notoriously crowded and capricious space — what’s the secret to her consistently good audiences? “It’s not difficult, if it’s good,” she whispers, and smiles. “I don’t have a worry about the economy of our theatre. Great work, great stories will always have an audience. It’s not about taking an advert in three newspapers and making sure that your digital campaign works and you’ve got enough escalator panels up — it’s not about that. Of course that’s part of it. But it’s about word-of-mouth, word-of-mouth, word-of-mouth.” Since Friedman started producing 25 years ago, the meaning of word-of-mouth has expanded dramatically. In the age of social media, a creative team can get real-time audience feedback during the first preview of a new production. So does social media reduce the importance of critics? “No. The critics are very, very important but the critics can’t make it a hit if the people don’t want to go. You can’t have a hit if the audience and the word-of-mouth is not strong. But if they happen together you’re off and running.” One of the contentious issues in the theatrical world in recent years has been the casting of celebrities — particularly in musical theatre — as a means of attracting audiences. Friedman’s shows over the years include productions with unknowns — such as The Jungle — and those featuring household names such as Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch in 2015, for which all 100,000 tickets sold out in hours. Is it ever a difficult decision to cast a famous actor? “It’s simply about whether I think they can do the job and whether they’d be right for that role. There’s no question that audiences love star performances. It’s what the theatre’s always been about. I think some producers are sometimes criticised for casting stars when actually they’re terrific theatre actors who happen to be famous for doing Sherlock,” she laughs, referring to one of Cumberbatch’s TV roles. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say that if a star is in a play, that is going to make my life easier. But I just want to be clear that we understand what the word star means. A star is a great actor that audiences may have heard of.” Friedman and I have talked a lot about her professional motivations: her absent father, self-sacrificing mother, a childhood steeped in storytelling. Before we end, I ask her whether there might be something else, some other driving force behind her success. She thinks for a few seconds before replying. “I think it’s about proving it to myself — proving that I can do it. The world I’ve chosen to work in, nobody really knows the answer as to why something does or doesn’t work. So I think what keeps me going is the fact that I don’t know what the result is going to be, and I need to go through it in order to find out. I’m not a coward, you see. I’m really, really excited by the unknown.” Up Up

Back to News & Press King Lear cast announced for BBC Two and Amazon Prime Video Wednesday, 4 October 2017 BBC Two, Amazon Prime Video, Golden Globe®, BAFTA®, and RTS® Award-winning drama producer Playground and Olivier® and Tony® Award-winning producer Sonia Friedman Productions announced that Anthony Hopkins (The Dresser , Nixon , Silence of the Lambs ) and Emma Thompson (The Children Act , The Remains of the Day , Sense and Sensibility ) reunite in their third collaboration and lead an all-star cast for their upcoming production of Shakespeare’s King Lear , adapted and directed by BAFTA® and Olivier® Award-winning director Richard Eyre (The Dresser , Notes on a Scandal ). Principal photography begins this month. The film for television is commissioned by the BBC and will premiere on BBC Two in the UK in 2018. Amazon Studios is co-producing and taking US and German rights. Amazon Prime Video will also air the drama in the UK, following the BBC’s run. Set in the fictional present, King Lear sees Academy® Award winner Anthony Hopkins as the eponymous ruler, presiding over a totalitarian military dictatorship in England. Academy® Award and BAFTA® Award winner Emma Thompson stars as his oldest daughter Goneril. Academy® Award nominee and BAFTA® Award winner Emily Watson (Theory of Everything , Genius ) stars as his middle