Musicals in 2025
Image: Michael Paynter and Ensemble in Jesus Christ Superstar. Photographer: Jeff Busby
A swag of hit Broadway and West End musicals never before seen in Australia will wend their way around the country in 2025, alongside some old favourites to tap the nostalgia buttons.
The post Covid era, along with high interest rates, combined to encourage conservative choices by musical theatre producers. The year ahead is the most innovative in a long time.
National Premieres
Beetlejuice
Not since he starred in the musical he wrote about Shane Warne, has Eddie Perfect has so many fingers in a theatrical pie.
After earning a Tony Award nomination for the music and lyrics he wrote for Beetlejuice, Mr. Perfect will also take on the title role for the local premiere based on the movie directed by Tim Burton.
Beetlejuice tells the story of unusual teenager Lydia Deetz (to be played by Karis Oka), obsessed with the whole “being dead thing”, who finds herself in a house haunted by a recently deceased couple and a degenerate demon with a thing for stripes.
“Beetlejuice is a taboo-busting, shapeshifting, fourth wall-smashing, free-lovin' ball of neediness and I’m excited (and a healthy amount daunted) to play the role and share this strange and unusual tale with my home town,” said Perfect.
Image: Eddie Perfect as Beetlejuice - Credit Benny Capp
Read more
Read the full cast announcement.
BUY TICKETS @ Regent Theatre, Melbourne in May.
MJ The Musical
Image: Roman Banks in the US tour of MJ. Photographer Matthew Murphy
MJ takes the audience back to 1992 and inside the creation of Michael Jackson’s iconic Dangerous World Tour.
Conveniently, this was the year before the king of pop was subject to any sexual abuse allegations.
Instead, the audience hurtles through his rise to fame, his early performances with The Jackson 5 and his later solo albums.
Of the West End production, the Guardian reviewer wrote, “his big hits are met with glee from the audience: ‘Thriller’ contorts the stage into a garish nightmare, while the chorus version of ‘Man in the Mirror’ has the woman next to me singing at the top of her lungs.”
Roman Banks will play MJ in Australia. He’ll have to dance and sing through what producers calls the complex history of his life.
Read More
Roman Banks To Reprise Title Role Of MJ In Australia
BUY TICKETS @ Sydney Lyric Theatre from 26 February.
Kimberly Akimbo: A Musical
Two state theatre companies are tackling this Tony Award winning musical with the strangest storyline and a stellar cast.
The show tells the story of a lonely teenage girl, Kimberly Levaco, who suffers from a condition that causes her to age rapidly, giving her the appearance of an elderly woman.
Described as equal parts teen comedy, heist caper and unlikely love story, the cast of Kimberly Akimbo includes Marina Prior, Casey Donovan and Christie Whelan-Browne
The musical is directed by the new Artistic Director of the Sydney Theatre Company, Mitchel Butel, so hopefully Sydney might be seeing it in 2026, after its premiere at the State Theatre Company of South Australia in July, followed by the Melbourne Theatre Company season.
Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide from 8-19 July
Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse from 26 July to 30 August.
Read more in the State Theatre Company SA Season Announcement and the MTC Season Announcement
Pretty Woman
Image from the UK Tour Production by Marc Brenner
Broadway and West End musical PRETTY WOMAN: The Musical, based on the Rom-Com film starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, will have its Australian premiere at QPAC in Brisbane in October 2025.
Sister Act
Image: Sister Act. Photographer: Daniel Boud
“A heavenly hit that promises an evening of uplifting entertainment and delivers. Sister Act is nun-stop entertainment!” wrote Stage Whispers reviewer Nicole Smith of the Sydney opening.
Based on the 1992 movie, Sister Act revolves around Deloris Van Cartier (Casey Donovan), a lounge singer. Unfortunately for Deloris, she witnesses murder and is placed under protection at a convent where, after a few hiccups, she transforms the choir, convent and herself in the process.
The show settled nicely into Melbourne with Patricia Di Risio describing it as an “irresistibly charming show”.
