Back to News & Press Sunny Afternoon announces West End extension Monday, 4 January 2016 Tickets for new booking period are now on sale. Click here to book. With a book by Joe Penhall, music and lyrics and original story by Ray Davies, and directed by Edward Hall, Sunny Afternoon has established itself as a firm favourite with audiences and critics alike since it opened at the Harold Pinter Theatre in October 2014. Fifty years ago The Kinks were sitting at Number One in the UK charts with their single ‘Sunny Afternoon ’. The band’s popularity has not faded since the 1960s, with crowds of all ages filling the Harold Pinter Theatre night after night. Featuring some of The Kinks’ best-loved songs, including You Really Got Me, Waterloo Sunset and Lola , Sunny Afternoon marks the 50th anniversary of the band’s rise to fame. Following a sold-out run at Hampstead Theatre, this world premiere production, with music and lyrics by Ray Davies, new book by Joe Penhall, original story by Ray Davies, direction by Edward Hall, design by Miriam Buether and choreography by Adam Cooper, opened at the Harold Pinter theatre on 28 October 2014. Lighting is by Rick Fisher, sound by Matt McKenzie and the Musical Supervisor and Musical Director is Elliott Ware. 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 Rob Brydon to star in Alan Ayckbourn's A Chorus Of Disapproval, Directed by Trevor Nunn Wednesday, 27 June 2012 Trevor Nunn is to direct a cast including Rob Brydon, Nigel Harman and Ashley Jensen in Alan Ayckbourn’s A Chorus of Disapproval opening at the Harold Pinter Theatre later this year. Joining the trio on stage will be Teresa Banham, Daisy Beaumont, Georgia Brown, Rob Compton, Matthew Cottle and Steven Edis, who is also the show’s Musical Director. Further casting will be announced shortly. Tickets go on sale today (28 June 2012) for the run which begins previews on 17 September 2012 with booking open until 5 January 2013. Designs are by Rob Jones, with lighting by Tim Mitchell and sound by Fergus O’Hare. A Chorus of Disapproval is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions. This production continues Sonia Friedman's collaboration with Ayckbourn, having previously presented his Absent Friends at the Harold Pinter Theatre and his The Norman Conquests on Broadway. As with all SFP productions there will be a range of accessible seat prices, which will include over one hundred £10 seats for every performance, many bookable in advance. The Pendon Amateur Light Operatic Society’s production of The Beggar’s Opera is going off the rails, that is until a handsome but shy young widower Guy (Harman) joins the group. An instant hit with the company’s ferociously zealous director Dafydd (Brydon) and the show’s leading ladies, including Dafydd’s wife Hannah (Jensen), Guy soon gets more than he bargained for as he discovers that all the best action happens off-stage. Classic songs fill the air as the drama on stage is mirrored by the romantic rivalry and small town squabbles causing a stir in the wings of this ambitious local show. Rob Brydon (Dafydd ap Llewellyn), who is making his West End acting debut in A Chorus of Disapproval, studied at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama before joining BBC Wales as a radio and television presenter. He first came to the public’s attention in 2000 with the television shows Marion and Geoff and Human Remains, winning British Comedy Awards for both. Since then his extensive comedy credits have included I’m Alan Partridge, Little Britain, Live at the Apollo, Rob Brydon’s Annually Retentive, QI, Have I Got News For You, Gavin and Stacey, for which he was BAFTA nominated, Rob Brydon’s Identity Crisis, The Trip and Would I Lie To You?. His television acting credits include Oliver Twist, Heroes and Villains: Napoleon, Kenneth Tynan: In Praise of Hardcore and Marple and his self-titled, BAFTA nominated TV chat show which is currently in its third series on BBC2. On film he has been seen in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, 24 Hour Party People, MirrorMask, A Cock and Bull Story and the big screen version of The Trip. Brydon has worked extensively on the radio with appearances on I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue and on April Fool’s Day in 2011 he hosted Radio 2’s Ken Bruce Show in character as Ken Bruce for the whole show. In 2009, he completed an eighty-seven date tour of the UK with his stand-up show, Rob Brydon Live, which included a three-week run in London’s West End. He returned to the stage in the Autumn of 2011 alongside Kenneth Branagh in The Painkiller at The Lyric in Belfast. Also in 2011 Brydon released his autobiography, titled Small Man in a Book which he made into a nationwide tour. He will star in the BBC Paralympic drama Best of Men alongside Eddie Marsan which will air mid August ahead of the Paralympic Games. The 90-minute feature tells the story of Dr Ludwig Guttmann, a German doctor whose use of sport to treat patients in the 1940s led to the birth of the Paralympics. Up Up

Back to News & Press Watch the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child curtain call at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne Friday, 26 February 2021 The company of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child live streamed from the first curtain call following the production’s re-opening at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne. Watch here . Up Up

