Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman: the theatre producer behind West End showstoppers from Harry Potter to Hamlet Tuesday, 15 September 2015 Sonia Friedman is the production powerhouse behind dozens of West End shows, from Hamlet to Harry Potter. She tells Rosamund Urwin about tackling sexism on stage and remaining fearless. Read the full Evening Standard article here . Up Up

Back to News & Press New Image Released for Uncle Vanya Monday, 18 November 2019 Uncle Vanya will run for sixteen weeks at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 14th January 2020 with Opening Night on Thursday 23rd January 2020. Tickets are on sale now. Toby Jones will star in the title role of Uncle Vanya alongside Richard Armitage as Astrov. Rosalind Eleazar (The Personal History of David Copperfield, Deep Water, The Starry Messenger ) will play Yelena, with Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education, Downstate ) as Sonya, the Emmy Award-winning Anna Calder-Marshall (LOVE, Evening at the Talk House, Male of the Species ) as Nana, the Olivier and Tony-award nominated Dearbhla Molloy (The Ferryman, Dancing at Lughnasa, Juno and the Paycock ) as Grandmaman, Peter Wight (The Birthday Party, Hamlet, The Red Lion ) as Telegin and Olivier Award-nominated Ciarán Hinds (Translations, Game of Thrones, Girl from the North Country ) as Professor Serebryakov. In the heat of summer, Sonya (Aimee Lou Wood ) and her Uncle Vanya (Toby Jones ) while away their days on a crumbling estate deep in the countryside, visited occasionally only by the local doctor Astrov (Richard Armitage ). However, when Sonya’s father Professor Serebryakov (Ciarán Hinds ) suddenly returns with his restless, alluring, new wife Yelena (Rosalind Eleazar ) declaring his intention to sell the house, the polite facades crumble and long repressed feelings start to emerge with devastating consequences. Olivier Award-winner Conor McPherson ’s stunning new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece, Uncle Vanya, is a portrayal of life at the turn of the 20th century, full of tumultuous frustration, dark humour and hidden passions. Critically acclaimed director Ian Rickson returns to Chekhov for the first time since his landmark production of The Seagull in 2007, reuniting with BAFTA and Olivier Award-winner Toby Jones (The Birthday Party ) alongside Richard Armitage , who returns to the UK stage six years after his Olivier Award-nominated performance in The Crucible . Uncle Vanya is the eleventh collaboration between Ian Rickson and Sonia Friedman Productions , with previous productions including Rosmersholm, Jerusalem, The River, Betrayal and The Children’s Hour . Uncle Vanya is designed by Rae Smith , with lighting by Bruno Poet , music by Stephen Warbeck , sound by Ian Dickinson and casting by Amy Ball CDG . Up Up

Back to News & Press Top theatre producer picks up gong ‘in the memory of her family’ Wednesday, 14 June 2023 A theatre producer who picked up a gong at Buckingham Palace said she works hard in memory of her family, who travelled from Russia and escaped the Nazis. Sonia Friedman, whose production company is behind some of the biggest shows in the West End and on Broadway, said her family “sacrificed a huge amount”. She found out about the honour around the time she learned her brother, violinist and artist Richard Friedman, was going to die. “And my brother is the reason that I do what I do, because he was my inspiration when I was growing up – to be creative and to storytell and to use my imagination,” she said after getting her award on Tuesday. Ms Friedman, who has been made a CBE for services to theatre, said: “This will sound cliched but it is the truth, which is I come from a Russian immigrant refugee family who came here with nothing. “And they sacrificed a huge amount in order for my generation to exist, my generation of siblings, and I do it for them. I do it for their memory. “And it’s a legacy that, at the end of my life, I can have won many, many Oliviers or Tonys but I will have something that will carry through for my memory, particularly as I don’t have children. “It’s a confirmation that I did something in the memory of the family who travelled from Russia, escaped the Nazis, to allow me to do this.” Ms Friedman, whose company produced the hit play Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, is currently working on the upcoming play Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Read the full Evening Standard article here. Up Up

Back to News & Press West End girls: Enter, stage left: The new stars of British theatre... and every one a woman Friday, 27 September 2013 It’s a national phenomenon, stretching from Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow to London’s West End and spanning both small fringe venues and mainstream theatres. No other British producer has taken as many shows across the Atlantic as Sonia Friedman. She can’t remember how many Tony awards she has won. To read the full article click here . Up Up