Read more.
Our interview with Casey Donovan and Rhonda Burchmore.
Regent Theatre Melbourne through January, then the Lyric Theatre, QPAC Brisbane from 8 February, Festival Theatre, Adelaide from 22 March and Crown Theatre Perth from 26 April.
Lord of the Rings - A Musical Tale
Image: Lord of the Rings. Photographer: Liz Lauren.
This adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s trilogy invites audiences on a journey through Middle Earth, from the Hobbits’ perspective.
As the Hobbits gather to celebrate Bilbo Baggins’ eleventy-first (111th) birthday in the Shire, Bilbo gifts his nephew Frodo his most treasured possession—a gold ring.
At its Auckland premiere, Stage Whispers reviewer Emma Bishop wrote, “The production maintains an unrelenting pace, with a continuous flow of action that transitions from one climactic moment to the next.”
The production stars Jemma Rix as Galadriel and Ian Stenlake as Saruman.
More Reading
Read Emma Bishop's review of the Auckland season
State Theatre, Sydney from 11 January, then Crown Theatre Perth from 19 March, Comedy Theatre Melbourne from 26 April, and HOTA on the Gold Coast from 4 July.
Hadestown
Image: Hadestown Cast.
After winning the Tony Award in 2019, the musical Hadestown, described by The New York Times as “sumptuous, hypnotic and somewhat hyperactive” is still running on Broadway, which is no mean feat in these difficult times.
Described as a genre-defying musical that blends modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz to reimagine the sweeping ancient tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, Hadestown follows two intertwining love stories — of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and of King Hades and his wife Persephone.
Christine Anu stars in the Australian premiere.
Read more
Christine Anu leads cast in Hadestown.
Read Coral Drouyn's interview with Christine Anu.
Click here to r3eead David Spicer's review.
Theatre Royal Sydney from 10 February, then Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne from 8 May.
No Love Songs
No Love Songs, a new musical by Kyle Falconer, lead singer of the Scottish band The View, will tour Australia this year, beginning with an exclusive season at Sydney’s newest venue, Foundry Theatre, at Sydney Lyric playing from 7 March to 13 April, will star Keegan Joyce (Rake, Please Like Me) and Lucy Maunder (Chicago, Mary Poppins).
No Love Songs began life in 2023 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and a tour of the UK and has completed its off-Broadway season ahead of a New York opening in March. This dynamic new musical is inspired by Kyle Falconer’s real-life experiences with his partner Laura Wilde. Songs featured in this modern romance are taken from Falconer’s second solo album, No Love Songs for Laura, and have been reimagined for the stage. '
Click here for more tour details
Back to the Future: The Musical
Image: Back to the Future: Original Broadway Cast. Photographer: Matthew Murphy.
Fresh from season on Broadway and the West End the musical Back to the Future is faithful to the popular movie. Marty McFly is accidentally transported back to 1955 in a time-travelling DeLorean invented by his friend, Dr. Emmett Brown. But before he can return to 1985, Marty must make sure his high school-aged parents fall in love to save his own existence.
Stage Whispers’ reviewer David Spicer described it as a “fun and energetic musical with a spectacular effects, particularly in the second act” when the DeLorean takes off.
Read more
Titanique
The Australian premiere season of Titanique, produced by Michael Cassel and Eva Price, which commenced at The Grand Electric in Sydney in September 2024 is now booking into March 2025. The send-up of the blockbuster film Titanic, driven by the songs of pop icon Céline Dion,Titanique has extended its run at the Daryl Roth Theatre in Union Square, New York multiple times since it premiered in 2022.
When the music of Céline Dion makes sweet Canadian love with the eleven-time Oscar Award-winning blockbuster film Titanic, you get Titanique, which turns one of the greatest love stories of all time into a hysterical musical fantasia. Want to find out what really happened to Jack and Rose on that fateful night? Just leave it to Céline Dion to enchant the audience with her totally wild take, recharting the course of Titanic’s beloved moments and characters with her iconic song catalogue.
Dear Evan Hansen
Photographer: Daniel Boud.
The brand new local production of Dear Evan Hansen, which has closed in Sydney ahead of a national tour, was described by Stage Whispers’ reviewer Les Solomon as “breathtaking in its originality, its daring and its cast. Everything director Dean Bryant and his team have created is awe inspiring.
“It would have originally arrived probably three years after Broadway in a carbon copy production, so to have this new, free, unique and original local production is a gift from the Gods.”
The Tony Award winning musical is based around the story of a socially awkward teenager who gets trapped in a lie surrounding the death of a classmate.
It stars newcomer Beau Woodbridge and Verity Hunt-Ballard.
Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne from December 13 2024 to February 13, 2025. The Canberra Theatre Centre and Her Majesty’s Theatre Adelaide seasons have been cancelled.
Revivals
Guys and Dolls
Opera Australia has made the intriguing decision to produce Guys and Dolls as its outdoor Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour production in March/April.
The showgirls and gangsters from New York gaming houses will be dancing up a storm in front of the Sydney skyline.
The company often uses the water as part of the production; could this happen during the song ‘Sit Down Your Rock the Boat’?
Stage Whispers is also wondering whether the fireworks will go off during ‘Luck Be A Lady Tonight’ or at the end of the first act when the leads sing ‘I’ve Never Been In Love Before’.
Pop star and champion swimmer Cody Simpson will make his Australian musical theatre debut as Sky Masterson, with Annie Aitken as his love interest Sarah Brown, alongside Bobby Fox as Nathan Detroit, and Jason Arrow as Nicely-Nicely Johnson.
Read More
Cody Simpson to make Australian musical theatre debut as Sky
Angelina Thomson joins Guys & Dolls cast as Miss Adelaide
BUY TICKETS Here for Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquaries Point from 21 March.
Annie
Image: Beatrix Alder, Dakota Chanel, Matilda Casey and Stephanie McNamara share the title role in ANNIE © David Hooley
As sure as the sun coming out tomorrow, there’ll be a regular revival of the family favourite Annie.
Anthony Warlow returns as Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, the role he has played twice before, first in Australia and again when he made his Broadway debut.
Occasional Stage Whispers columnist Debora Krizak takes on the role of Miss Hannigan.
Read more
Buy Tickets here for Capitol Theatre Sydney from 25 March, then Princess Theatre Melbourne from 10 July.
The Book of Mormon
Image: London cast of The Book of Mormon. Photographer: Paul Coltas
Those lovable foot-soldiers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be knocking on the doors of theatres around the country, tapping first at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney from July.
Penned by the creators of South Park, it’s still running on Broadway after almost 15 years and miraculously all the politically incorrect jokes have remained intact.
Could you get away with writing a new musical these days about white missionaries visiting stereotypical Uganda?
Australian audiences loved it last time – and ten years later Sean Johnson (Elder Price) and Nick Cox (Elder Cunningham) will aim to convert a new legion of followers.
Read more
The Book of Mormon Principal Casting
Buy Tickets here for Capitol Theatre, Sydney from 15 July.
Jesus Christ Superstar
Image: Michael Paynter with ensemble cast in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. Photographer: (c) Jeff Busby
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s take on the last days of Jesus offended some, and led to protests when it was first staged 50 years ago.
This revival uses the set from the Regent Park Open Air season in London and harks back to the origins of the musical as a concept rock album.
Stage Whispers’ reviewer David Spicer raved about the sound of the production.
“Michael Paynter, in his professional musical theatre debut, almost blew the lid off the Capitol Theatre with his soaring high tenor rendition of the aria ‘Gethsemane’.
“King Herod’s song, portrayed with panache by Reuben Kaye. The cabaret artist’s glissando (sliding of notes) was delicious.”
Played Capitol Theatre, Sydney until 26 January, then Crown Theatre Perth from 13 February, Princess Theatre Melbourne from March 16 and QPAC, Brisbane from June 29.