Back to News & Press Whatsonstage Awards Nominations Announced Thursday, 1 December 2016 Best Actor in a Play, sponsored by Radisson Blu Edwardian Ian Hallard for The Boys in the Band Ian McKellen for No Man's Land Jamie Parker for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Kenneth Branagh for The Entertainer Ralph Fiennes for Richard III Best Actress in a Musical, sponsored by The Hippodrome Casino Amber Riley for Dreamgirls Carrie Hope Fletcher for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Devon-Elise Johnson for Half a Sixpence Glenn Close for Sunset Boulevard Sheridan Smith for Funny Girl Best Supporting Actor in a Play Anthony Boyle for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Derek Jacobi for Romeo and Juliet Freddie Fox for Travesties Jonjo O'Neill for Unreachable Paul Thornley for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best Supporting Actress in a Play, sponsored by Tonic Theatre Jenna Russell for Doctor Faustus Meera Syal for Romeo and Juliet Noma Dumezweni for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Poppy Miller for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Vanessa Redgrave for Richard III Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, sponsored by Encore Radio Adam J Bernard for Dreamgirls Ian Bartholomew for Half a Sixpence Joel Montague for Funny Girl Trevor Dion Nicholas for Aladdin Tyrone Huntley for Jesus Christ Superstar Best New Play, sponsored by JHI Marketing The Comedy About A Bank Robbery The Flick Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism with a Key to the Scriptures, or iHo The Mother Best New Musical, sponsored by Shine Creative Solutions Aladdin Dreamgirls Groundhog Day Half a Sixpence School of Rock Best Musical Revival, sponsored by R&H Theatricals Europe Funny Girl Jesus Christ Superstar Ragtime Show Boat Sunset Boulevard Best Direction Casey Nicholaw for Aladdin John Tiffany for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Matthew Warchus for Groundhog Day Michael Mayer for Funny Girl Rachel Kavanaugh for Half a Sixpence Best Choreography, sponsored by Encore Radio Andrew Wright for Half a Sixpence Casey Nicholaw for Aladdin Casey Nicholaw for Dreamgirls Drew McOnie for Jesus Christ Superstar Peter Darling for Groundhog Day Best Costume Design Gregg Barnes for Aladdin Gregg Barnes for Dreamgirls Katrina Lindsay for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Matthew Wright for Funny Girl Paul Brown for Half a Sixpence Best Set Design Bob Crowley for Aladdin Christine Jones for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Lez Brotherston for Show Boat Miriam Buether for Wild Rob Howell for Groundhog Day Best Lighting Design, sponsored by White Light Charlie Morgan Jones for Little Shop of Horrors Hugh Vanstone for Groundhog Day Jack Weir for The Boys in the Band Natasha Katz for Aladdin Neil Austin for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best Video Design, sponsored by PRG XL Video Andrzej Goulding for Groundhog Day Finn Ross and Ash Woodward for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Finn Ross for The Tempest (RSC) Laura Perrett for Murder Ballad Tal Yarden for Lazarus Up Up

Back to News & Press La Cage Aux Folles, A Little Night Music and A View From The Bridge nominated for Drama League Awards Monday, 19 April 2010 LA CAGE AUX FOLLES and A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC have both received nominations in the Distinguished Revival of a Musical category. A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE was nominated in the Distinguished Revival of a Play category. In the Distinguished Performance Award category, Kelsey Grammer (LA CAGE), Jessica Hecht (A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE), Douglas Hodge (LA CAGE), Scarlett Johansson (A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE), Angela Lansbury (A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC) and Catherine Zeta-Jones (A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC) all received nods. Liev Schreiber (A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE) was also honoured although, as a previous winner of the award, is not eligible for consideration this year. The awards will be presented be presented at The 76th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon on Friday, May 21, 2010 (noon) in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square (1535 Broadway at 46th Street). Up Up