daughter Regan, and rising star Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth , Marcella ) as Cordelia, the youngest of Lear’s children. Academy® Award and BAFTA® Award winner Jim Broadbent (Iris , Game of Thrones ) takes the role of the Earl of Gloucester, BAFTA® Award winner Andrew Scott (Sherlock , The Hollow Crown ) as his loyal son Edgar and John Macmillan (Hanna , Chewing Gum ) as his illegitimate son Edmund. Emmy® Award nominated Jim Carter (Downton Abbey , Cranford ) takes the role of the Earl of Kent, Emmy® Award winner Christopher Eccleston (The Leftovers , Thor: The Dark World ) as Oswald, and Golden Globe® nominee Tobias Menzies (Outlander , The Terror ) plays the Duke of Cornwall. Anthony Calf (New Tricks , Riviera ) plays the Duke of Albany and Karl Johnson (Wittgenstein , Rome ) is set to play Lear’s loyal jester the Fool. “It is a tribute to the great Richard Eyre that we have brought together such a remarkable cast. The film is a testament to the BBC’s on-going commitment to the single drama, and we are very appreciative of their continued support, ” Colin Callender , and Sonia Friedman , Executive Producers said. “We are particularly excited to be working with Amazon and their support for the film reflects their emergence as a leading global brand of top quality drama.” Piers Wenger , Controller of BBC Drama, said: “Richard Eyre has assembled an unmissable cast to embody his vision for a timeless but deeply resonant screen adaptation of King Lear. We are all looking forward to seeing this landmark production come to life on BBC Two.” “Playground has an incredible track record of producing award-worthy series and films, and we are delighted to work with them and SFP on bringing such a star-studded, exciting adaptation to Prime members,” said Brad Beale, Vice President, Worldwide TV Content Acquisition, Amazon Prime Video. King Lear has been commissioned by Charlotte Moore at the BBC, and will be produced by Playground (Wolf Hall, Howards End, Little Women ) and Sonia Friedman Productions (The Dresser ) in association with Lemaise Pictures Limited for BBC Two. The drama is a co-production with Amazon Studios. The producer is Noëlette Buckley (The Dresser, Wolf Hall ). Executive producers are Colin Callender and Scott Huff for Playground , Sonia Friedman for Sonia Friedman Productions , and Lucy Richer for the BBC. Great Point Media will represent international rights in the project from MIPCOM 2017. Up Up

Back to Productions SUMMER AND SMOKE This production first began its strictly limited run on 10th November 2018, with press night on 20th November, and closed on 19th January 2019. ★★★★★ Rush to see this now, or live to regret it The Telegraph The girl who said ‘no’ – she doesn’t exist anymore, she died last summer – suffocated in smoke from something on fire inside her. Trapped between desire and a life of obligation, Alma meets John and her world turns upside down. ★★★★★ Rebecca Frecknall’s whole production seems to tremble like a sustained, held high note: fragile, uncertain, almost unbearably tense. The Independent With ‘spellbinding, stripped-back staging’ (Financial Times), this intoxicating classic about love, loneliness and self-destruction evokes the simmering passions of a sweltering summer in small-town Mississippi. The West End transfer of Tennessee Williams ’ intoxicating and rarely staged classic, Summer and Smoke , follows a sold-out and critically lauded run at the Almeida Theatre. Directed by Almeida’s Associate Director Rebecca Frecknall with the full cast reprising their roles for the West End run. ★★★★★ It’s superb stuff: sensual, shimmering and sad Financial Times CAST SEB CARRINGTON NANCY CRANE PATSY FERRAN ERIC MACLENNAN FORBES MASSON MATTHEW NEEDHAM TOK STEPHEN ANJANA VASAN CREATIVES TENNESSEE WILLIAMS – Playwright REBECCA FRECKNALL – Director TOM SCUTT – Designer LEE CURRAN – Lighting Designer CAROLYN DOWNING – Sound Designer ANGUS MACRAE – Composition JULIA HORAN CDG – Casting

