October on the London Stage: A Simultaneous Punch, Les Misérables' 40th, Jennifer Westfeldt in The Assembled Parties

October is chock-a-block, as the Brits like to say, with theatrical activity. Tracy Letts’ Mary Page Marlowe reaches the Old Vic Theatre with Susan Sarandon heading the cast, and Rachel Zegler is appearing in concert, fresh from her triumph in Evita. Not to be overlooked are the enticements listed below, from the London version of a show happening simultaneously on Broadway to a new milestone for a musical that just may outlive us all.

When You Got It, Flaunt It
Mel Brooks’ great musical The Producers is often thought of as boys' night, largely due to co-stars like Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick back in the day, and Andy Nyman and Marc Antolin at the Garrick Theatre in director Patrick Marber’s West End revival right now. But one mustn’t overlook Joanna Woodward, who has taken on Cady Huffman’s original role as the aspiring-actress-turned-secretary, Ulla—she of the famously long and daunting Swedish name. “I think [Ulla] is a star in Sweden and has arrived in New York ready to see her very long name in lights,” Woodward said. It's a role she was familiar with already, having seen the Broadway production at age 17 and used Ulla’s songs as part of her drama school repertoire. “I’m not sure, though, that I ever thought I’d get the opportunity to play it.” The British performer has had quite the run in American musicals in London: Beautiful, The Life and Merrily We Roll Along among them. She said “a lovely Swedish friend” has helped navigate the necessary accent, adding with a chuckle that her character’s readiness to repeat that tongue-defying name—not to be repeated here—is “my dad’s favorite part of the show.”

Stereophonic
It’s highly unusual for the same play to open on both sides of the Atlantic, and with the same director no less. But that’s been the fortunate path traveled by Adam Penford’s production of James Graham’s Punch, which has transferred in London from the Young Vic to the Apollo within days of premiering on Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. “It speaks to the power of the story, really, and how it’s affected audiences,” the English actor David Shields told Broadway.com. The story is that of Jacob Dunne, who in 2011 began a 14-month sentence for manslaughter and went on to write a book about his experience, Right from Wrong: My Story of Guilt and Redemption. Has Shields been in touch with Will Harrison, who has taken the same part on Broadway? “I don’t think he needs my help or advice,” said the clearly impassioned actor. “The play is in very good hands over there, and I’m excited to know that a New York audience is watching the show and getting to explore Nottingham and the East Midlands”—a corner of the U.K. not often represented on the Broadway stage.

Passing the Torch
It’s customary for each artistic director of the National Theatre to program Hamlet early in their tenures: previous Danes at this storied address have included Peter O’Toole, Albert Finney, Daniel Day-Lewis and Rory Kinnear. The National’s new leader, Indhu Rubasingham, asked Operation Mincemeat director Robert Hastie to take on the play. Hiran Abeysekera, 2022 Olivier Award winner for Life of Pi performs the title role. “I was surprised and taken aback,” the charming Sri Lankan actor told Broadway.com of being cast. “I didn’t know they regarded me as someone who could tackle a part like this; that was really flattering.” Four weeks into rehearsals, he spoke of the grief-rattled prince as “the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, and also the first time I’ve worked on something that is continuously investigating the mind.” Given that great minds think alike, Abeysekera should feel right at home. Opening night is October 2 in the Lyttelton Theatre.

Many Days More
Les Misérables celebrates its 40th birthday on the London stage October 8, and the evening will consist of a gala performance attended by alumni of the show including Patti LuPone, Michael Ball, Alfie Boe and more. At the same time, an extraordinary all-star cast has been assembled to mark the occasion across a celebratory eight-week autumn run at the Sondheim Theatre. So how does Olivier winner Killian Donnelly, who has been cast as Jean Valjean opposite Bradley Jaden’s Javert, feel about being part of this particular landmark? “I was 11 when my dad first handed me a CD of Colm Wilkinson," [London and Broadway’s original Jean Valjean] and the young Irishman was hooked. Since then, Donnelly has performed the show in virtually every configuration possible. The performer noted that he’s the only person ever to have played Valjean on a Wednesday and then Javert on a Thursday. As for the October 8 performance, he said: “It’s when I’m bowing that what I have been part of will really hit me."

Wonderful Play
What could be more wonderful than a 14-room, rent-stabilized Manhattan apartment? That’s the setting for the 2013 Broadway play The Assembled Parties by the late Richard Greenberg, the Tony Award-winning playwright behind Take Me Out. The show opens at the Hampstead Theatre on October 23, with Jennifer Westfeldt and Tracy-Ann Oberman inheriting the roles originated by Jessica Hecht and Tony winner Judith Light, and Blanche McIntyre directing. Westfeldt was at the play’s Broadway opening and spoke of this London casting as “a dream role that fell from the sky.” The American lead and co-creator of the film Kissing Jessica Stein is relishing being “the only American in London in a New York play,” while at the same time wanting to do right by Greenberg, who died in July at age 67. “We’ve lost so many greats lately one after the other–Linda Lavin, Mark Brokaw, Gavin Creel—that it does feel especially significant to be able to honor Richard,” the actress told Broadway.com. “Richard was really excited the play was going to be done in London, and it makes me so happy that this production was meaningful to him.”