Back to News & Press As rehearsals begin, full casting is announced for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Friday, 26 February 2016 Joining Jamie Parker (Harry), Noma Dumezweni (Hermione) and Paul Thornley (Ron) are Nicola Alexis, Helen Aluko, Jeremy Ang Jones, Rosemary Annabella, Annabel Baldwin, Jack Bennett, Paul Bentall, Anthony Boyle, Zoe Brough, Sam Clemmett, Morag Cross, Cristina Fray, Rudi Goodman, Claudia Grant, James Howard, Christiana Hutchings, Lowri James, Chris Jarman, Martin Johnston, Bili Keogh, Chipo Kureya, James Le Lacheur, Helena Lymbery, Tom Mackley, Barry McCarthy, Sandy McDade, Andrew McDonald, Adam McNamara, Poppy Miller, Tom Milligan, Jack North, Alex Price, Stuart Ramsay, Nuno Silva, Cherrelle Skeete, Esther Smith, Nathaniel Smith, Dylan Standen and Joshua Wyatt who complete the casting for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child . The 42 strong company (including seven children who will alternate two roles) will be playing a variety of characters. Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling , Jack Thorne and John Tiffany , Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne , directed by John Tiffany . It will receive its world premiere in London’s West End at the Palace Theatre this summer and is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is one play presented in two parts. Both parts are intended to be seen in order on the same day (matinee and evening) or on two consecutive evenings. The first preview performance will take place at the Palace Theatre on 7 June 2016 as scheduled. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is currently booking to 27 May 2017, with opening performances of Part One and Part Two on Saturday 30 July 2016. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child today also confirms the dates for its special access performances. On 18 January 2017 the matinee (Part One) and evening performance (Part Two) will be captioned and on 4 February 2017 both the matinee (Part One) and evening performance (Part Two) will be audio described. These performances will go on sale on Monday 29 February 2016. To book access performances, please call 0330 333 4410 (please note, there are no general ticket sales on this number) or email CursedChildAccess@nimaxtheatres.com , which are also contact details for patrons with physical access needs. Further special access performances will be confirmed at a later date. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has movement by Steven Hoggett , set by Christine Jones , costumes by Katrina Lindsay , music by Imogen Heap , lighting by Neil Austin , sound by Gareth Fry , special effects by Jeremy Chernick , illusions by Jamie Harrison , music supervision by Martin Lowe and casting by Julia Horan . Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions , Colin Callender’s Playground Entertainment and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions . For more information on the cast and creative team visit the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child website here . Up Up

Back to Productions A FLEA IN HER EAR This production began performances on 2nd December 2010 and closed on 4th March 2011. A Flea in Her Ear makes a triumphant return... blissfully funny. The Independent When Raymonde Chandebise (Lisa Dillon) believes her husband, Victor Emmanuel (Tom Hollander) is having an affair, she and her old friend Lucienne devise what they believe is a simple plan to catch him out. However, their plan misfires when the letter they have sent sets in motion a myriad of confusion and suspicion, involving everyone from the servants to a member of the Spanish aristocracy. Tom Hollander mixes manic energy with moments of goggling incredulity… skillfully executed. Evening Standard The Old Vic and Sonia Friedman Productions present “A FLEA IN HER EAR ” by Georges Feydeau – Translation by John Mortimer . Impeccably cast... Richard Eyre’s frenetic, precise production is a delight. Time Out CAST TOM HOLLANDR – Victor Emmanuel Chandebise/Poche LISA DILLON – Raymonde FIONA GLASCOTT – Lucienne DI BOTCHER – Olympe JONATHAN CAKE – Romain Tournel OLIVER COTTON – Dr Francache WALTER VAN DYK – Herr Schwarz FREDDIE FOX – Camille Chandebise REBECCA NIGHT – Eugenie LLOYD HITCHINSON – Augustin Feraillon TIM MCMULLAN – Etienne Plucheux JOHN MARQUEZ – Carlos Homendides De Histangua WILLIAM MAXWELL – Baptistin MAGGIE SERVICE – Antoinette CREATIVES RICHARD EYRE – Director ROB HOWELL – Designer SUE BLANE – Costume Design MARK HENDERSON – Lighting GREGORY CLARKE – Sound

Back to News & Press The Stage 100 – 2014 Friday, 3 January 2014 It has been a remarkable year for Friedman, the highest riser in this year’s Stage 100. She is now firmly established as the West End’s – and, arguably, Broadway’s – key producer of ‘quality, serious theatre’. What made 2013 particularly special was that she also had her finger in the pie for the most successful new musical of the year, The Book of Mormon, and its most lauded – a revival of Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. She was a co-producer on both. Her play output hasn’t slackened either, with a high-class revival of Harold Pinter’s Old Times, West End transfers of Almeida hits Chimerica and Ghosts, not to mention the US transfer of Mark Rylance’s Shakespeare double bill, which has been breaking house records on Broadway. This year will see her produce a stage adaptation of Tom Stoppard’s film Shakespeare in Love. It has the whiff of a sure-fire hit. Sonia Friedman Productions is a subsidiary of the Ambassador Theatre Group – an arrangement that seems to be working well for both parties, as Friedman helps supply product for many of ATG’s venues. Read full article here . Up Up