Back to News & Press Casting announced for Jerusalem on Broadway Monday, 21 February 2011 Casting has been announced for the Broadway production of The Royal Court Theatre’s JERUSALEM, the critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning play by Jez Butterworth and starring Tony and Olivier Award-winner Mark Rylance (La Bête, Boeing-Boeing). The production, directed by Ian Rickson, will open on April 21, 2011 at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street). Previews begin April 2. The production will play a limited 16-week engagement. Joining Rylance and the previously announced Mackenzie Crook as Ginger will be Tony Award-winner John Gallagher, Jr. (Spring Awakening, American Idiot) as Lee, Max Baker (Cyrano de Bergerac) as Wesley, Geraldine Hughes (Translations) as Dawn and Molly Ranson (August: Osage County) as Pea, alongside seven members of the original Royal Court and West End company: Alan David as The Professor, Aimeé-Ffion Edwards as Phaedra, Danny Kirrane as Davey, Charlotte Mills as Tanya, Sarah Moyle as Ms. Fawcett, Harvey Robinson as Mr. Parsons and Barry Sloane as Troy Whitworth. Aiden Eyrick and Mark Page alternate in the role of Marky. Up Up

Back to News & Press The challenges of recouping on Broadway Monday, 13 January 2014 She's snapping right at the heels of someone who is quite possibly the world's most successful theatrical producer of all time, at least financially speaking, and though she doesn't own any theatres personally (at least not yet), it's one of the few things separating them now in terms of power and influence in the two great theatrical meccas of the West End and Broadway. (Her company, though, falls under the umbrella of ATG, which is of course are top of the Stage 100 list and now owns the largest number of UK theatres as well as one of the biggest theatres on Broadway as well). In fact, she's outstripping Mackintosh on at least one front: on the Internet Broadway database (ibdb.com), she has some 28 producing credits listed, whereas Mackintosh only has 13 (plus credits for 3 more that he originally produced earlier, different versions of). And Friedman's credits there have, moreover, been collected in the last decade, whereas Mackintosh's have occurred over more than 30 years. Read the full article here . Up Up

Back to Productions SUNNY AFTERNOON – UK TOUR This tour opened on 1st August 2016 and closed on 1st June 2017. ★★★★★ A blazing triumph. I swear you’ll get goosebumps The Telegraph Step into swinging 60s Britain and discover how The Kinks found their definitive sound that rocked a nation and influenced generations. Feel the euphoric highs and experience the power of a live Kinks performance as we witness the band’s beginnings, their barnstorming debut on Top of the Pops, their infamous American tour and their triumphant comeback. ★★★★★ A belter! Funny, stylish, well-performed – It has everything The Kinks had Daily Mail Winner of the 2015 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, Sunny Afternoon is an irresistible musical with slick theatricality and ingenious storytelling at its heart. It tells the captivating tale of how one of Britain’s greatest bands, The Kinks, rose to stardom. Featuring the iconic hits ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Waterloo Sunset’, ‘Dedicated Follower of Fashion’, ‘All Day and All of the Night’, ‘Lola’, ‘Sunny Afternoon’ and many more, this production fizzes with energy, and is a fresh new ‘Great British Musical ’ (The Times ) that will make your spirits soar. With music and lyrics by Ray Davies (Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music), a new book by Joe Penhall and direction by Edward Hall , Sunny Afternoon’s faultless musicianship and brilliant songs come together for a moving portrayal of The Kinks' amazing journey during the youthful, rebellious 1960s ★★★★★ Fresh and full of zingy, swinging sixties excitement Express CAST RYAN O'DONNELL – Ray Davies MARK NEWNHAM – Dave Davies GARMON RHYS – Pete Quaife ANDREW GALLO – Mick Avory JAYNE ASHLEY VICTORIA ANDERSON NATHANAEL CAMPBELL MARCELO CERVONE TOMM COLES DERYN EDWARDS SOPHIE LEIGH GRIFFIN SAM HAYWOOD JAMES HUDSON RICHARD HURST CLEO JAEGER JAMES LERCAN JOSEPH RICHARDSON ROBERT TOOK ALEX WADHAM LIBBY WATTS MICHAEL WARBURTON LUCY WILKERSON LISA WRIGHT CREATIVES RAY DAVIES – Music and Lyrics/Musical and Vocal Adaptations JOE PENHALL – Book EDWARD HALL – Director MIRIAM BUETHER – Designer ADAM COOPER – Choreographer RICK FISHER – Lighting Designer MATT MCKENZIE – Sound Designer ELLIOT WARE – Musical and Vocal Adaptations/Musical Supervisor BARNEY ASHWORTH – Musical Director

