It’s never too late to fall in love with Sandy Wilson’s classic British musical and the Menier Chocolate Factory obviously feels the same, having just announced the first major London revival of The Boy Friend in ten years, running over Christmas at the theatre from 22 November 2019 until 7 March 2020.
Having 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 Menier, director Matthew White returns to the venue, joined by choreographer and associate director Bill Deamer.
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 five 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.
The Boy Friend has book, music and lyrics by Sandy Wilson. Director Matthew White is joined by choreographer and associate director Bill Deamer, designer Paul Farnsworth, lighting designer Paul Anderson, sound designer Gregory Clarke, hair and wig designer Richard Mawbey, musical supervisor and director Simon Beck and orchestrator David Cullen.