Read More
Cats
Image: Rum Tum Tugger and 2022 International Tour Company. Photographer: (c) Alessandro Pinna.
Producer John Frost is also reviving another Lloyd Webber blockbuster for Crossroads Live.
“Cats is a legendary show that I’ve admired for over 40 years. A sparkling fusion of music, dance and verse, it was revolutionary when it first opened and enticed new audiences into the world of musical theatre.”
Cats is returning to the Theatre Royal, Sydney in June, 40 years after its Australian premiere at the same venue.
Based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and set to music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, it’s expected to tour.
Click here to read more about Cats
Theatre Royal, Sydney from 17 June to August 10
Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide from September.
Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne from December.
Les Misérables The Arena Spectacular
Les Misérables The Arena Spectacular. Enjolras (James D. Gish) and Ensemble. Photographer: Danny Kaan
No, you are not dreaming a dream. The musical blockbuster that’s been going for 40 years in the West End, and has had waves of productions down under, is returning, this time as an arena spectacular featuring what is described as an international cast of over 65 actors and musicians.
Venues earmarked for their part of the world tour are the ICC in Sydney in April, followed by Rod Laver Arena Melbourne and Brisbane Entertainment in May.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Seann Miley Moore — recently seen as The Engineer in Miss Saigon – stars in a new production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask, winner of the 2014 Tony Award as Best Revival of a Musical which begins its tour at the Queens Theatre, Adelaide from February 18 to March 15 as part of the Adelaide Festival. The production is directed by Shane Anthony and Dino Dimitriadis.
Rent
Image: Rent 2024 cast. Photographer: Pia Johnson.
The national touring production of Rent ends its journey in Sydney in October as part of Opera Australia’s very musical year.
Stage Whispers’ reviewer Beth Keehn wrote that “The grittiness of 1990s grunge-era New York is lovingly brought to life by the scaffold-and-loft-apartment set design quirky costumes and an inspired lighting design.
“There are visual treats to watch out for – including a FAB-U-LOUS Christmas shopping scene, and a café long table that morphs into Leonardo’s ‘Last Supper’.”
Click here to read Beth Keehn's Review
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House from 27 September.
Beauty and the Beast
Photographer: Daniel Boud
Disney’s dazzling high tech up-date of Beauty and the Beast will delight audiences in Melbourne before landing in Adelaide and Perth.
Stage Whispers’ reviewer Michael Brindley lauded “the astonishing lead cast”.
“There is so much humour, pizzazz, glamour, energy and beautifully choregraphed production numbers on stage that the audience is continuously smiling and audibly engaged.”
“Gasps, oohs and aahs from the audience can be heard throughout.”
Click here to read Michael Brindley's review.
Her Majesty’s Theatre Melbourne, then Adelaide Festival Centre in May and Crown Theatre Perth in July.
Six
Photographer: James D Morgan-Getty Images
“See Six and be impressed not just by the clever idea, the music, the costumes, the colour and energy but by the talented Australian queens who really rock this bit of history!” wrote Stage Whispers’ reviewer Carol Wimmer.
“There is nothing dull about those stories. They are clever and witty, told in a punchy ‘pop concert’ beat and language that thumbs its nose at historians who have side-lined women for years.”
Henry VIII’s six wives tell their own stories, as they’ve never been heard before, in this pop rock musical hit.
Read more
Coral Drouyn's feature story Ten Out of Six
Click here to read Carol Wimmer's review of the Sydney season
Played at the Theatre Royal Sydney until December 2024, then QPAC, Brisbane from January 2025, The Civic Auckland from February and Civic Theatre, Newcastle from April.
Single Cities Only
Candide
Image: Candide. Photographer: Charlie Kinross.
Opera Australia presents the satirical musical Candide, about humankind’s capacity for mindless optimism, with Voltaire’s story set to a remarkable score by famed West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein.
Eddie Perfect and Lyndon Watts reprise their roles from the 2024 Victorian Opera premiere of this production, which delivers both first-rate comedy and symphonic magic.
