THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG

at Menier Chocolate Factory

AN ENGAGING TUNE By JOHN NATHAN Published June 25 2008   Connie Fisher South London's Menier Chocolate Factory will revive the Neil Simon Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager musical They're Playing Our Song In a casting coup, Fiona Laird's production will star Connie Fisher in her first major role since her award winning West End debut in The Sound of Music. Fisher will play opposite Alistair McGowan whose credits include the West End transfer of the Chocolate Factory's revival of Little Shop of Horrors. They're Playing Our Song, which opens at the Southwark venue on Aug. 4 following previews beginning July 25, is a semi autobiographical story based on the relationship between composer Marvin Hamlisch and lyricist Carole Bayer Sager. This is its first major London revival since the original West End production in 1980 starring Tom Conti and Gemma Craven. Neil Simon - aka the King of Broadway - has won three Tony awards (The Odd Couple, Biloxi Blues and Lost in Yonkers), and four Oscar nominations for The Odd Couple, The Sunshine Boys, The Goodbye Girl and California Suite. A one time rehearsal pianist on Funny Girl, Hamlisch is one of only two men to have been awarded all five of the major awards in American entertainment. A Tony and a Pulitzer Prize for A Chorus Line, a Grammy and an Oscar for the score for The Way We Were, and an Emmy for Barbra Streisand, The Concert. Carole Bayer Sager had her first hit as a lyricist with A Groovy Kind of Love in 1965 and has collaborated with Burt Bacharach, Neil Diamond, Bette Midler and Bob Dylan. She co-wrote, with Marvin Hamlisch, the Bond theme Nobody Does It Better, and received an Oscar for Arthur's Theme from the 1982 Dudley Moore film Arthur. For more on They're Playing Our Song call (0)20 7907 7060 or visit www.menierchocolatefactory.com