One Man, Two Guvnors: coming to Broadway in Apr 2012

The National Theatre of Great Britain's acclaimed production of One Man, Two Guvnors, a comedy by Richard Bean, based on Carlo Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters, with songs by Grant Olding, directed by Nicholas Hytner, will open on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre on 18 Apr 2012. Preview performances will begin 6 Apr 2012.

James Corden will lead the National Theatre company on Broadway.

Richard Bean's slap-stick comedy, One Man, Two Guvnors, is a free adaptation of Carlo Goldoni's 18th century play, "The Servant of Two Masters," and tells the farsical tale of Francis Henshall (James Corden), who in order to make ends meet, finds himself moonlighting for two different guvnors.

One Man, Two Guvnors: Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6000 from his fiancee's dad. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who's been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. Holed up at the Cricketers' Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple.

The play opened at the NT's Lyttelton on 24 May 2011, following previews from 17 May, where it ended its sold out run on 19 Sep 2011. The show then went on a short Uk tour. The production is currently in previews at London's West End Adelphi Theatre where it will open on 22 Nov 2011 for a limited 16-week engagement through to 25 Feb 2012.

The show opened at the National Theatre to critical accalim: Fantastic entertainment and fabulously funny (londontheatreguide.com); An evening of riotous delight (Daily Telegraph); Bubbles over with humour. A surefire hit (Evening Standard); One of the funniest productions in the National's history (Guardian).

The show's star, James Corden, is receving almost universal accolade for his performance in the comedy, with which not only does he deal deftly with the show's farcical elements, but also successfully creates a direct relationship with the audience with asides and ad-libs, as he involves audience members in the mad antics happening on stage.

New York Times' critic, Ben Brantlet, described Corden's work in the show as an "irresistibly" impressive central performance."