MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG to Screen in Cinemas Across the US Tomorrow!

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 Noël 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 Fathom Events www.fathomevents.com. For information and ticketing for venues around the world, go to www.cinemalive.com.

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 byMark 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."

"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.

National CineMedia (NCM) operates NCM Media Networks, a leading integrated media company reaching U.S. consumers in movie theaters, online and through mobile technology. The NCM Cinema Network and NCM Fathom Events present cinema advertising and events across the nation's largest digital in-theater network, comprised of theaters owned by AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) and other leading regional theater circuits. NCM's theater advertising network covers 183 Designated Market Areas (49 of the top 50) and includes approximately 19,600 screens (approximately 18,800 digital). During 2012, over 710 million patrons attended movies shown in theaters in which NCM currently has exclusive, cinema advertising agreements in place. The NCM Fathom Events live digital broadcast network ("DBN") is comprised of approximately 750 locations in 173 Designated Market Areas (including all of the top 50). The NCM Interactive Network offers 360-degree integrated marketing opportunities in combination with cinema, encompassing 37 entertainment-related websites, online widgets and mobile applications. National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCMI) owns a 47.0%. interest in and is the managing member of National CineMedia LLC. For more information, visit www.ncm.com or www.FathomEvents.com. (NCMI-E)

CinemaLive is one of the world's leading producers and distributors of premium Event Cinema for cinemas and big screen venues worldwide. Parent company, The Shooting Star Picture Company, has been producing high quality concerts and events for over 20 years and has a reputation for quality and global excellence. With offices in the UK and Australia, the CinemaLive subsidiary has quickly become one of the fastest growing theatrical distributors since establishing in 2008. It delivers the very best music, cultural and family entertainment via satellite and hard drive to over 70 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.cinemalive.com.

Digital Theatre works in partnership with Britain's leading theatre companies to capture live performance authentically onscreen from multiple camera angles and makes productions available to a worldwide audience in high definition. Recent Digital Theatre releases include the 2011 Olivier Award-winning revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. The Public Theater later transferred the production to New York's Central Park in the summer of 2012. Visit www.digitaltheatre.com.

Photo © Tristram Kenton