Back to News & Press The multi Olivier Award-winning hit musical Sunny Afternoon returns for a 2025/2026 UK tour Tuesday, 25 March 2025 Sonia Friedman Productions and ATG Productions are delighted to announce that the multi Olivier Award-winning hit musical SUNNY AFTERNOON will return for a 2025/2026 UK tour opening at the Manchester Palace Theatre on 10 October 2025, where it will play until 18 October 2025. thekinksmusical.com/uktour Producer Sonia Friedman said today, “From the moment Ray Davies, Joe Penhall, Ed Hall, and I began developing this musical, I knew it was something extremely special, and it proved to be so as we opened to rave reviews and won many awards. Now, I’m thrilled that we’re bringing back our joyous, celebratory, Olivier Award-winning Best New Musical for a new UK tour. Ray Davies’ music and lyrics capture the poetry and poignancy of everyday life with honesty and wit, and The Kinks’ music, attitude and vibe shaped a generation. Their astonishing legacy continues to resonate, making Sunny Afternoon as exhilarating and relevant today as ever. Whether you’re discovering it for the first time or experiencing it all over again, I can’t wait for audiences across the UK to see it — I’ve truly missed it.” SUNNY AFTERNOON celebrates the raw energy, passion and timeless sound of one of Britain’s most iconic bands, THE KINKS . Charting the euphoric highs and agonising lows, it tells their story through an incredible back catalogue of chart-toppers, including “You Really Got Me,” “Lola,” and “All Day and All of the Night.” SUNNY AFTERNOON was the recipient of four Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical and Outstanding Achievement in Music for Ray Davies. Set against the backdrop of Britain on the cusp of the rebellious '60s, SUNNY AFTERNOON  is an exhilarating and moving celebration of the music, life, and the band that changed it all. Following a sell-out run at Hampstead Theatre, SUNNY AFTERNOON opened to critical acclaim at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End where it ran for two years ahead of its sensational sell-out tour of the UK and Ireland throughout 2016/17. SUNNY AFTERNOON has music and lyrics by Ray Davies with a book by Joe Penhall and original story by Ray Davies . It is directed by Edward Hall and designed by Miriam Buether with choreography by Adam Cooper . Lighting design is by Rick Fisher with sound design by Matt McKenzie . Musical and vocal adaptations are by Ray Davies and Elliott Ware based on original Kinks ’ recordings. Up Up

Back to News & Press Brand new trailer released for award-winning Dreamgirls Friday, 9 February 2018 www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcNLhv3LhdE Marisha Wallace , Moya Angela and Karen Mav share the iconic role of Effie White throughout the week with Brennyn Lark as Deena Jones and Asmeret Ghebremichael as Lorrell Robinson, making up the soulful trio ‘The Dreams’. Joe Aaron Reid plays Curtis Taylor Jr, Tosh Wanogho-Maud plays Jimmy Early, Durone Stokes plays C.C. White, Delroy Brown plays Marty and Kimmy Edwards plays Michelle Morris. The full cast of Dreamgirls includes Michael Afemaré , Callum Aylott , Georgia Bradshaw , Jabari Braham , Ashford Campbell , Sanchia Amber Clarke , Nicole Raquel Dennis , Nicole Deon , Rhiane Drummond , Ashlee Irish , Emma Louise Jones , Ashley Luke Lloyd , Samira Mighty , Jayde Nelson , Aston New , Sean Parkins , Kirk Patterson , Rohan Pinnock-Hamilton , Ryan Reid , Rohan Richards and Joshua Robinson . Let your soul sing with the dazzling multi-award winning Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre, London. With an extraordinary story and the unforgettable, spine-tingling vocals that are sending audiences wild at every single show, this spectacular musical production soars with the classic songs, ‘And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going’, ‘I Am Changing’, ‘Listen’ and ‘One Night Only’. Meet The Dreams – Effie, Lorrell and Deena – three talented young singers in the turbulent 1960s, a revolutionary time in American music history. Join the three friends as they embark upon a musical rollercoaster ride through a world of fame, fortune and the ruthless realities of show business, testing their friendships to the very limit. The Original London Cast Recording of hit West End musical Dreamgirls is available via Sony Masterworks Broadway. Dreamgirls is Directed and Choreographed by Olivier and Tony Award®-winning Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Disney’s Aladdin and Something Rotten!), with Set Design by Tim Hatley , Costume Design by Gregg Barnes , Lighting Design by Hugh Vanstone , Sound Design by Richard Brooker and Hair Design by Josh Marquette . The Musical Supervisor is Nick Finlow , the Orchestrator is Harold Wheeler, with Additional Material by Willie Reale . With Book and Lyrics by Tom Eyen and Music by Henry Krieger , the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls, Directed and Choreographed by Michael Bennett opened in 1981 and subsequently won six Tony Awards®. The original cast recording won two Grammy awards for Best Musical Album and Best Vocal Performance for Jennifer Holliday’s ‘And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going.’ In 2006 it was adapted into an Oscar winning motion picture starring Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx. Swarovski is delighted to be the Set and Costume Design partner for Dreamgirls , bringing to life the incredible visions of Tim Hatley and Gregg Barnes. Over one million Swarovski crystals have been incorporated into the production, adorning 275 costumes and 3 crystal curtains. Moya Angela, Asmeret Ghebremichael, Brennyn Lark and Marisha Wallace are appearing with the support of UK Equity, incorporating the Variety Artistes’ Federation, pursuant to an exchange program between American Equity and UK Equity. Up Up

