Maria Friedman to direct and perform in celebratory West End concert for Ahrens & Flaherty

It has been announced that Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman will direct and perform in A Journey to the Past, a West End celebration of the works of the Tony Award-winning and world-renowned musical theatre writing team Ahrens & Flaherty, at the Lyric Theatre on 6 June.

The musical celebration will feature a selection of music from the writing duo’s most beloved works, including Maria Friedman reprising her Olivier Award-winning performance of ‘Back to Before’ from Ragtime.

Joining Maria Friedman in the creative team are Simon Lee as Musical Supervisor, Michael Bradley as Musical Director, and Andrew Exeter as Set & Lighting Designer.

Casting will be announced at a later date.

Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty are considered the foremost theatrical writing team of their generation. They won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for the Broadway hit Ragtime and were nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globes for Twentieth Century Fox’s animated feature film Anastasia, which they also adapted for the Broadway stage.

Their musical Once On This Island won London’s Olivier Award and Broadway's 2018 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. Other theatre credits include Seussical (one of the most produced shows in America); Rocky; My Favourite Year; Chita Rivera – The Dancer’s Life; Dessa Rose; A Man of No Importance; The Glorious Ones; Lucky Stiff and two upcoming shows, Knoxville and Little Dancer.

They serve on Council for the Dramatists Guild of America and co-founded the DGF Fellows Program for Emerging Writers. They are four-time Grammy nominees, recipients of the Oscar Hammerstein Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2015 Ahrens and Flaherty were inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.

Lynn Ahrens said: “After two long years of uncertainty, what a wonderful way to celebrate the return to theater. I’m honored to have my work back on the boards in London!”

Stephen Flaherty said: “I can’t wait to have our music and lyrics back on the West End in the historic Lyric Theatre, under the direction of our Ragtime leading lady and friend, Maria Friedman. What an evening it’s going to be!”

A Journey to the Past will be performed for one performance only, with tickets going on sale on 21 March.