NEWS ROUNDUP: 8 - 14 June

Welcome back to my weekly news roundup, summarising all of the top stories to have hit the world of theatre over the past seven days, and my goodness have there been some absolute corkers, so let's just get straight into it.

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79TH TONY AWARDS

Winners announced for the 2025-26 broadway season

Another year, another bestowment of the most prestigious accolades in theatre, as broadway celebrated the 79th annual Tony Awards ceremony, as presented by the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League. The ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall on the 7th of June, with "The Lost Boys" and "Schmigadoon!" the most nominated shows, each with 12 in total. The big winner on the day was the Joe Mantello directed production of "Death of a Salesman", which won a total of 6 awards including best revival of a musical. Other shows that proved mightily successful included "The Lost Boys", "Schmigadoon!" and Lear deBessonet's revival of "Ragtime", each winning 4 total awards.

There were also a few surprises to be had, with the most notable snub being of "Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)", which failed to win a single award; other surprising shutouts included for "Rocky Horror", "Chess" and "The Balusters". The most notable individual winners included first time wins for Joshua Henry, Caissie Levy, Leslie Manville, and first ever openly transgender winner Qween Jean. You can view the full list of winners via the official Tony Awards website.

LESLIE ODOM JR.

Tony and Grammy winning actor to perform London concert

It has been revealed by LW Theatres that, following his appearance in the west end production of Lin-Manuel Miranda's multi-award winning musical behemoth "Hamilton", Leslie Odom Jr. is set to appear in a solo concert at the London Palladium, to be performed this autumn. Odom Jr originated the role of Aaron Burr on broadway, for which he won the Tony Award for best actor in a lead role back in 2016, and has also appeared in "RENT", "Jersey Boys", "Leap of Faith" and "Purlie Victorious" among a plethora of other stage appearances.

The solo concert will be performed at the Palladium on the 31st of October, originally slated just for an evening show, but with a second matinee performance added later. Tickets are still available for both the 2:30pm and 7:30pm performances, with the best availability being for the former performance. You can find out more, as well as book tickets, via the LW Theatres website.

INTO THE WOODS

Further casting revealed for upcoming west end transfer

Their wish has come true, as we can now confirm additional faces taking to the stage once again at the Noël Coward Theatre in the transfer of the recent Bridge Theatre production of James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim's musical "Into The Woods", to open this autumn. Joining the previously announced Kate Fleetwood reprising her role of The Witch, will be fellow returning cast members Valda Aviks as Grandmother/Giant, Geoffrey Aymer as Cinderella’s Father, Jo Foster as Jack, Jennifer Hepburn as Cinderella’s Stepmother / Alternate Witch, Hana Ichijo as Lucinda, Julie Jupp as Jack’s Mother, Gabrielle Lewis-Dodson as Florinda, and Gracie McGonigal as Little Red Riding Hood, with Jacob Fowler and Sophie Linder-Lee both also returning as Standbys.

The production originally played at the Bridge Theatre, where it ran from December 2025 until May 2026, and will begin performances at the Noël Coward Theatre on the 22nd of September, running until the 9th of January 2027, in a strictly limited season. You can find out more about the production, as well as book tickets for all performances, via the Delfont Mackintosh website.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Lead casting announced for UK tour, including original cast member

This is heavy man! We now know who will be leading the touring production of Bob Gale’s “Back To The Future: The Musical”, to commence performances this autumn in Bristol. Returning to the role he originated at the Manchester Opera House, and later in the west end and on broadway, is Roger Bart as Doctor Emmett L. Brown, a role for which he was nominated for a Tony Award back in 2024. Joining him as Marty McFly will be Axel Duffy, who originated the role in the Australian production, also alongside Bart.

The tour will commence at the Bristol Hippodrome on the 8th of October, then going on to perform in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Sunderland, Bradford, Southampton, Manchester, Plymouth and Cardiff, concluding in November 2027. You can find out more, as well as book tickets, via the production’s website and social pages, and further casting will be revealed at a later date.

HADESTOWN

UK premiere announced for professional film of musical

Following its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this week, it has been revealed that the professionally filmed performance of “Hadestown” will release this autumn, ahead of the planned UK tour. First opening at the Lyric Theatre in the west end in February 2024, the production welcomed back the five original stars of the show from both the National Theatre and Broadway runs in February/March 2025, with Reeve Carney as Orpheus, Andre De Shields as Hermes, Amber Gray as Persephone, Eva Noblezada as Eurydice, and Patrick Page as Hades (only for the filmed performances, the remainder of shows featured Phillip Boykin as Hades due to an injury to Page).

The show was filmed at the Lyric during the week commencing the 24th of February, with closed doors filming early in the week, and three shows open to audiences on the 1st and 2nd of March. After a long wait from fans, the film was premiered in the US yesterday, and will open in American cinemas on the 24th of July for one week only. It will then begin screening in UK cinemas in October of this year, several months before the tour kicks off. A trailer was also released earlier today, which can be viewed via the official Hadestown social pages.

STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW

Final extension and closure announced in London and New York

Final extensions have been announced for both the west end and Broadway productions of the Duffer Brothers' stage show “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”, with both runs set to close this coming winter. The show had its world premiere in November 2023 at the Phoenix Theatre in London, and later in August 2024 at the Marquis Theatre on broadway, winning 2 Oliviers and 4 Tony’s respectively across both runs, with particular acclaim reserved for the show's lighting, sound and special effects teams.

Based on the Netflix TV series written by the Duffers, recently having concluded its final season, the play will close in London on the 27th of December 2026, and in New York on the 3rd of January 2027, after a run of just over 3 years at the Phoenix, and around 2 and a half years at the Marquis. You can still book tickets for all remaining performances in both cities via ATG Tickets for the west end, and Telecharge for broadway.

THE PIANIST

Initial casting revealed for world premiere

The producers of the upcoming musical production of “The Pianist”, to premiere in Southampton prior to a London run, have this morning announced that the title role of Władysław Szpilman is to be played by Daniel Krikler (Redcliffe). The musical is based on the film of the same name, written by Roman Polanski and starring Adrien Brody (in a role that would win him an Oscar), which tells of renowned Polish pianist and composer Szpilman, and his experiences during the Second World War, including how he escaped capture from German forces in Warsaw following the capture of his family, who end up being sent to Treblinka.

The show is written by Thom Southerland, who is also set to direct, with musical direction by Malcolm Forbes-Peckham, and a creative team that includes set and video design by Andrzej Goulding, costume design by Jonathan Lipman, lighting design by Robbie Butler, and sound design by Gareth Tucker. It will run at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton from the 9th - 12th of September, after which it will open at the Park Theatre in London on the 15th of October, where it will play until the 28th of November, with a press night on the 22nd of October. You can find out more, as well as book tickets, via both the Mayflower website (Southampton) and that of the Park Theatre (London).

WEST END LIVE

Full lineup and schedule revealed for 2026 festival

The full lineup, including new acts added to the schedule, has been revealed for London’s free annual weekend festival of theatre, to be performed just over a week from now. Having been staged every year for the past two decades, “West End Live” has become a staple of the UK theatrical calendar, with fans able to experience the very best of the west end and beyond free of charge. The full lineup is available via the official West End Live website and social pages, where you can also fine information about accessibility.

This year’s festival, staged in collaboration between Westminster City Council and SOLT (Society of London Theatre) will take place, as ever, at Trafalgar Square, over the weekend of the 20th and 21st of June, and as this is a non-ticketed event, entry is on a first comme, first served basis, although there are 100 tickets on offer to lucky winners, giving them the chance to skip the queues. New acts to have been added last minute include those from "Kimberly Akimbo", "Shantify", "High Society" and "Little Shop of Horrors".

THE LOST BOYS

UK transfer announced, further details to follow

It has been revealed that, following a hugely successful awards season, during which it won 4 Tony Awards from 12 nominations (the most production show of the season), new Chris Hoch and David Hornsby musical “The Lost Boys”, with a score by The Rescues, is set to transfer across the Atlantic to open in the UK in the foreseeable future. No exact details have yet been confirmed, other than that producer Patrick Wilson plans on bringing the award-winning musical to British shores.

Telling the story of Lucy and teenage sons Michael and Sam, who move to California for a fresh start, not expecting to instead find something far darker and more sinister than they expected, “The Lost Boys” currently runs at the Palace Theatre in New York, in a production fronted by Shoshana Bean, Ali Louis Bourzgui and Benjamin Pajak. Keep your eyes peeled for further details…

OH, MARY!

Jinkx Monsoon to reprise her leading role in the west end

It has been announced by London producers of "Oh, Mary!" that, having previou

sly appeared in the show on broadway, Jinkx Monsoon is set to make her west end debut in the role of Mary Todd Lincoln, playing a limited engagement at London's Trafalgar Theatre later this summer. The role is currently being played by Catherine Tate, who departs the show on the 18th of July, following which the play's writer Cole Escola will step back into the role that they originated off-broadway and later at broadway's Lyceum Theatre, performing from the 20th of July until the 15th of August, before Monsoon begins her run on the 17th of August, performing for 6 weeks only, concluding her engagement on the 26th of September.

First opening in the west end in December 2025, "Oh, Mary!" has taken London by storm, winning the Olivier Award for best entertainment or comedy play, with Giles Terera also nominated for best supporting actor in a play. The show is currently booking until January 2027, with subsequent casting yet to be revealed, and you can book tickets for all performances via the ATG website.

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What was your favourite news story from the past week? Let me know in the comments, or via my Instagram page.