Back to Productions JERUSALEM This production began performances on 16th April and closed on 11th August 2022. ★★★★★ It feels more necessary now than a decade ago. Sunday Times On St George's Day, the morning of the local county fair, Johnny Byron is a wanted man. The Council officials want to serve him an eviction notice, his son wants his dad to take him to the fair, Troy Whitworth wants to wreak his revenge and a motley crew of mates wants his ample supply of drugs and alcohol. ★★★★★ Time has only deepened Jez Butterworth's modern classic. Evening Standard Sonia Friedman Productions and the Royal Court Theatre confirm the return of Ian Rickson’s production of Jez Butterworth ’s Jerusalem to London’s West End for a strictly limited 16-week engagement. Mark Rylance and Mackenzie Crook will reprise their celebrated roles as Johnny “Rooster” Byron and Ginger respectively. The original creative team will return for this 2022 production - designer Ultz , lighting designer Mimi Jordan Sherin , composer Stephen Warbeck , sound designer Ian Dickinson for Autograph and casting director Amy Ball CDG . Jez Butterworth ’s award-winning play, which premiered at the Royal Court in 2009, returns to the West End following record-breaking sold-out runs at the Royal Court and the Apollo Theatres in 2009, 2010 and 2011 as well as the Music Box Theater on Broadway in 2011. ★★★★★ A masterpiece... One of the best plays you will ever see. The Times CAST MARK RYLANCE – Johnny "Rooster" Byron MACKENZIE CROOK – Ginger KEMI AWODERU – Pea SHANE DAVID-JOSEPH – Mr Parsons GERARD HORAN – Wesley ED KEAR – Davey CHARLOTTE O'LEARY – Tanya INDRA OVÉ – Dawn JACK RIDDIFORD – Lee BARRY SLOANE – Troy Whitworth NIKY WARDLEY – Linda Fawcett ALAN WILLIAMS – The Professor ELEANOR WORTHINGTON-COX – Phaedra CREATIVES JEZ BUTTERWORTH – Playwright IAN RICKSON – Director ULTZ – Designer MIMI JORDAN SHERIN – Lighting Designer STEPHEN WARBECK – Composer IAN DICKINSON – Sound Designer AMY BALL CDG – Casting Director

Back to News & Press Mark Rylance won the 2010-11 Outer Critics Circle Award! Sunday, 15 May 2011 For his performance in the Broadway production of JERUSALEM, Mark Rylance won the 2010-11 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play. Celebrating its 61st season of bestowing awards of excellence in the field of theatre, the Outer Critics Circle is an association with members affiliated with more than ninety newspapers, magazines, web sites, radio and television stations, and theatre publications in America and abroad. Up Up

