Road Show, the latest musical by American composer Stephen Sondheim, is to receive its UK premiere courtesy of the Menier Chocolate Factory this summer.
With a cast led by David Bedella, Road Show will open at the London Bridge venue on 6 July, after previews from 24 June, and play to 17 September.
Set in the early 20th century, Road Show tells the true story of Addison Mizner and his fast-talking brother Wilson, two of the most colourful and outrageous fortune seekers in American history. From panning for gold in Alaska to building the city of Boca Raton in Florida, both were driven by the need to succeed, at whatever cost.
Composer Sondheim teamed up with book writer John Weidman to write Road Show, which was conceived in 1999 and previously named first Wise Guys and then Bounce. It was staged under its current name in New York in 2008, directed by John Doyle, who now directs this new production at the Menier. Doyle previously directed Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd in a production for the Watermill theatre, Newbury, which subsequently transferred to the West End and Broadway.
The Menier Chocolate Factory is no stranger to Sondheim’s work, having found success with Sunday In The Park With George – which won six Olivier Awards in 2007 – and a 2009 production of A Little Night Music, both of which transferred to the West End and Broadway.
Bedella, whose work in the West End includes Jerry Springer The Opera, Chicago and The Rocky Horror Show, is joined in Road Show by Jon Robyns (Avenue Q) and Michael Jibson (Take Flight at the Menier), along with Gillian Bevan, Adrian Der Gregorian, Fiona Dunn, Sarah Ingram, Julie Jupp, Glyn Kerslake, Elizabeth Marsh, Christopher Ragland and Robbie Scotcher.
Currently playing at the Menier is Ruby Wax – Losing It which runs to 18 June.
CB