BroadwayWorld.com UK Regional Stories

Nikki Graham and Benedict Garett Join Lloyd Daniels in UP4AMEET? UK Tour

Fri, 17 May 2013 22:49:03 PST

Big Brother's NIKKI GRAHAME and BENEDICT GARRETT join X Factor heartthrob LLOYD DANIELS in hit naked comedy 'Up4aMeet?'

Who IS she? Who IS she? She's Nikki Grahame! Voted second most popular Big Brother contestant ever, Nikki Grahame is quite simply a legend! Nikki is extremely excited to be joining the cast of the hit naked comedy Up4aMeet. When she first read the script, she said: "Who WROTE this, who WROTE this."

Director Jeff Moody knew, the second he met her, that he wanted to cast Nikki. "She was my favourite Big Brother contestant of all time. When I watched her, I found her fascinating, and I just wanted to give her a massive cuddle. Then when I met her, she's just as adorable. And she's actually a very good actress. I can't wait to start rehearsing her, and filling our script with Nikki- isms!"

Moody, who also wrote the play, is writing a special part just for Nikki. "We met for dinner, and we talked about what she could add to the play. Between us, we came up with a brilliant character - Stacey Grainger. She's a TV presenter who's fallen on hard times. She's young, sassy, with a big heart - and a bit gobby. Stacey's going to bring a whole new element to the play. As we were thinking up story ideas, we were laughing like mad."

Nikki says: "I can't wait to start getting to grips with Stacey. She's a bit like me, but more so, if you know what I mean."

Also joining the cast is Dreamboy Benedict Garrett. The ex-Big Brother contestant and porn-star is delighted to be reprising the role of Spanish naturist Carlos after playing the role to much acclaim at Waterloo East's theatre last year.

Touring throughout July and August the play will visit London, Brighton, Birmingham, Swansea, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

On casting, producer David Adkin said "I'm absolutely delighted with our cast. Lloyd is the perfect Scott and we're very lucky wonderful to see Benedict return as Carlos.".

Up4aMeet is a hilarious and poignant comedy about social media. It's packed with witty observations, killer one-liners, and more gratuitous nudity than is decent. "Social media has changed so much of our lives," says writer/director Jeff Moody, "particularly the way we look for a partner. Up4aMeet has a tale to tell about the way we use smartphones and apps to find love - and the effect this has on our everyday life. There's a definite message in the play - but above all, we aim to provide a fantastic night out for gay men and their friends - a bit of music, some great gags, some loveable characters - and naked men! What more could you want!"

Synopsis: Love in the 21st century is a complicated affair, particularly if you're gay and you're searching for love via an app on your phone. Unlucky-in-love Grant and his Spanish naturist flatmate Carlos are obsessed with The Cock Shop, an app that lets them chat to the nearest available gay man. For Carlos, it's all about the sex. Men on demand, sex on tap. For Grant, the search for love leads him up endless garden paths. And it's all about to get a lot worse. When Grant and Carlos accidentally swap phones, they're plunged into a world of secrets and lies. False profiles abound, and questions are asked: why is the camp gay man upstairs wrapped from head to toe in cling- film? Who is the skinhead and what has he done with Carlos? And who is the mysterious Cheeky Lad?

Producer: David Adkin Limited in association with Knockhardy Productions. Press Night: Thursday 11th July 2013 at The Courtyard Theatre.

London Venues : JULY

10th - 13th - The Courtyard Theatre, London 0844 477 1000 www.thecourtyard.org.uk

16th - 20th - The Marlborough Theatre, Brighton 0800 411 881 www.marlboroughtheatre.org.uk

22nd - 24th - The Crescent Theatre, Birmingham 0121 643 5858 www.crescent-theatre.co.uk

26th - 27th - Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea 01792 602 060 www.taliesinartscentre.co.uk

29th- 1st Aug - The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool 01517 030 000 www.thelanterntheatre.co.uk

AUGUST

2nd - 3rd - AXM Club, Manchester

www.up4ameet.ticketsource.co.uk

6th - 8th - Electric Circus, Edinburgh

www.theelectriccircus.biz/up4ameet

9th - 10th - Oran Mor Theatre, Glasgow

Call 08444 771 000 or visit http://www.ticketweb.co.uk. Tickets: from £16. More information: Twitter - @Up4aMeetOnTourl Website - www.up4ameetontour.com.