Back to News & Press Tyne Daly in Master Class Friday, 4 November 2011 Master Class, produced in the West End by Max Cooper, Maberry Theatricals, the Marks-Moore-Turnbull Group, Ted Snowdon and Sonia Friedman Productions in association with the Manhattan Theatre Club, will run at the Vaudeville Theatre for 14 weeks only from 21 January to 28 April, with press night on 7 February 2012. Set design is by Thomas Lynch, costume design by Martin Pakledinaz, lighting by David Lander and sound by Jon Gottlieb. Tickets go on sale today (4 November 2011) for Master Class and further casting will be announced shortly. Terrence McNally’s play about Maria Callas takes audiences to one of her famous master classes, where, late in her own career, she dares the next generation to make the same sacrifices and rise to the same heights that made her the most celebrated, the most reviled and the most controversial singer of her time. Terrence McNally’s Master Class received its world premiere at the John Golden Theatre in 1995, wining the Tony Award for Best Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play. Stephen Wadsworth’s Manhattan Theatre Club production opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre earlier this year. Tyne Daly first appeared in Stephen Wadsworth's production of Master Class at the Kennedy Center. Multi award-winning Tyne Daly plays Maria Callas. She is best known on television for her portrayal of Detective Mary Beth Lacey in Cagney and Lacey, for which she received four Emmy Awards. For her roles as Maxine Gray in Judging Amy and Alice Henderson in Christy she received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama. For the former she also won Golden Globe Award. Her many Broadway credits include Rose in Gypsy for which she won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, Mme. Arkadina in The Seagull and Rabbit Hole. Daley’s film credits include The Enforcer, Dirty Harry, John and Mary and Telefon. Writer Terrence McNally has won four Tony Awards for his plays Love! Valour! Compassion! and Master Class and his musical books for Kiss of the Spiderwoman and Ragtime. More recent Broadway revivals of his plays include The Ritz and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. His other plays include A Perfect Ganesh, Corpus Christi, Lips Together and Its Only a Play. His most recent play, Golden Age, was featured in the Kennedy Center celebration of his work year. For the musical theatre other his librettos include Catch Me if You Can, The Full Monty, The Rink, The Visit, A Man of No Importance and the opera Dead Man Walking. McNally has also written a number of television scripts including Andre's Mother for which he won an Emmy Award. Theatre and Opera director Stephen Wadsworth has worked for Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Vienna Staatsoper, Edinburgh Festival, Nederlandse Opera, Seattle Opera and in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto and Santa Fe. Wadsworth is the Head of Dramatic Studies at the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, the James S. Marcus Faculty Fellow and Director of Opera Studies at The Juilliard School, an artist in residence at the Aspen Institute, and a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Up Up

Back to News & Press Initial casting announced for the West End transfer of Laura Wade's critically acclaimed The Watsons Wednesday, 12 February 2020 Initial casting is announced today for the West End transfer of Laura Wade ’s The Watsons , following sold‐out runs at both Chichester Festival Theatre and the Menier Chocolate Factory. Samuel West directs Sam Alexander (Robert Watson), Sally Bankes (Nanny), Jane Booker (Lady Osborne), Elaine Claxton (Mrs Edwards), Ralph Davis (Lord Osborne), Tim Delap (Mr Howard), Sophie Duval (Mrs Robert), Louise Ford (Laura), John Wilson Goddard (Mr Watson), Rhianna McGreevy (Margaret Watson), Grace Molony (Emma Watson – she was Evening Standard Award nominated for her performance), Elander Moore (Bertie), Paksie Vernon (Elizabeth Watson) and Cat White (Miss Osborne), who reprise their roles. Full casting will be announced shortly. The production opens at the Harold Pinter Theatre on 18 May, with previews from 8 May, and runs until 26 September. Public booking now open. ‘Laura Wade triumphs spinning Jane Austen into major theatrical gold.’ Variety Directed by Samuel West , The Watsons played to critical acclaim at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2018, and completed its run at the Menier in November 2019. ‘Excellent. Jane Austen has never been quite so much fun.’ The Times Nineteen and new in town, Emma Watson’s been cut off by her wealthy aunt. She needs to marry, and fast, or be faced with a life of poverty and spinsterhood stuck in her humdrum family home. Luckily, she has plenty of prospective suitors asking to dance, from dashing socialite Tom Musgrave to the stinking rich, socially awkward Lord Osborne. Which partner to pick? So far, so familiar, but that’s when Jane Austen stopped writing. Two hundred years on, her forgotten heroine’s happy ending still hangs in the balance. Picking up an unfinished novel, Olivier Award‐winner Laura Wade ’s ‘ingenious and triumphant’ (Evening Standard) new comedy pops the bonnet on Jane Austen ’s world and asks: what happens when a writer loses the plot and fictional characters take control of their tale? thewatsonsplay.com Up Up