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House from 20 February.
Bloom
Image: Bloom - Mandy McElhinney, John Waters, Evelyn Krape and Slone Sudiro. Photographer: Derek Henderson
Melbourne Theatre Company’s hit musical Bloom gets another chance to shine with the STC in May. The comedy set in a nursing home has book and lyrics by Working Dog’s Tom Gleisner and music by Katie Weston.
Read more in the Sydney Theatre Company Season Announcement
Avenue Q
AG Theatre Productions will stage puppet-filled adults only comedy Avenue Q, winner of the 2004 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score and Book of a Musical at The National Theatre Melbourne from February 22 to March 8, 2025
Calamity Jane
Image: Calamity Jane. Photographer: Sam Scoufos
The Bille Brown Theatre transforms into an immersive old-time Western bar – complete with on-stage saloon seating - from March, as Queensland Theatre presents Calamity Jane.
Read more in the Queensland Theatre Season Announcement
Hayes Theatre Co.
Image credits: Kenney Designs and John McRae
2025 at the Hayes opens with the Australian Premiere production of Ghost Quartet, written and composed by Dave Malloy (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812), playing from 8 – 25 January.
A new adaptation by Richard Carroll of The Pirates of Penzance, brought to life by just four performers plays from 14 February – 16 March.
March will see the return of The Producers - The Mel Brooks Musical, the winner of a record 12 Tony Awards, from 28 March – 27 April.'
Click here to read about the cast of The Producers.
The Australian Premiere of the Tony and Olivier Award-nominated musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, based on the film by Pedro Almodóvar plays from 9 May – 8 June.
Being Alive: The Music of Stephen Sondheim, a concert of songs by the greatest musical theatre mind of all, plays a three-week season from 25 June.
From the Tony Award-winning songwriting duo of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Seussical, Ragtime) comes the Sydney Premiere of the Olivier Award-winning Once on This Island from 2 - 30 August.
For their first musical, Sport for Jove will present the Sydney Premiere of the by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell musical Bright Star, directed by Damien Ryan, from 5 September – 5 October.
The year concludes with two World Premieres, Phar Lap: The Electro-Swing Musical, written by Steven Kramer, from 17 October, and Merry & Bright, a new play with music, starring Nancye Hayes in a role crafted specially for her by Jordan Shea, from 28 November.
Click here to read about the Hayes Theatre Company season in more detail.
Neglected Musicals
Neglected Musicals are presented with scripts in hand, and with piano accompaniment after only a day’s rehearsal.
The Apple Tree from February 5 to 8, at the Haye Theatre.
Kiss Me, Kate at The Foundry Theatre, behind the Sydney Lyric for limited performances from April 14.
https://www.neglectedmusicals.com.au/
Seasons Now Closed
Converted
Image: Converted. Photographer: Daniel Boud.
The Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney premieres the musical comedy Converted in January, which celebrates queer teenagers who learn to trust who they are while dancing to the irresistible call of the disco ball.
Click here to read David Spicer's review
Follies
Victorian Opera opens Season 2025 with a fully staged production of Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award-winning musical Follies, from 1-6 February at the Palais Theatre, St Kilda.
Set in a run-down theatre scheduled for demolition, former chorus girls (including legends of the Australian stage Marina Prior, Antoinette Halloran, Colette Mann, Geraldene Morrow, Evelyn Krape, Rhonda Burchmore and Geraldine Turner) reunite to honour their performances there during the interwar years.
Read more
Click here to read Jonathan Cox's review
Tina
Image: Ruva Ngwenya in TINA The Musical. Photographer: Daniel Boud
Tina – The Tina Turner Musical concludes its national tour in Melbourne on 9 February.
Click here to read Coral Drouyn's review
Wicked
Image: Courtney Monsma, Sheridan Adams and Ensemble in WICKED. Photographer: (c) Jeff Busby
As the movie version of Wicked hit our cinemas, the stage version concludes its national tour in Perth, playing until February 2, 2025.
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