Nikki Grahame rose to fame on the popular reality TV show Big Brother. Nikki described herself as special because she has so many special qualities. It's the special qualities that have made her by far the most successful of all the BB7 HM's.

Nikki Grahame has appeared on many TV and Radio shows including the Friday Night Project, 8 out of 10 cats, The Weakest Link and many more shows since. Nikki even starred in her own Television show Princess Nikki. During Big Brother 2007 and 2008 she had a spot on Big Brothers Little Brother (BBLB) as a roving reporter, her reports were all funny and extremely entertaining. During Big Brother Celebrity Hijack she was called upon to judge the viewers competition and providing us with another enjoyable diary room moment of Nikki taking the contestants through their paces.

Nikki Grahame has featured in many magazines consistantly since Big Brother. And now Nikki writes for the popular OK! magazine, Nikki's Big Brother column in 2007 and 2008 and her column in the Hot Stars section. Nikki is no stranger to writing columns for magazines as she also wrote a column in the popular MORE magazine in 2006.

Nikki wrote her book "Dying to be Thin" about her life long struggle with anorexia to help others, which was published in May 2009 as a hardcover, in November 2009 it was published in Holland as "Dodelijk dun" and will be released as a paperback on May 3rd 2010.

Zora Bishop, Nick Blakeley and More Join Finborough Theatre's HARD FEELINGS; Full Cast Announced!

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:54:08 PST

Full casting is announced for Doug Lucie's Hard Feelings, to play the Finborough Theatre. Artistic Director of Defibrillator, James Hillier directs a young cast of rising talents - Zora Bishop (Jane), Nick Blakeley (Baz), Margaret Clunie (Annie), Jesse Fox (Rusty), Isabella Laughland (Viv) and Callum Turner (Tone).

"We're supposed to be having a party. It's s'posed to be fun. This is my house, and when I say everybody have fun, then everybody have fun."

Acclaimed at its premiere, the core of Hard Feelings is as relevant today as it was then. The production opens at the Finborough Theatre on Thursday 13 June at 7.30pm, with previews from 11 June, and runs until 6 July.

Brixton, April 1981, and tensions mount. In the safety of their home a group of Oxford University Graduates barely notice what's happening on the streets outside as police and rioters clash, shops are looted and buildings set on fire. In both worlds there is a fight for rights... a fight for respect...a fight for control. Who will win? Who will lose? Who will make the strongest cocktail? And when the dust finally settles the question remains... Will things ever change?

Hard Feelings was first staged at the Oxford Playhouse in 1982, before transferring to the Bush Theatre in 1983, directed by Mike Bradwell. It was later broadcast as a BBC Play for Today.

Zora Bishop plays Jane (As You Like It - Manchester Royal Exchange, The Complaint, Hampstead Theatre); Nick Blakeley plays Baz (Damned by Despair, 13 and A Woman Killed with Kindness - all National Theatre, The Sunshine Boys - West End); Margaret Clunie plays Annie (My Name is Caroline Korby - Theatre503, The Best Years of Your Life - nabakov, The Syndicate- Chichester Festival Theatre. For TV, Pramface and Phoneshop; and for film, Johnny English Reborn); Jesse Fox plays Rusty (Fox graduated from Central last year); Isabella Laughlandplays Viv (The Last of the Haussmans - National Theatre, Wanderlust - Royal Court, and for the screen, Richard II as part of the The Hollow Crown Season, and the Harry Potter series), andCallum Turner plays Tone in his professional stage debut. For TV, The Borgias, The Town andLeaving).