Back to News & Press Merrily We Roll Along announces "Rooftop Writers Initiative" Wednesday, 17 January 2024 The critically acclaimed, first-ever Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth ’s MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is proud to announce the Rooftop Writers Initiative , in partnership with the Stephen Sondheim Foundation and American Theatre Wing’s Jonathan Larson Grant. The Rooftop Writers Initiative will select 100 young writers to receive two complimentary tickets to a special performance of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG on Thursday, February 29, 2023, followed by a talkback with the cast. In honor of the Rooftop Writers Initiative , a percentage of proceeds from a special MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG pen sold at the Hudson Theatre merchandise stands and online will be donated directly to the Stephen Sondheim Foundation and American Theatre Wing’s Jonathan Larson Grant. For more information on the Rooftop Writers Initiative , including contest rules and conditions, and to submit for consideration, please visit https://merrilyonbroadway.com/writers . Established after his passing, the Stephen Sondheim Foundation is the largest single beneficiary of future royalties from Sondheim ’s work. It aims to aid emerging playwrights, composers, and lyricists working in the theatre during the early stages of their careers by assisting financially in the development and advancement of their careers. The American Theatre Wing’s Jonathan Larson Grants are awarded annually to exceptional, early-career musical theatre composers, lyricists, and librettists, or writing teams. Recipients are given a platform to amplify stories and free rein in the application of the grant – which serves as pivotal support to take their professional development to the next level and, in many cases, their work from creative concept to stage. The grants regularly serve as an indicator of who will be the next great theater-makers and culture-shapers, and past recipients include such luminaries as Pasek & Paul (Dear Evan Hansen ), Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop ), Shaina Taub (Suffs ), Chad Beguelin and Matt Sklar (The Prom, Elf ), Amanda Green (Bring it On, Mr. Saturday Night ), Nell Benjamin (Mean Girls, Legally Blonde ), Matt Gould (Lempicka, Invisible Thread ), Laurence O’Keefe (Heathers, Legally Blonde ), Dave Malloy (The Great Comet ), Nathan Tysen (Paradise Square ), Steven Lutvak (A Gentleman’s Guide ), Glenn Slater (Sister Act, School of Rock ), Joe Iconis (Be More Chill ), Kait Kerrigan (The Great Gatsby ), Bree Lowdermilk (The Mad Ones ), and more. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as Charley Kringas, Jonathan Groff as Franklin Shepard, and Lindsay Mendez as Mary Flynn, 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 Calvin James Davis , Max Rackenberg , 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 on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. Up Up

Back to Productions THE SUNSHINE BOYS – L.A. This production began performances on 24th September and closed on 3rd November 2013. Theatrical gold dust. Richard Griffiths and Danny DeVito could wring comedy out of reading the telephone directory. Sunday Telegraph Kings of comedy, Willie Clark (Danny DeVito) and Al Lewis (Richard Griffiths) aka The Sunshine Boys haven’t spoken to each other in years. When CBS call for the vaudevillian greats to be re-united for a nostalgic History of Comedy, past grudges resurface as they take centre stage once more. Ageing ailments aside, can this legendary double-act overcome their differences for one last show? Old rivalry and vintage hilarity abound in Neil Simon’s classic comedy of showbiz and friendship. Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths raise the roof in The Sunshine Boys. Glowing performances. Joyous Revival The Guardian Center Theatre Group L.A.’s Theatre Company , Ahmanson Theatre , Mark Taper Forum , Kirk Douglas Theatre , Michael Ritchie (Artistic Director), Edward L. Rada (Managing Director), Gordon Davidson (Founding Artistic Director), by special arrangement with Richard Willis , Sonia Friedman Productions , Roger Berlind Tulchin Bartner Productions , Rupert Gavin , Darren Bagert/Martin Massman presents “THE SUNSHINE BOYS ” by Neil Simon , directed by Tha Sharrock . Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths make a wonderfully ill-matched couple Metro CAST DANNY DEVITO – Willie Clark JUDD HIRSCH – Al Lewis JUSTIN BARTHA – Ben Silvermann GIBBY BRAND – Patient FRANK KOPYC – V.O. TV Director MATTHEW BOHRER – Eddie ANNIE ABRAMS – Miss MacKintosh JOHNNIE FIORI – Registered Nurse CREATIVES NIEL SIMON – Playwright THA SHARROCK – Director HILDEGARD BECHTLER – Set and Costume Designer NEIL AUSTIN – Lighting Designer ADRIAN JOHNSTON – Music CRICKET S MYERS – Sound Designer JIM CARNAHAN – Casting

Back to News & Press All My Sons extends its run at The Apollo Theatre Wednesday, 16 June 2010 Acknowledged as Arthur Miller’s first great success, this current production of ALL MY SONS starring David Suchet and Zoë Wanamaker with Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Lapaine and Jemima Rooper has been universally hailed by the critics. ‘A classic production never to be forgotten’ The Daily Telegraph ‘Howard Davies gets the best from a superb cast in his faultless revival‘ The Independent on Sunday ‘Mr Suchet is bewitching. This is a really remarkable performance’ The Daily Mail ‘Zoe Wanamaker is Outstanding’ The Daily Telegraph ‘Great drama is all-star masterclass’ The Times Up Up