MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY ANNOUNCES
FURTHER CASTING FOR MAJOR REVIVAL OF
SANDY WILSON’S THE BOY FRIEND
The Menier Chocolate Factory presents
Book, Music and Lyrics by Sandy Wilson
Director: Matthew White; Choreographer & Associate Director: Bill Deamer
Designer: Paul Farnsworth; Lighting Designer: Paul Anderson; Sound Designer: Gregory Clarke
Hair & Wig Designer: Richard Mawbey; Musical Supervisor & Director: Simon Beck
Orchestrator: David Cullen
22 November 2019 – 7 March 2020
With The Watsons currently running at the Menier and Fiddler on the Roof at the Playhouse Theatre, the Menier Chocolate Factory today announces further casting for Matthew White’s revival of Sandy Wilson’s The Boy Friend as the company begin rehearsals. Joining Jack Butterworth (Bobby van Husen), Janie Dee (Mme Dubonnet), Adrian Edmondson (Lord Brockhurst), Tiffany Graves (Hortense), Dylan Mason (Tony), Amara Okereke (Polly) and Issy van Randwyck (Lady Brockhurst) are Tom Bales (Alphonse), Ryan Carter (Pierre), Chloe Goodliffe (Nancy), Matthew Ives (Pépé), Bethany Huckle (Lolita), Emily Langham (Fay), Gabrielle Lewis-Dodson (Maisie), Annie Southall (Dulcie), Peter Nash (Marcel) and Robert Portal (Percival Brown). The production opens on 3 December, with previews from 22 November, and runs until 7 March 2020.
We plead to have/We need to have/In fact our poor hearts bleed to have/
That certain thing called ‘The Boy Friend’
Sandy Wilson’s all-singing all-dancing love letter to 1920s musical comedies returns for the first major London revival in over 10 years. Set in Madame Dubonnet’s finishing school in the south of France, these perfect young ladies burst into song at the least provocation, and forbidden boy friends are forever popping through the French windows to sing and dance with them. Since its premiere in 1953, this light-hearted soufflé of a show has delighted audiences worldwide and has become one of the most well-loved British musicals of all time.
The Boy Friend opened in London in 1953, before a West End run in 1954, and ran for more than 5 years. The subsequent Broadway run in 1954 made a star of the then-unknown Julie Andrews. Ken Russell adapted it into a 1971 film with Twiggy who won two Golden Globes for her performance.
Matthew White returns to the Menier – he previously directed She Loves Me, Candide, Sweet Charity (also Haymarket Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (also Duke of York’s Theatre), and The Last Five Years for the company. His other theatre work includes The Addams Family (Festival Theatre, Edinburgh and UK tour), Kiss Me Kate, West Side Story (Kilworth House), The Producers (UK tour), Top Hat (also adapted for the stage, UK tour and Aldwych Theatre – Olivier Award for Best New Musical), Maria Friedman – By Special Arrangement (Donmar Warehouse), Closer than Ever (Jermyn Street Theatre), and Mr Stink (also adapted, Curve and UK tour).
Listings Information The Boy Friend
Menier Chocolate Factory
53 Southwark Street, London, SE1 1RU
Dates: 22 November 2019 – 7 March 2020
For the performance schedule, please see the website
Box Office: 020 7378 1713 (£2.50 transaction fee per booking)
Website: www.menierchocolatefactory.com (£1.50 transaction fee per booking)
Tickets: Prices vary, as below from discounted preview tickets to premier seats. With the emphasis on ‘the sooner you book, the better the price’:
A meal deal ticket includes a 2-course meal from the pre-theatre menu in the Menier Restaurant as well as the theatre ticket.
www.menierchocolatefactory.com
Twitter: @MenChocFactory