Playwright Doug Lucie was born in 1953. His plays include Progress (Lyric Hammersmith and Bush Theatres), Fashion (Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford and London), Doing the Business (Royal Court Theatre), Force and Hypocrisy (The Young Vic), Gaucho (Hampstead Theatre), The Shallow End (Royal Court Theatre) and Pass It On (National Theatre Connections). For television, his work includes Headhunters, Shellshock, A Life of His Own and Funseekers.

Artistic Director of Defibrillator James Hillier returns to the Finborough Theatre where he was nominated for an OffWestEnd Award for his performance in the sell-out Blue Surge. He now directs his first full-length play. He produced The Hotel Plays, directing Green Eyes as part of the trilogy, which was presented late last year at the Grange Hotel in Holborn. For film, Hillier has directed a number of shorts, winning awards at Tribeca Film Festival in New York, Cannes Film Festival and SXSW. He trained at RADA and has worked extensively as an actor in theatre, film and television.

The Finborough Theatre is located at 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED. Box Office 0844 847 1652. Book online at www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk. The production runs 11 June - 6 July 2013, Tuesday to Saturday Evenings at 7.30pm. Sunday Matinees at 3.00pm. Saturday matinees at3.00pm (from the second week of the run).

Dark Squid Presents Magnus Volk's Mystery Machine, May 28-31

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:49:47 PST

Dark Squid, inc. is performing Magnus Volk's Mystery Machine, a musical shadow puppet kids show, for the Brighton Fringe at The Warren. They are recreating the city's Victorian legend Magnus Volk in all his seafaring electric tramcar glory, complete with sea shanties.

Electricity conquers the ocean! Has the world gone mad? (Don't worry dear, we're Victorian.)

Witness the creation of Brighton's wackiest invention: The Daddy Longlegs Railway. The great and wise Sir Dr. Prof. Mr. Magnus Volk battles the shocking waves of the Brighton shore in an iron-legged electrical tramcar, with the help of a one-eyed sea captain.

So roll up all you girlsters and boysters, visit a spectacular time in history. It's a spine-tingling shadow puppet roller-coaster romp filled with noise, colour, and sea shanties (oo ar my dear). This great event will fascinate children and keep adults smiling.

This production is inspired by true events of the notorious inventor Magnus Volk and his Daddy Longlegs Railway that ran through the sea from Brighton to Rottingdean between 1896 and 1901. We have won £500 of IdeasTap funding to produce Magnus Volk's Mystery Machine at the Brighton Fringe Festival.

Magnus Volk's Mystery Machine

by Dark Squid, inc.

The Burrow in The Warren, Russel Place, BN1 2RG

May 28th-31st at 14:30

Preview May 27th at 13:00

(runs 30 minutes)

Tickets £5/3

Savvy Theatre's COKE FLOATS & CHEMO to Play Brighton Fringe 2013 Tonight

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:30:00 PST

Coke Floats & Chemo is coming onstage at the Brighton Fringe. Cancer isn't funny, but Coke Floats & Chemo will have you laughing out loud. In her internationally popular blog on which this Stage-play is based, Yvonne describes the absurdity of it all with warmth, charm, wisdom and hilarity. On Stage Yvonne plays herself, ably helped along by a spookily lookalike and very naughty puppet, who does everything Yvonne would love to do but would never get away with.

Yvonne was diagnosed with bi-lateral breast cancer in May 2012. Stumbling through the scary days of radical surgery, chemo, radiotherapy and loads more, Yvonne kept her sanity by writing the blog. No matter how depressed or miserable she was whenever she started writing each post, the funny side of it all just crept out onto the page all by itself, and brightened everyone's day, including her own. Funny, uplifting and engaging, Coke Floats & Chemo is suitable for the whole family. Lighthearted and quirky, it looks at the silver linings Yvonne has found whilst under the cloud that is cancer.

Yvonne is also a mother to 3 gorgeous children, including one who is profoundly disabled. She also writes, runs Laughter Yoga sessions, and is a tireless campaigner for disabled children. She also hates needles and loves chocolate.

