The Stage

Rob Lowe joined by Barrowman and Jones for A Few Good Men

Published Tuesday 26 July 2005 at 15:45 by Alistair Smith

Doctor Who star John Barrowman, Coronation Street actress Suranne Jones, and Jack Ellis who played Jim Fenner in Bad Girls will join Rob Lowe in A Few Good Men, which opens at the Theatre Royal Haymarket next month.

The show, which is directed by David Esbjornson, written by Aaron Sorkin and produced by Bill Kenwright, will preview from August 18, with a press night on September 6. Set design is by Michael Pavelka, costumes by Beth Hope Clancy, lighting by Mark Henderson and sound by Ian Dickinson.

• Sarah Lancashire, best known for playing Raquel in Coronation Street, will replace Jane Krakowski as Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre from December 5.

Currently starring Ewan McGregor, Douglas Hodge and Jenna Russell, the musical opened on June 1 and is now booking until March 2006. Directed by Michael Grandage, it is produced by Howard Panter for Ambassador Theatre Group and David Ian for Clear Channel Entertainment.

• Little Britain star Anthony Head and Olivier Award-winner David Bamber will appear alongside Richard E Grant in a new revival of Simon Gray’s comedy Otherwise Engaged.

The production will open at the Criterion Theatre on October 25 following a five-week regional tour, which will see it visit Bath, Oxford, Milton Keynes and Woking. It will be directed by Simon Curtis and produced both on tour and in London by Mark Rubinstein, Sonia Friedman Productions, Lee Menzies and TEG Productions. Further casting will be announced at a later date.

• Frances Ruffelle will return to the West End musical Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre from August 1 to guest star as Roxie Hart - a role she previously played for nine months from September, 2003 to June, 2004. Charley Izabella King will continue to feature as Velma Kelly, Clarke Peters as Billy Flynn, Robert Hands as Amos Hart and Zee Asha as Mama Morton.

• The long-awaited musical production of Lord of the Rings, expected to transfer to the London in the future, will feature Tony Award-winner Brent Carver as Gandalf when it opens in Toronto on February 2, 2006.

Carver leads a cast of 55 from across USA and Canada in the production, which is directed by Matthew Warchus, choreographed by Peter Darling and produced by Kevin Wallace. It has been adapted from JRR Tolkien’s trilogy of novels by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus.