News

Australian Musical Theatre Festival 2025 Program

LAUNCESTON, TASMANIA

21 – 25 MAY 2025

Artistic Director Tyran Parke has unveiled the Australian Musical Theatre Festival program that will be held in Launceston, Tasmania from Wednesday 21 to Sunday 25 May 2025. 

Parke revealed that for the first time in the festival’s five-year history the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra will feature in a star-studded line-up of Musical Theatre royalty including Caroline O’Connor, Alinta Chidzey and Mark Vincent.

Roman Banks To Reprise Title Role Of MJ In Australia

Australian producer Michael Cassel, alongside original Broadway producers Lia Vollack, John Branca, and John McClain, has announced that Roman Banks will lead the Australian premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical MJ when it debuts at the Sydney Lyric Theatre in February 2025. 

Banks comes direct to Sydney from the US national tour where he originated the role of MJ.

2025 at The Round

Following a successful debut year, Melbourne’s newest premier performing arts venue, The Round, in Nunawading, has revealed its 2025 season lineup. With the theme 'Electric,' the upcoming season will feature performances from international and local award-winning acts.

Subscription packages for the new year are now available, offering savings, priority seat selection, pay-over-time options and more.

Adelaide Fringe 2025 Program Launched

Adelaide Fringe has to reveal the 2025 program with more than 1,300 shows across comedy, theatre, cabaret, music, visual arts, interactive experiences and more, spread across 500 venues throughout South Australia.

The necessary truth about “fully staged productions” of Follies in Australia

Is the Victorian Opera’s upcoming production of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman’s Follies ‘Australia’s first ever fully staged production’ as the company claim? No, it is most certainly not. Geoffrey Williams corrects the public record.

Marvelous Melbourne Musicals

David Spicer attended the new Australian Musicals One Day In September and My Brilliant Career over two days. He writes that both demonstrate the benefit of long periods of development.

How rare to be able to watch two completely original Australian musicals in one city on a weekend. One is already a hit, and another is a hit in the making.

Cast Announced for Sydney Season of Annie

Image: Beatrix Alder, Dakota Chanel, Matilda Casey and Stephanie McNamara in ANNIE © David Hooley

Producer John Frost for Crossroads Live has revealed the talented children who will play Annie and the orphans in the upcoming Sydney season of the ever-popular Broadway musical Annie, as well as the adult cast who will perform alongside them. The new Australian production plays at the Capitol Theatre from 25 March, before moving to Melbourne’s Princess Theatre from July.

Back To The Future: The Musical Premiere for Sydney

The Olivier Award winner of Best New Musical will have Its Australian Premiere at the Sydney Lyric in September 2025

Producers John Frost, Colin Ingram and the creators of the original film trilogy, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, have announced that Sydney will host the Australian premiere of Back To The Future: The Musical, opening at the Sydney Lyric in September 2025.

Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation 2024 Performing Arts Grants

Image: Julian Louis from NORPA and Peter Lowry

Over $200,000 in Grants to the performing arts were announced on 21 November 2024, to a packed audience of theatre practitioners and supporters by Peter Lowry AM, President of the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation in the Seaborn Library, Neutral Bay, the Foundation's headquarters.

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