Silence! The Musical - - West End Articles Page 12

Part romance novel, part heartbreak story of the ravages of Alzheimer's, Nicholas Sparks' novel THE NOTEBOOK is now a Broadway musical. No, not of  the glitzy  singing and dancing stage spectacular variety, but moreso a stage drama with music. The excellent National Touring production opened at Shea's last night, and even the most stoic of souls would be hard pressed not to feel one or more of the complex emotions that the cast works so hard to convey

On Monday evening October 6, more than five dozen theatres, professional and academic, around the US performed Enough! Plays to End Gun Violence, a half-dozen short plays selected from a semi-annual national competition among high school student writers to explore the theme in its title. However, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a fully rehearsed performance originating within the East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools system was silent, canceled at the last minute for indeterminate reasons.

How does a regional theater, limited by its stage, capture the scale of the “ship of dreams”—a floating city of steel—while simultaneously honoring the desperate intimacy of the 1,517 souls who perished? 

Anaheim, California's Chance Theater announces the productions for its 2026 season, including award-winning musicals, urgent new plays, and stories that resonate.

This year's theme centers on the joy and beauty of gathering together while celebrating the tradition and future of Black American music—especially urgent during a time when external forces threaten to erase Black culture and history.

Rockwell’s Proscenium Theater makes its grand debut, heralding not just a new stage but a hub for immersive, unforgettable theatrical experiences in the heart of Metro Manila.

This October, the Center for Performing Arts at Governors State University will continue its 30th Anniversary Legacy Season with Saturday afternoon matinees that celebrate local artistry and cultural storytelling.

Andrea Bocelli – The Celebration: 30th Anniversary, a new tribute to internationally acclaimed tenor Andrea Bocelli, will be released on November 14. The special features numerous guest stars, including Ed Sheeran, Shania Twain, Russell Crowe, David Foster and Katherine McPhee.

Presented by GMG Productions, this landmark staging of the Tony Award-winning phenomenon, 'Dear Evan Hansen,' introduces the show to local audiences and marks the Asia premiere of the acclaimed UK touring production.

Perhaps no one is more surprised Steve Hackett is doing a retrospective on THE LAMB 50 years after the fact than the guitarist himself. THE LAMB was ranked in the top ten of Rolling Stone magazine’s top 50 progressive rock albums of all time. The BBC called it a “conceptual masterpiece.” Hackett has another word for it: an anomaly.

The National Tour of THE NOTEBOOK is now underway! The tour launched on September 6, 2025, at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, OH. Read the reviews here!

Here's my interview with Victoria Lavan, Creator/Director/Producer about THE AGE OF AQUARIUS ’67 TO ’72 concert event filled with music was beautiful, fun, happy and cool, when singers sang from their souls and instrumentalists played like it was their last song. 

Since transforming the Playhouse Theatre in 2021, Cabaret has been the toast of London, with thousands of audience members flocking to the revival of Kander and Ebb’s iconic work. Recently, we had the chance to speak with Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada, who will be taking over the role of Emcee Sally Bowles, respectively. We discussed what it is like to be returning to London together, and even what they both hope audiences take away from this production of Cabaret.

On 4–7 September 2025, EKI Dance Company returned to the stage with Perempuan Punya Cerita, performed at Gelora Bakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki.

Papatango and Park Theatre have announced full casting for the world première of 2024 Papatango New Writing Prize winner Hannah Doran's The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights.

Following the cancellation of its Kennedy Center-produced tour, the children's musical Finn will be presented at NAMT's 37th Annual Festival of New Musicals. Learn more here!

Charles Kirsch is the 17-year-old host of the theater podcast Backstage Babble, where he has conducted over 250 in-depth interviews with some of Broadway’s best. In “Stage Direction,” he will be using material from the podcast and additional interviews to chronicle the career and impact of some of the most influential theater directors. 

Oceanside Theatre Company’s “Spring Awakening” directed by Gerilyn Brault with musical direction and choreography by E.Y. Washington, doesn’t tiptoe around the messiness of adolescence: repressed sexuality, parental silence, mental health struggles, and the devastating cost of ignorance. It runs through September 14th at the Sunshine Brooks Theater in Oceanside.

Some musicals want to sweep you away. Next to Normal wants to hold you still and make you feel. It doesn’t rely on spectacle or offer neat resolutions—it digs into grief, love, and mental illness with raw honesty, and still leaves room for hope. That’s why this Pulitzer- and Tony-winning rock musical still matters today: it proves that the stage can be both unflinching and deeply human. I’m very pleased that the newly founded Nye Hjorten Teater dares to bring this complex piece of art to the stage as their first big musical, rather than choosing something safer like Mamma Mia!. It’s a gamble that deserves to be experienced.

International City Theatre has revealed a 2026 season of five plays that reflect our capacity to overcome adversity. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.

Playhouse on Park has announced its 2025-26 Season. Subscription renewals for current subscribers and new subscriber subscriptions are on sale now; individual tickets go on sale Monday, August 25th.

At its heart, Sister Act: The Musical is a celebration of sisterhood and the unexpected bonds formed in the most unlikely places. While Deloris Van Cartier begins her journey chasing fame, her time with the nuns reveals a deeper calling: not spiritual in the traditional sense, but rooted in connection, community, and self-worth.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has revealed its 25/26 season of programming, running September 2025 through May 2026. See full programming here!

“Do, or do not. There is no try.” On this occasion, the National Youth Orchestra chose to ‘do’, as they took on some of the most iconic orchestral music of the 20th century. The teenage ensemble were very keen to perform Gustav Holst’s Planets, and so it was quite natural that a suite of music from the Star Wars films should follow; the first performance at the Proms of Caroline Shaw’s The Observatory was chosen as a natural bridge between the two. This was kimono-clad conductor Dalia Stasevska’s first time working with the National Youth Orchestra - her natural enthusiasm proved a great match for their youthful exuberance.

Rising stage and screen star Georgina Hopson (Titanique, The Phantom of the Opera) will lead the cast of ANASTASIA when the Tony Award-nominated musical makes its Australian premiere at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre in December 2025.