Richard Schiff is to return to the London stage in the Menier Chocolate Factory production of Jack Rosenthal’s Smash!
Schiff replaces Kerry Shale, who has withdrawn from the show for personal reasons, and joins a cast that includes Laurence Olivier Award winner Tom Conti.
Schiff is probably best known for his Emmy-winning performance as Toby Ziegler in US political drama The West Wing. However his work also includes films The Infidel and Made In Dagenham, and a previous appearance on the London stage in solo show Underneath The Lintel at the Duchess theatre in 2007.
Tamara Harvey’s revival of Smash! takes a funny and scathing look at the journey of a musical from page to stage. Based on playwright Rosenthal’s own experience of turning his television play Bar Mitzvah Boy into a musical, Smash! features a cast of characters including a cantankerous composer, a fantasist lyricist and a bombastic producer.
Smash! also stars Josh Cohen (The Graduate), Cameron Blakely (Les Misérables) and Natalie Walter (The 39 Steps).
Smash! opens at the Menier Chocolate Factory on 31 March after previews from 24 March, and plays until 8 May.
CB