Back to News & Press General on sale begins - The River Sunday, 15 June 2014 General on-sale will begin on Monday, June 16 at 12:01 AM for THE RIVER, a new play by Jez Butterworth, starring Hugh Jackman, Laura Donnelly and Cush Jumbo, and directed by Ian Rickson. The production is currently on sale to American Express cardholders only. Presented by Sonia Friedman Productions, the Royal Court Theatre production of THE RIVER will open on Sunday, November 16 on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre (West 50th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue). Previews begin Friday, October 31. The production will play a strictly limited 13-week engagement through Sunday, January 25, 2015. THE RIVER was first developed by Sonia Friedman Productions and was subsequently produced by the Royal Court Theatre. It was presented from October 18-November 17, 2012 in the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, in a production directed by Mr. Rickson, also featuring Ms. Donnelly, who makes her Broadway debut alongside Ms. Jumbo. Hugh Jackman, Laura Donnelly and Cush Jumbo are appearing with the support of Actors’ Equity Association. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance of this production. A limited number of $35 day-of seats will be available for every performance of THE RIVER. When performances are sold out, $30 standing room tickets will also be available. Further details will be announced shortly. The production marks the sixth collaboration between Mr. Butterworth and Mr. Rickson. Mr. Rickson has previously directed the world premiere productions of Mr. Butterworth’s Mojo, The Night Heron, The Winterling, Parlour Song and the multi-award-winning London and Broadway production of Jerusalem. A remote fishing cabin, a man and a woman, and a moonless night. Jez Butterworth’s THE RIVER asks when we find each other, are we trying to recapture someone we once lost? The writer director team who brought you Jerusalem returns with a bewitching new story. Circle in the Square’s unique configuration and intimacy has made it a favorite of many stars who have graced its stage over the decades in both classics and new plays, including Colleen Dewhurst, Lillian Gish, George C. Scott, Julie Christie, Al Pacino, James Earl Jones, Vanessa Redgrave, Kevin Kline, Joanne Woodward, Rex Harrison, John Malkovich, Nathan Lane, Philip Seymour Hoffman and many others. The 2009 critically acclaimed and Tony Award®-winning revival of The Norman Conquests, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, also played at the theatre. THE RIVER is designed by Ultz, with lighting by Charles Balfour, sound by Ian Dickinson for Autograph, music by Stephen Warbeck, and casting by Jim Carnahan. Tickets for THE RIVER are currently available to AmEx cardholders and will be available to the general public on June 16 at Telecharge.com or by calling 800-447-7400. Up Up

Back to Productions LA CAGE AUX FOLLES – BROADWAY This production began performances on 6th April 2010 and closed on 1st May 2011. The Tony Award and Olivier Award-winning musical comedy LA CAGE AUX FOLLES is on the road! The acclaimed Menier Chocolate Factory production dazzled London and went on to earn several Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, running at Broadway's Longacre Theatre from April 18, 2010 to May 1, 2011. The US tour will kick off in Des Moines, Iowa in October 2011, and will continue on to cities including Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Fort Lauderdale, St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles. LA CAGE AUX FOLLES features music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and book by Harvey Fierstein , based on the play by Jean Poiret. This freshly reconceived production is choreographed by Lynne Page and directed by Terry Johnson . The Menier Chocolate Factory production of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES played from November 23, 2007, to March 8, 2008, earning across-the-board raves and moving to the West End's Playhouse Theatre on October 30, 2008, where it won the 2009 Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival and delighted audiences through until January 2, 2010. Sonia Friedman Productions, David Babani, Barry and Fran Weissler and Edwin W. Schloss, Bob Bartner/ Norman Tulchin, Broadway Across America, Matthew Mitchell, Raise The Roof 4 Winkler/ Besinger Taylor/ Laudenslager Bergere, Arlene Spivak, Jerry Frankel/ Bat-Barry Productions, Nederlander Presentations, Inc/ Harvey Weinstein present the Menier Choclate Factory Production “LA CAGE AUX FOLLES”. CAST NICK ADAMS CHRISTINE ANDREAS FRED APPLEGATE CHRISTOPHE CABALLERO SEAN A. CARMON VEANNE COX NICHOLAS CUNNINGHAM ROBIN DE JESUS SEAN PATRICK DOYLE KELSEY GRAMMER DALE HENSLEY CHRIS HOCH DOUGLAS HODGE LOGAN KESLAR TODD LATTIMORE TERRY LAVELL HEATHER LINDELL CAITLIN MUNDTH BILL NOLTE DAVID NATHAN PERLOW ELENA SHADDOW A. J. SHIVELY CHERYL STERN CREATIVES JASON CARR – Orchestrator JONATHAN DEANS – Sound Designer TODD ELLISON – Musical Director TERRY JOHNSON – Director RICHARD MAWBEY – Make-Up Designer/Wig Designer LYNN PAGE – Choreographer NICK RICHINGS – Lighting Designer TIM SHORTALL – Scenic Designer MATTHEW WRIGHT – Costume Designer