Back to News & Press Merrily We Roll Along recoups on Broadway Wednesday, 20 March 2024 Producers Sonia Friedman Productions , David Babani , Patrick Catullo and Jeff Romley are proud to announce that the critically acclaimed, first-ever Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth 's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG has recouped its $12 million capitalisation. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as Charley Kringas, Tony Award nominee Jonathan Groff as Franklin Shepard and Tony Award winner Lindsay Mendez as Mary Flynn, director Maria Friedman 's smash hit production must end on Sunday, July 7, 2024 at the Hudson Theatre (141 W 44th Street). The twice-extended limited engagement will have played 312 performances and 20 previews when it ends its record-breaking run on Broadway. MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG also features Krystal Joy Brown as Gussie Carnegie, Katie Rose Clarke as Beth Shepard, and Reg Rogers as Joe Josephson. The company currently includes Max Rackenberg , Rocco Van Auken , Brady Wagner , Sherz Aletaha , Maya Boyd , Leana Rae Concepcion , Morgan Kirner , Ken Krugman , Corey Mach , Talia Simone Robinson , Amanda Rose , Jamila Sabares-Klemm , Brian Sears , Evan Alexander Smith , Christian Strange , Koray Tarhan , Vishal Vaidya , Natalie Wachen and Jacob Keith Watson . MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is directed by multi-Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman , features music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim , a book by George Furth , and is based on the original play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart . MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG officially opened Tuesday, October 10, 2023 and has smashed the box office record at Broadway's Hudson Theatre seven times since the production began performances on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, most recently grossing $2,046,288 for its 8 performances the week ending November 26, 2023. Before MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG , the previous 8-performance week house record at the Hudson Theatre was $1,708,386.60, held by PLAZA SUITE. Spanning three decades in the entertainment business, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two lifelong friends - writer Mary and lyricist & playwright Charley. An inventive cult-classic ahead of its time, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG features some of Stephen Sondheim 's most celebrated and personal songs. MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG features a design and creative team that includes Tim Jackson (choreography), Tony Award Winner Jonathan Tunick (orchestrations), Soutra Gilmour (Scenic & Costume Design), Amith Chandrashaker (Lighting Design), Kai Harada (Sound Design), Cookie Jordan (Hair & Wig Design), Jim Carnahan, CSA (casting), Joel Fram (music direction and additional vocal arrangements), Catherine Jayes (music supervision), Alvin Hough Jr. (associate music supervision), Kristy Norter (music coordination). Up Up

Back to Productions 1984 – BROADWAY This production began performances on 18th May and closed on 8th October 2017. ★★★★ Orwell's parable of political control remains tingle-inducingly pertinent The Times ★★★★ A deadly chilling piece for our dangerous times Time Out Following four wildly successful U.K. runs, the new stage adaptation of George Orwell ’s dystopian masterpiece comes to New York. One of the most widely referenced and best-known fiction titles of all time, 1984 has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 65 languages. Now, Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan have adapted this iconic novel into ‘a chilling, ingenious 101 minutes of theatre ’ (The London Times ). Depressingly relevant and brilliantly discomforting Radio Times CAST TOM STURRIDGE – Winston OLIVIA WILDE – Julia REED BIRNEY – O'Brien WAYNE DUVALL – Parsons CARL HENDRICK LOUIS – Martin NICK MILLS – Syme MICHAEL POTTS – Charrington CARA SEYMOUR – Mrs Parsons SAMI BRAY – Child WILLOW MCCARTHY – Child MEREDITH FORLENZA – Understudy Julia/Mrs Parsons ANTHONY NEWFIELD – Understudy Charrington/O'Brien/Parsons TOM PATTERSON – Understudy Martin/Syme/Winston CREATIVES ROBERT ICK AND DUNCAN MACMILLAN – Directors CHLOE LAMFORD – Designer NATASHA CHIVERS – Lighting Designer TOM GIBBONS – Sound Designer TIM REID – Video Designer

