Song and Dance - 1985 - Broadway Articles Page 1

Friendship is nearly always a side element in musicals. From the comic sidekick of the leading character to the backup pals who provide background vocals, friends are part of the fabric of many shows—but rarely are they the main event. 

Parsons Dance wowed the opening night audience at The Joyce Theater’s Tino & Rajika Puri Auditorium on Wednesday 4/29.

Reviews are rolling in for the Broadway production of Beaches, a new musical based on the classic film, celebrating the power of female friendship. Did critics have a day at the beach at Beaches? Find out in our review roundup! 

On Friday, April 17th, I had the pleasure of seeing a phenomenal show at the Warner (specifically the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre) in Torrington, CT, THE WEDDING SINGER, based on the 1998 movie that is set in 1985. The book for this stage adaptation of the film written by Chris Herlihy is written by Chad Beguelin and Chris Herlihy, with music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Chad Beguelin. Director and choreographer Travis Kendrick-Castanho combines his strong directing talents with those of the associate Emily Rafala and the musical director Nate McCuin to help bring out the best in this first-rate cast! Without exception, every lead and ensemble cast member absolutely excels in his or her role or roles!

The San Francisco Symphony has revealed details of the Orchestra’s 115th season. The 2026–27 season features 26 guest conductors, including five making their Orchestral Series debuts, alongside a lineup of returning and debuting guest artists.

No matter how much time passes, there seems to be no end to the trend of turning movies into musicals. I’m honestly getting a little sick of it, but a few gems have managed to peek through the cracks.

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre will present a special centennial season featuring a lineup of classic and contemporary shows, marking a century of theatrical excellence.

Adams Theater's 2026 season will feature a range of events from April to October, including performances by Omar Román de Jesús and Regie Gibson.

Hennepin Arts has announced the 2026-2027 Broadway on Hennepin series, bringing 12 Broadway shows to Minneapolis for 14 weeks including Tony Award Best Musical winners The Outsiders, Maybe Happy Ending and Hamilton

MPAC will present a diverse lineup in March 2026, featuring performances by RIVERDANCE, Lyle Lovett, and The High Kings. The events promise a mix of dance, country music, and Irish folk tunes.

While much of the dramatic weight of Angels in America undeniably stems from the specter of AIDS, it would do the play a huge disservice to reduce it to a story about disease alone. What Theater West End makes clear is that Kushner’s work is as much about identity, loss, and the human struggle to reconcile who we are deep down with who we present to the world.

Tony Award winner and original Dreamgirls star Jennifer Holliday brought the house down at 54 Below with a powerful performance of “I Am Changing,” the signature anthem she made famous on Broadway.

Directed by Michael Longhurst and starring Sheridan Smith as Susan and Romesh Ranganathan as Dr Bill, the show is now open at the Duke of York's Theatre. What did the critics think?

Cher, Paul Simon, Whitney Houston, and more will be honored during the Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards Ceremony on Jan. 31, 2026. The event will celebrate the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustee Award and Technical Grammy Award recipients at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. 

New Jersey Performing Arts Center will present an evening with three-time award-winning actress, singer, and Broadway icon Bernadette Peters. The performance will take place on Sunday, May 31, at 7:00 p.m..

Next week, 54 Below will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond, including Melissa Errico, Sondheim Unplugged: The Final Season and more. 

Just missing 'Back to the Future Day' on 21 October (the date Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel to in the sequel), the iconic film Back to the Future film is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. A re-release is coming to cinemas at the end of this month and the stage version keeps on growing, showing the public appetite for this beloved film shows no signs of slowing down.

The boy the world fell in love with on American Idol is a man, now, and he is standing tall and in the light... but he is also making the light, as evidenced in his EARTHLY DELIGHTS TOUR.

Japan Society will present the world premiere of The Seven Bridges(Hashi-zukushi), a vibrant new work for all ages from the Tokyo-based dance company CHAiroiPLIN with choreography by company founder Takuro Suzuki.

Jennifer Lopez is making her movie musical debut in the new film version of Kiss of the Spider Woman. Since childhood, the superstar has loved musical theater and recalled some of her early Broadway memories during a recent visit to Live with Kelly and Mark. Check out the interview now.

Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale’s time travelling movie is given a musical theatre makeover with BACK TO THE FUTURE THE MUSICAL.

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.

Back to the Future The Musical has been bringing audiences on a time-travelling adventure on the West End for four years, adapting the iconic 1985 film by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale for the stage. Recently, we had the chance to chat with Oliver Halford, who was cast as the alternate Marty McFly after an open casting call. We discussed what the casting process was like, how this role in particular is full-circle for him and how he survived an absolutely chaotic opening week!

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. 

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Back to the Future, the 1985 film, which inspired the Broadway musical, is returning to theaters nationwide this October.