Savvy Theatre Company, based on the Surrey/South London borders, is the brainchild of Sheree Vickers. It is an award-winning community-based drama company, running several projects working with schools, children, young people and adults, where everyone is welcome regardless of their ability or disability, advantage or disadvantage.

Coke Floats & Chemo, the stage play, has been co-written by Yvonne and Sheree, and has a cast of 9, between the ages of 20 and 87. Incidentally, the youngest cast member is also Yvonne's daughter, Francesca.

We are very proud to be supporting The Royal Marsden Hospital, and their work in research and development of new cancer treatments and therapies.

For more information, visit www.savvytheatre.co.uk; The Blog: yvonnenewbold@blogspot.co.uk; Facebook Page: h ttps://www.facebook.com/CokeFloatsChemo?ref=ts&fref=ts.

Brighton Goes Gospel Brings LOVE TRAIN to Brighton Fringe 2013 Tonight

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:30:00 PST

Steaming into their 13th year as one of Brighton's best loved community choirs, Brighton Goes Gospel present their new show, Love Train, at Hove Town Hall tonight 18th May at 7pm. Led by their director, internationally prominent gospel artist, Karen Gibson, it promises to be an electric evening.

Along with special guest, Susan Harriott, a renowned gospel singer, this high-energy show will get pulses racing and hearts beating. This concert is love themed and will include a wide repertoire of hand clapping, foot stomping gospel numbers. Supporting the choir will be the truly marvellous JT Band, which is led by BGG's musical director Jason Thompson, a composer and performer in his own right.

With over 120 members in two separate choirs (the workshop and performance choirs) the group is a colourful and eclectic mix of passionate singers. The choir aims to bring a new range of gospel music to their audience, proving that the genre isn't all 'Oh Happy Day', but still includes some classic numbers for the audience to join in with.

The choir focuses on gospel music, but has an entirely secular ethos - their goal is to create a choir that is inclusive to as many as possible, irrespective of ability, sexuality, race, or religion. This philosophy is reflected by the diverse group of singers who come from Brighton and the surrounding communities, bound by the love of singing gospel.

BGG performs twice yearly; once during the Brighton Fringe and once at Christmas time, and the concerts have received rave reviews year after year from the local media. Regular singers at the Brighton Marathon, and with performances at the Labour party conference and Royal Albert Hall under their belt, this choir may be community in name but they are professionals by nature.

Booking information: Brighton Goes Gospel's Love Train plays on Saturday 18th May, Hove Town Hall. Doors 6.15pm, Performance 7pM. Price: £10 (full) £8 (conc.) £6 (under 12). Tickets can be booked from Brighton Fringe Box Office, by calling 01273 917272 or by going online to www.brightonfringe.org.

Karen has been involved with vocal groups and choirs for over 20 years. She conducts gospel workshops all over the world. Karen has been instrumental in drawing together and conducting some of the most prestigious large-scale choirs for a variety of gospel and community initiatives. These include The Queen's Jubilee, The Global Day of Prayer and Concert for Diana. Numbers in the choirs have ranged between 200 and 3000. In addition to the choirs that Karen facilitates, she is the founder of UPC, a vibrant youth choir and award-winning Kingdom Choir (kingdomchoir.co.uk) Karen has been featured in the first ever book written about British Gospel Music. The book, entitled 'British Black Gospel' is written by Steve Alexander Smith and cites Karen as a pioneer of the sound of gospel in this country.

Jason Thompson is a gifted pianist who has been playing around the world for over 27 years. He has successfully straddled the worlds of jazz, blues, pop, R&B, classical and gospel music. His talents include composing, arranging, choir directing, piano and vocal tutoring, session singing and workshop leading. The JT Band (Jazz That!), established by Jason, has been running for over 10 years, and Jason's Jazz That! Jason was the Musical Director for "Simply Heavenly" in London's West End. He was also the only musician to play for the funeral of Desmond Dekker in June 2006.