Back to News & Press Bend It Like Beckham now open to glorious 5 star reviews in the West End Wednesday, 24 June 2015 Stars including Juliet Stevenson, Graham Norton and Dame Kelly Holmes celebrated with the producers and creative team as the new British musical Bend It Like Beckham kicked-off in the West End last night. Natalie Dew plays football crazy Jess with Lauren Samuels as Jules, a player with the Harriers, a local women’s football team, and Jamie Campbell Bower as their coach Joe. Sophie-Louise Dann plays the role of Paula, Jules’s Mum, with Jamal Andréas as Jess’ good friend Tony. Preeya Kalidas plays Pinky, Jess’ sister, with Tony Jayawardena and Natasha Jayetileke as her parents, Mr and Mrs Bhamra. Directed by Gurinder Chadha, with original music by Howard Goodall and lyrics by Charles Hart, Bend It Like Beckham has a new book by Paul Mayeda Berges and Gurinder Chadha; choreography and musical staging by Aletta Collins; set design by Miriam Buether; costume design by Katrina Lindsay; lighting design by Neil Austin; sound design by Richard Brooker; musical direction by Nigel Lilley and orchestrations by Howard Goodall and Kuljit Bhamra. Bend It Like Beckham is produced in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions, Deepak Nayar Productions, Bend It Films, Fischer & Vaswani Productions, Tanya Link Productions & Zeilinger Productions. ★★★★★ ‘A BOLD, BEAUTIFULLY BRITISH TRIUMPH. PREPARED TO BE TRANSPORTED & UPLIFTED. IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN. IRRESISTIBLE’ Dominic Cavendish, The Daily Telegraph ★★★★★ ‘JOYOUS. GORGEOUS SCORE. WITTY LYRICS. EXHILIRATING CHOREOGRAPHY. AN UPLIFTING CELEBRATION OF MULTI-CULTURAL BRITAIN.’ Paul Taylor, The Independent ★★★★★ ‘WONDERFULLY LIFE-AFFIRMING. AN END TO END JOY. IRRESISTIBLE’Quentin Letts, Daily Mail 'IT’S WHAT YOU WISH THE WEST END WERE LIKE ALL THE YEAR ROUND.' Matt Trueman, Variety ★★★★ 'THE SHOW SCORES WITH WIT AND CHARM.' John Nathan, The Metro ★★★★ 'BURSTING WITH EXUBERANCE. A JOYOUS FEEL-GOOD SHOW. INSPIRING. FRESH. FUNNY. A HYMN TO GIRL POWER AND THE VITALITY OF MULTICULTURAL LONDON.' Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard ★★★★ 'SENSATIONAL. ALL THE FEEL-GOOD FACTOR OF AN ENGLAND WIN' Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out ★★★★★ ‘GLORIOUS. NO BRITISH-ORIGINATED NEW SHOW BENDS THE MUSICAL IN SUCH A VIVACIOUSLY FRESH AND WELCOME NEW DIRECTION AS BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM. AN EXPLOSION OF COLOUR, COMMUNITY AND CREATIVITY, SHOT THROUGH WITH EXHILARATING ENERGY AND GENUINE HEART.’ Mark Shenton, The Stage For more information and to book tickets, click here . Up Up

Back to News & Press Dreamgirls is officially good for the heart (and soul!) Thursday, 28 September 2017 American critic, Frank Rich, called the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls a ‘seismic emotional jolt that sends the audience, as one, right out of its wits’. 35 years later, that emotional jolt has now been proven by a team of research scientists, at a live performance of Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End. A new scientific study has found that Dreamgirls is as good for your heart as half an hour of cardio exercise. The research, conducted by University College London in association with Encore Tickets , monitored the heart rates, brain activity, and other physiological signals of 12 individuals at a live theatre performance of the Tony and Olivier-Award winning musical, and the results were incredible. During the performance, the heartrates of audience members spent an average of 28 minutes beating at an elevated range between 50% - 70% of their maximum heart rate. The British Heart Foundation identify this level of heartrate as the optimal heart rate to stimulate cardio fitness