LONDON ASSURANCE To Be Broadcast at Town Hall Theater, 7/24

English theaters have centuries of great plays to dig out and dust off, and occasionally a forgotten piece can become a modern hit. That's exactly what has happened to London Assurance, which first hit the boards in 1841, and is now the runaway hit of the London theater season.

Dion Boucicault's comedy follows Sir Harcourt Courtly, here played by the excellent Simon Russell Beale, as he attempts to woo a rich and beautiful young bride - until his attention is diverted by her hearty cousin, Lady Gay Spanker, played by the fine Irish actress, Fiona Shaw.

American audiences will recognize Shaw as Aunt Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter films.

London's hard-to-please critics are raving about London Assurance:

"This is an absolute corker of a production, one that will be talked about and chuckled over for years to come," says the Daily Telegram.

"London Assurance is the funniest and most assured comedy in all of London," writes the Sunday Express.

The high-definition broadcast will be shown at Middlebury's Town Hall Theater on Tuesday, July 24, at 7 pm. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at www.townhalltheater.org, 802 382-9222, at the THT Box Office (Mon-Sun, noon-5 pm) and at the door.

Town Hall Theater is air-conditioned, something that makes an evening at the theater all the more attractive during this hot summer.