For more information about Brighton Goes Gospel, visit www.brightongoesgospel.org.uk.

Velma Celli Plays the Matcham Room at the Hippodrome Tonight

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:30:00 PST

After her hugely successful show at the London Hippodrome Casino in April 2013, Velma Celli is delighted to announce she will be returning to the Matcham Room tonight 17th May at 8pm for another night of live music and entertainment.

Backed by a live band (directed by Mark Aspinall) and gorgeous dancers, Velma Celli will take you on a rollercoaster ride through well loved pop songs and West End theatre classics.

Velma Celli is the alter-ego of established West End performer Ian Stroughair (Fame, Cats, Chicago). Ian is currently on tour around the UK with the show Rent In Concert alongside superstar Kerry Ellis.

Velma Celli has been delighting audiences for the past two years, taking you on a hilarious roller coaster ride of Disco, pop, rock and opera. Parodies of your favourite musicals and general high camp, high kicking frivolity. With an amazing voice and the legs to match, Velma Celli is one class acts you don't want to miss.

Visit www.velmacelli.com/videos/ to see videos of of Velma's last Hippodrome Casino show.

Velma Celli plays at the London Hippodrome Casino, Leicester Square tonight, May 17th 2013 at 8pm. Tickets priced £15.00-£25.00 and are available from the Hippodrome website.

Red Rose Chain Takes on Anne Boleyn and Tower of London in FALLEN IN LOVE, Now thru June 16

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:30:00 PST

Red Rose Chain will perform controversial new play about Anne Boleyn at the Tower of London. The year is 1536. The woman who changed the world forever by capturing the heart of a King faces trial with her brother for adultery, incest and treason.

Leading Suffolk theatre company Red Rose Chain bring Fallen in Love, the story of Anne Boleyn's incestuous relationship with her brother to the site of Anne's trial, execution and final resting place, the Tower of London. This unique theatrical event runs from May 17 to June 16 and will be performed in the Banqueting Suite of the New Armouries. Written and directed by Red Rose Chain's founder and director, JoAnna Carrick, this is a story of love, betrayal, jealousy and treason.

Jim Malarkey, Head of Visitor and Commercial Services at the Tower of London says "Historic Royal Palaces are pleased to welcome Red Rose Chain Theatre Company to the Tower of London for their acclaimed production of 'Fallen in Love'.

The Tower is, of course, the place where Anne Boleyn spent her final days and her bones still rest at the Tower, buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula. Her love life was in part her downfall, presenting Henry VIII with a convenient and almost certainly contrived reason to persecute his Queen. Could there be a more appropriate setting for this wonderful play?

The cast for Fallen in Love are Emma Connell whose recent theatre credits include Ensemble in The Just So Stories, (The Pleasance, Islington), The Younger in TaleBlazers (Hen and Chickens, Islington) and Caitlin in Darkness (Edinburgh Fringe 2011 Zoo Roxy). Television and Film credits include Sarah Williams in Tony Robinson's Superstitions, (Documentary, Channel 4).

Scott Ellis' theatre work includes Ghost at the Manchester Opera House, and most recently roles in Mary Rose at the Riverside Studios and Trevor Nunn's The Lion in Winter at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, as well as Edmund in Red Rose Chain's King Lear in the summer. His TV and film appearances include 'Law & Order' for ITV, 'The Runner' for Dog Eared Films and 'The Miserables'.

As Red Rose Chain's founder and artistic director, Jo Carrick has written and directed over 30 plays and films with the company. Joanna's work is often characterised by meticulous historical research and attention to detail alongside stories with a real human heart. Joanna has directed 13 summer seasons of Theatre In The Forest.

Running time is 1 hour 25 minutes (no interval). Recommended minimum age is 11 years upwards.

Further details of performance times and ticket prices can be found on the Red Rose Chain website www.redrosechain.com.

Fallen in Love will also be performed Suffolk at Gippeswyk Hall, the beautiful home of Red Rose Chain in Ipswich.