and stamina. So, although they were seated for the performance, audience members spent an average of 28 minutes engaged in healthy cardio exercise. Dr Joseph Devlin, Head of Experimental Psychology at University College London, says: “This demonstration paints quite a clear picture that attending a live performance has an impact on cardiovascular activity”. “By the end of the first act, heart rates nearly doubled from their resting state at the beginning, while in the second act, it tripled. You see comparable changes in heart rate in professional tennis players during burst of highly intense exertion such as long and fast rallies.[1]” Having witnessed night after night of standing ovations and overwhelming audience response, we always knew this incredibly joyous production was good for the heart – now we know it’s contributing to your health too! [1] Fernandez, J., Mendez‐Villanueva, A. & Pluim, BM. (2006) Intensity of tennis match play. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 40(5): 387–391. READ THE NEWS STORIES Evening Standard https://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/theatre/going-to-the-theatre-is-as-good-for-your-heart-as-30-minutes-of-cardio-apparently-a3646496.html iNews https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/health/going-theatre-good-heart-half-hour-exercise/ The Sun https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/4573211/musical-theatre-dreamgirls-exercise-study/ Mail Online http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4931666/A-decent-reason-hit-West-End-instead-gym.html The Stage https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2017/501127/ Deccan Chronicle http://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/health-and-wellbeing/290917/watching-a-musical-as-good-as-a-30-minute-workout-study.html Up Up

Back to Productions THE NORMAN CONQUESTS – BROADWAY This production began performances on 11th April and closed on 23rd July 2009. The Norman Conquests generates profound happiness in audiences. It is so damn funny it cripples you with laughter. The New York Times Matthew Warchus has spun comic gold, with utmost clarity and actorly fireworks. The cast is never less than awe-inspiring New York Post Alan Ayckbourn 's comic trilogy of plays, THE NORMAN CONQUESTS , transferred to Broadway directly following its sold-out critically acclaimed run in London. The production played for a limited season from April 23 2009 at Circle in the Square Theatre (235 West 50th Street) until July 26 2009. Previews began on April 7 2009. The first Broadway revival of Ayckbourn's masterpiece featured the original heralded company from The Old Vic: Amelia Bullmore (Ruth), Jessica Hynes (Annie), Stephen Mangan (Norman), Ben Miles (Tom), Paul Ritter (Reg) and Amanda Root (Sarah). The first London revival of THE NORMAN CONQUESTS ran September 11 – December 20, 2008 at The Old Vic and was an instant sell-out. For the production, the venerable 200-year-old theatre was converted for an in-the-round staging which is retained for Circle in the Square's unique configuration. Sonia Friedman Productions , Steven Baruch , Marc Routh , Richard Frankel , Tom Viertel , Dede Harris , Tulchin/ Bartner/ Lauren Doll , Jamie deRoy , Eric Falkenstein , Harriet Newman Leve , Probo Productions , Dougals G. Smith , Michael Filerman/ Jennifer Manocherian , Richard Winkler in association with Dan Fisherwasser , Pam Laudenslager/ Remmel T. Dickinson , Jane Dubin/ True Love Productions , Barbara Manocherian/ Jennifer Isaacson present The Old Vic Theatre Company production of “THE NORMAN CONQUESTS ”. Alan Ayckbourn's trilogy delivers more laughs than ought to be legal. It's an endless valley of jokes, with hilarious peaks and contemplative valleys. Richly rewarding, it's like a Rubik's Cube with humor and heart, its structural ingenuity matched by an exceptional cast and supple direction. Variety CAST AMELIA BULLMORE – Ruth JESSICA HYNES – Annie STEPHEN MANGAN – Norman BEN MILES – Tom PAUL RITTER – Reg AMANDA ROOT – Sarah CREATIVES MATTHEW WARCHUS – Director ROB HOWELL – Designer DAVID HOWE – Lighting Designer GARY YERSHON – Music SIMON BAKER for Autograph – Sound Designer GABRIELLE DAWES CDG – Casting