London 'Merrily' Streams Wednesday

Following exclusive premieres in New York and London attended by the cast, creative team, and Stephen Sondheim himself, Maria Friedman's award-winning production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along screens in cinemas across the United States tomorrow, October 23, for one night only.

Through a partnership between CinemaLive and Digital Theatre, "Merrily We Roll Along" is the first production to be distributed as part of the West End Theatre Series. The second title will be the Chichester Festival Theatre production of No�l Coward's "Private Lives," directed by Jonathan Kent and starring Toby Stephens and Anna Chancellor, broadcast across the US on December 11.

Tickets in the US are on sale at this website.

With music and lyrics by renowned American composer and lyricist Sondheim and book by George Furth, "Merrily We Roll Along" transferred to the West End's Harold Pinter Theatre following a sell-out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory. The production received more five-star reviews than any other musical in West End history and won the 2012 Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical.

Starting in 1980 and travelling backwards in time, this powerful and moving story - an emotionally charged journey through the lives of three friends - features some of Sondheim's most beautiful songs including "Good Thing Going," "Not a Day Goes By" and "Old Friends." Triple Oliver Award-winner Maria Friedman makes a thrilling directorial debut with this vibrant, full-scale production with an exceptional cast led by Mark Umbers, Jenna Russell and Damian Humbley.

Sondheim was recently awarded one of the top honours in the arts world: the Edward MacDowell Medal for lifetime achievement. He has won an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards, six Olivier Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, an Oliver Special Award and the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.

"'Merrily We Roll Along' brings the West End to America's big screens in a truly wonderful and vibrant way," said Shelly Maxwell, executive vice president of NCM Fathom Events. "Theatre fans will be wowed by this superb production."

Sondheim agrees: "As close to perfection as a production can get."

"Merrily We Roll Along" has been awarded five star reviews by numerous respected UK media. The Independent raved, "It is, make no mistake, one of the great musical productions of this or any era." The Daily Telegraph described the production as "Hugely witty, tunefully inventive and brightly entertaining." The Metro asserts, "It's impossible not to be moved." The Sunday Express stated it is "Stunningly performed" and the Daily Express labels it, "Musical theatre at its most sophisticated." The musical debuted on Broadway during the 1981 season and appeared as an Off-Broadway revival in 1994.

"Merrily We Roll Along" was produced in the West End by Chocolate Factory Productions, Neal Street Productions, Sonia Friedman Productions, Bob Bartner & Norman Tulchin, Debbie Bisno, Scott M. Delman, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Tanya Link.

To find out where to get tickets and theaters where the screenings are to take place follow this link.