Performance Dates

The Tower of London
May: 17-19, 25-26, 31
June: 1, 8-9, 13-16

Gippeswyk Hall
May: 7-11, 14-15, 22-23, 28-29
June: 4-6

Times & Prices

The Tower of London
3.30pm | Full Price £27, Concessions £22
6.30pm | Full Price £32, Concessions £27 (peak time)
9.00pm | Full Price £27, Concessions £22 (no 9pm show on Sundays apart from Sunday 19 - the anniversary of Anne Boleyn's execution)

Gippeswyk Hall
6.00pm | Full Price £17, Over 60s £14, Conc £9
8.30pm | Full Price £17, Over 60s £14, Conc £9

Press Performances: Friday 17th May: 3.30, 6.30 or 9.00pm

BOX OFFICE: www.redrosechain.com/falleninlove or 01473 603388

Red Rose Chain is a dynamic theatre company based in Suffolk. Entirely independent and self-sustaining, the company creates original productions that confront social concerns, often working with overlooked or hard-to-reach groups to create powerful and insightful stories that demand to be told.

The company is set to receive almost £1 million of lottery funding to build a new venue. Based in the Tudor Gippeswyk Hall in Ipswich it will use the £968,300 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to demolish a 1960s annexe at the back of the building and replace it with a performance space and heritage centre. The new building is being designed by Nicholas Jacobs Architects and Curry-Hyde LLP, winners of a competition run by Red Rose Chain to find an architectural team. The HLF is also giving the Theatre Four years' worth of revenue funding.

Sell a Door and Greenwich Theatres to Present SINCERELY, MR TOAD, July-Sept 2013

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:54:15 PST

David Hutchinson and Phillip Rowntree for Sell a Door Theatre Company in Association with Greenwich Theatre present Sincerely, Mr Toad, with Music by David Andrew Wilson, Book by David Hutchinson, and Lyrics with Katie McIvor. Sincerely, Mr Toad is an exciting new musical charting the turbulent events that haunt some of literature's most cherished characters.

Trapped in a mundane existence and struggling to sustain his family, the daydreamer Kenneth Grahame longed to write wild adventure tales, and pursue his love of nature and literature. Then one day a stranger tried to put a bullet through his head, and Grahame was never the same again.

Sell a Door Theatre Company produced Peter, based on the life of Peter Llewellyn Davies in 2012 with plans for a UK Tour of an adaptation of the Robert Louis Stephenson novel Kidnapped in 2014 and Sincerely, Mr Toad continues their season of new work inspired by some of the most loved stories in Children's Literature.

David Hutchinson said of the musical: "We performed a workshop of Sincerely, Mr Toad back in April and we received some excellent feedback. At Sell A Door we are always trying to engage younger audiences and we are very excited that our latest piece of new writing takes inspiration from the life of Kenneth Grahame, exploring the relationship with his son and where the loveable Ratty, Badger and, of course, Mr Toad first made their mark in History."

Sincerely, Mr Toad previews at South Hill Park Arts Centre before running at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and subsequently touring to The Beacon Arts Centre, Greenwich Theatre and Crewe Lyceum.

SCHEDULE

SOUTH HILL PARK ARTS CENTRE
25th - 26th July 2013
7:30pm | £10
01344 484 123
www.southhillpark.org.uk

QUEEN DOME (PLEASANCE DOME)
31st July - 26th August 2013
3:30pm | £9 - £11
0131 556 6550
www.pleasance.co.uk

BEACON ARTS CENTRE
28th August 2013
7:30pm | £tbc
01475 723 723
www.beaconartscentre.co.uk

GREENWICH THEATRE
10th - 14th September 2013
7:30pm (Sat Mat 2:30pm) | £17.50 (£12.50 conc.)
020 8858 7755
www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk

CREWE LYCEUM
16th - 18th September 2013
7:00pm (Tues Mat 2:00pm) | £tbc
01270 368 242
www.crewelyceum.co.uk

NYC Actor Chuck Muckle to Make London Debut in AT WIT'S END, 6/14

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:22:48 PST

Veteran New York stage actor Chuck Muckle will star in the London premiere of the acclaimed one-man stateside production of At Wit's End. Muckle transforms himself into Oscar Levant, the acclaimedcomposer, satirist and hypochondriac who was dubbed "America's favorite neurotic."

