London’s Menier Chocolate Factory 2012-13 season will include productions of Harvey Fierstein’s one-act play series Torch Song Trilogy, Brandon Thomas’ farce Charley’s Aunt and Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s classic musical Merrily We Roll Along. No casting for the productions has been announced.
Helmed by Tony-winning actor Douglas Hodge (La Cage aux Folles), Torch Song Trilogy will run from May 30 through August 12. Fierstein’s collection of three one-act plays includes International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery and Widows and Children First! Torch Song Trilogy originally opened on Broadway on June 10, 1982, where it ran for 1,222 performances and won two Tony Awards, including Best Play.
Directed by Ian Talbot, Charley’s Aunt will run from September 20 through November 10. The three-act farce tells the story of Jack and Charlie, two undergraduate students at Oxford University who are both in love. The men scheme up a meeting with Charley’s Brazilian aunt to get women to fall in love with them. The idea, of course, does not work entirely as planned. Charley’s Aunt originally premiered in London in 1892, then opened on Broadway in 1893.
Helmed by Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along will run from November 16 through February 23, 2013. Based on the 1934 play of the same name, Merrily We Roll Along is the story of three friends, told in reverse chronological order. The musical begins in 1976 and ends in 1957. Merrily We Roll Along initially ran on Broadway in 1981 for 52 previews and 16 performances, and was recently revived by Encores! at New York City Center from February 8 through February 19.