Revival of Stephen Schwartz and Joseph Stein's THE BAKER'S WIFE Opens at Menier Chocolate Factory in July

The Menier Chocolate Factory has announced that fresh from his critically acclaimed opening of The Heart of Rock and Roll on Broadway, Gordon Greenberg will return to the venue to direct The Baker's Wife – with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Joseph Stein.

This renews the Menier Chocolate Factory's collaboration with Schwartz, following their production of Pippin in 2011. The production opens on 17 July, with previews from 6 July, and runs until 14 September.

Full casting will be announced shortly. Tickets are currently on sale to Menier Chocolate Factory Supporters, with booking opening to Mailing List Members on 7 May, and public onsale on 8 May.

The arrival of a new Baker and his younger wife turns a provincial French village upside down in this cult classic musical from the legendary Stephen Schwartz (composer of Godspell, Wicked, Pippin) and Joseph Stein (writer of Fiddler On The Roof).

Based on the film La Femme du Boulanger by Marcel Pagnol and Jean Giono, The Baker's Wife is filled with some of Schwartz's most ravishingly beautiful music, and will immerse the audience into world of Gallic charm in this first major UK revival since its West End première.

Directed by Gordon Greenburg (who previously directed Barnum at the Chocolate Factory), with choreography by Matt Cole (Olivier award winner for Newsies) and designs by Paul Farnworth, this brand new production plays for a limited 10-week season from 6 July.

Stephen Schwartz wrote the music and lyrics for the current West End and Broadway hit Wicked – which is due to be released as a two-part feature film; and has also contributed music and/or lyrics to Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show, Working (which he also adapted and directed), Rags and Children of Eden. He collaborated with Leonard Bernstein on the English texts for Bernstein's Mass, and wrote the title song for the play and film Butterflies are Free. For children, he has written songs for two musicals, Captain Louie and My Son Pinocchio. He has also worked in film, collaborating with Alan Menken on the songs for Disney's Enchanted as well as the animated features Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and writing the songs for the DreamWorks animated feature The Prince of Egypt. His first opera, Seance on a Wet Afternoon, was produced at Opera Santa Barbara and New York City Opera. Schwartz has been inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and has been given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His many accolade include three Academy Awards and four Grammy Awards.

Joseph Stein won the Tony Award and Drama Critics Circle Award for Fiddler on the Roof. His other musicals include Zorba (Tony nomination, Drama Critics Circle Award); Rags (Tony nomination), Take Me Along (Tony nomination), Juno, Irene (starring Debbie Reynolds), The King of Hearts, All About Us, and So Long, 174th Street. He also co-authored, with Alan Jay Lerner, Carmelina; and with Will Glickman, Mr. Wonderful, The Body Beautiful and Plain and Fancy. His plays are Enter Laughing, Before the Dawn, and Mrs. Gibbons' Boys. He wrote the screenplays of Enter Laughing and Fiddler on the Roof, for which he won the Screen Writers Guild Award. In 2008, he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

Gordon Greenberg returns to the Menier Chocolate Factory to direct, having previously directed Barnum. HIs current directing/writing projects include The Heart of Rock and Roll (which opened recently on Broadway to critical acclaim)  the hit Off-Broadway show Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors (director & co-writer with Steve Rosen; New World Stages & podcast starring John Stamos, Laura Benanti, & Annaleigh Ashford), a new musical about Picasso (director & co-writer with Stephen Schwartz & Caridad Svich), the NBC television series Most Talkative (co-executive producer/writer),  Crime and Punishment, A Comedy (director & co-writer with Steve Rosen; The Old Globe, San Diego), Single White Female (A.T.G.), The Wedding Banquet (Ang Lee, Hua Musicals, Taiwan), Ghost Tour, The Play, and the new comedy podcast series Rolling Calls starring Julie Halston & Richard Kind (co-writer with Steve Rosen). He co-wrote and directed the Broadway stage adaptation of Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn (Studio 54 for Roundabout Theatre Company and Universal Pictures Stage Productions) and directed  Guys And Dolls (Chichester Festival Theatre/Savoy Theatre/Phoenix Theatre), Working (59 E 59 in New York – also adapted), Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well… (Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Award nominations – also adapted), Johnny Baseball (Williamstown), Tangled (Disney), Blue Sky Boys (Capital Rep), Luck Be A Lady  (Asolo), Pirates! Or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder'd (co-creator; Huntington/Paper Mill/Goodspeed/MUNY), Band Geeks! (also co-writer; Goodspeed), The Baker's Wife (Paper Mill/Goodspeed), 1776 (Paper Mill), Floyd Collins (Signature), Yentl (Asolo) and Half A Sixpence (Goodspeed).

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