At Wit's End was written by Joel Kimmel and directed by June Prager. It has been touring the United States for the past two years.

Chuck Muckle, who offers a tour de force performance as Oscar Levant, is a musical theatre veteran with extensive credits that include the post-Broadway national tour of Camelot with Robert Goulet, a revival of South Pacific with Robert Goulet, as well as the national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Sam Harris and a tour with John Astin in A Christmas Carol. Muckle has played lead roles in New York City and regional American theatre, including Judgment at Nuremberg,Cabaret and Lend Me a Tenor.

Oscar Levant was the popular second banana of classic American films such as "An American in Paris," "The Barkleys of Broadway" and "The Bandwagon." An accomplished pianist and author who found his greatest fame from the 1930s through 1960s, Levant gained a reputation as a bon vivant and was a friend to leading stars of the era. Because he spoke his mind freely on matters of politics and celebrity, he was sought out continuously for radio and TV -- often with unsettling results. Levant battled depression throughout his life and was plagued by an addiction to prescription drugs, but transformed his tortures into lacerating and eminently quotable wit.

Of himself, he remarked, "There is a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased that line."

In the one-man show At Wit's End, Levant has returned to the stage after a period of institutionalization. As he shares celebrity anecdotes, biting musings and his sterling musicianship at the piano, we realize that performing may be the only joy that Levant possesses as he battles relentless inner demons.

Among playwright Joel Kimmel's other credits is the original musical play Lullaby of Broadway; The Life and Lyrics of Al Dubin, which was selected as one of the 10 best plays of 1997 by the Los Angeles Times. His original musical play, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, had its world premiere at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami. His career in American television as producer and story editor includes such sitcom classics as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Facts of Life, The Jeffersons,The Love Boat and Chico and the Man.

HIGH SOCIETY to Play Sheffield's Lyceum Theatre, June 11-15

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:16:04 PST

From the producers of the recently nominated tour of The King and I (UK Theatre Awards 2012) comes a dazzling new production of Cole Porter's timeless classic, High Society to the Lyceum Theatre from Tuesday 11 - Saturday 15 June.

Wealthy socialite Tracy Lord is in the midst of planning a lavish summer wedding when her ex-husband Dexter Haven turns up to disrupt the proceedings in an attempt to win her back. A further twist arrives in the form of charming reporter Mike Connor who falls instantly for Tracy, and she for him. As the day of the wedding draws closer, everyone is left guessing who the bride will choose.

Michael Praed (Robin of Sherwood, The Sound of Music) stars as Dexter Haven, alongside Marilyn Cutts (Fascinating Aida) as Margaret Lord, Teddy Kempner (Acorn Antiques The Musical) as Uncle Willie, Daniel Boys (Any Dream Will Do) as Mike Connor and Sophie Bould (The Sound of Music) as Tracy Lord.

Directed by Anna Linstrum, High Society fizzes with the host of beautiful Cole Porter ballads including True Love, You're Sensational and the unforgettable, Did You Evah!.

Tickets can be purchased from Sheffield Theatres' Box Office in-person, by phone on 0114 249 6000 or online at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk and are priced from £19.00*, with discounts available.

Sheffield Theatres's Crucible Lyceum Studio is located at 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA.

Sheffield Theatres' summer season includes a new production of Alan Bennett's The History Boys, directed byMichael Longhurst (Constellations) and the world premiere of This Is My Family, a brand new musical comedy byTim Firth,directed by Sheffield Theatres' Artistic Director, Daniel Evans. Find out more details about our season by visiting the website here or join in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter (Crucible or Lyceum).