Finborough Theater Presents THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT

The long overdue London premiere of the Broadway musical The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd, directed by acclaimed West End and RSC director Ian Judge, and designed by three time Olivier Award winner Tim Goodchild, opens for a four week limited season at the Finborough Theatre on Tuesday, 7 June 2011 (Press Night: Thursday, 9 June 2011 at 7.30pm).

With a score packed with standards including A Wonderful Day Like Today, The Joker, Who Can I Turn To? (a hit for Tony Bennett), The Beautiful Land and Feeling Good (a hit for Michael Bublé), The Roar of The Greasepaint, The Smell of The Crowd presents the follies of the irrepressible Cocky and the imperious Sir as they play the comical Game of Life in this timely allegorical satire on the British class system. As they play, demonstrating how the working class can't get ahead because of the rules set and constantly changed by the ruling classes, they encounter a dizzying array of bizarre and colourful characters who lead them to an unexpected conclusion...

Originally seen for a 1964 pre-London British tour starring Norman Wisdom, The Roar of The Greasepaint was championed by Broadway impresario David Merrick who presented it on Broadway in 1965 starring Anthony Newley and Cyril Ritchard. This production marks the show's long-overdue London professional premiere.

Award winning writer, composer and lyricist Leslie Bricusse has been nominated for ten Academy Awards, nine Grammys and four Tonys, and has won two Oscars, a Grammy and eight Ivor Novello Awards. In 1989, he received the Kennedy Award for consistent excellence in British songwriting, bestowed by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, and was inducted into the American Songwriters' Hall of Fame. Stage musicals include Stop The World - I Want To Get Off (1961), Pickwick (1963), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), The Good Old Bad Old Days (1974), Scrooge (1970), Victor/Victoria (1982), Sherlock Holmes - The Musical (1989) and Jekyll And Hyde (1997). Songs and/or screenplays for films include Goldfinger (1964), Doctor Dolittle (1967), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), Scrooge (1970), Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory (1971), Superman (1978), Santa Claus- The Movie (1985), Home Alone (1990), Hook (1991), Tom and Jerry - The Movie (1992), Victor/Victoria (1995) and various Pink Panther movies. Hundreds of Bricusse's songs have been recorded by major artists including Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis, Jr. (who recorded sixty Bricusse songs), Tony Bennett, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Petula Clark, Julie Andrews, Liza Minnelli, Andy Williams, Rex Harrison, Elaine Paige, Michael Feinstein, Bette Midler, The Moody Blues, Nancy Sinatra, Lena Horne, Sergio Mendes, Nina Simone, Dionne Warwick, Robert Goulet, Matt Monro, Ray Charles, Ethel Merman, Placido Domingo, Jennifer Holliday, Danny Kaye, Robbie Williams, Mariah Carey, Linda Eder, Diana Krall, Maroon 5, Michael Bublé, The Black-Eyed Peas and Celine Dion.