West End Does: Country - - West End Articles Page 3

Looking back over 2025, it appears I sat in a dark room and wrote barely legible thoughts into a notebook on about 150-odd occasions. By the grace of God and the BroadwayWorld UK editor, I saw a real smörgåsbord of delights, everything from highly anticipated West End theatre to opera, dance, circus, cabaret, comedy and immersive theatre.

In January of 2026, 54 Below will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond, including Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, Matthew Morrison and many more. 

The idea of the concept album took flight at the same time as the idea of the rock musical. A concept album introduces audiences to the score of a musical by deliberately releasing an album of the songs before any live production exists at all. The concept album ostensibly stands on its own terms.

The Fountain Theatre will present four relevant, urgent, thought-provoking plays and a host of satellite events that will comprise the company’s 2026 “Season 35: Revolutions and Revelations.”

BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO opened at the Young Vic this week, and runs through January 31 — here is what critics thought of the production in the United Kingdom.

Rollerskates, Elaine Page, ducks, puppets, corpses, puppet corpses, and a DJing Andrew Lloyd Webber. Evita Too is worlds away from the Jamie Lloyd hit that swept London this summer, but it has just as much to say, if not more.

The razor-sharp wit of Cole Porter will return to the Barbican next summer in a new production of Porter’s musical masterpiece HIGH SOCIETY. Learn more here!

If you only see one circus show this year, you should try and get out more but Sophie's Surprise Party at Underbelly Boulevard is an excellent choice for people who don't mind having their jaws occasionally scrape the ground.

Based on the original Hunger Games story, this gripping tale of courage, defiance and unbreakable human spirit, follows the fearless heroine Katniss Everdeen on her journey of self-discovery, as she emerges as a beacon of rebellion and hope. Multi award-winning playwright Conor McPherson (Girl from the North Country, The Weir) and Director Matthew Dunster (2:22 – A Ghost Story, Hangmen, The Pillowman), will bring this powerful story to life on stage, using extraordinary stunts and illusions in an epic, unforgettable, theatrical experience.

Mandy Patinkin, accompanied by Adam Ben-David on piano, will bring his newest theatre concert Mandy Patinkin in Concert: JUKEBOX, to Westport Country Playhouse for one performance only.

Next week, 54 BELOW will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond, including David Yazbek, Mary Porter, Maggie Solimine and more.

As he wraps his freshman year as a cabaret performer, Macon Prickett reflects on the path that brought him to the nightclub stage, the terror of that first time, and the rewards that being a cabaret professional yields.

August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone introduces us to a group of men and women teetering on the brink as they search for lost family, identity, and purpose in the aftermath of slavery. I decided to speak with the play’s director Gregg T. Daniel about his production opening October 18 at A Noise Within in Pasadena.

The annual Fall Festival presented by the Ashland New Plays Festival is just around the corner. Learn more about the festival and see how to purchase tickets here!

The remastered and revised album celebrating the Golden Age of Broadway comes out on 10/3, with a 10/6 album release concert at Birdland Jazz Club. We spoke to Harnar about the new album and show.

The benefit of a stage production means it will always be malleable to change, always willing to look at how a story written in the past can still be relevant in the present, and remain timeless for the future. What follows in this new production of The Wiz is a recontextualization of our favorite characters. While the structure of the story is faithful to the Baum novel and MGM film, it comes with small, but noticeable details that reframe this familiar story not just as a fantastical quest, but as a bildungsroman and revenge tale at the same time.

Following a sold-out performance last year, CHRISTMAS BY CANDLELIGHT, a magical evening of beloved festive songs performed by candlelight, will return to the Adelphi Theatre.

In October of 2025, 54 BELOW will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond, including Joy Woods, Adrienne Warren and more. Learn more!

A Chorus Line, featuring music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and book by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, first opened in 1975 under the direction of Michael Bennett with co-choreographer Bob Avian.

Shakespeare Theatre Company is currently presenting Merry Wives, and we spoke to Jacob Ming-Trent about the production. The first show of STC’s forthcoming 40th Anniversary Season, Merry Wives is adapted by Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Taylor Reynolds (Studio Theatre’s Fat Ham). Merry Wives plays STC’s Harman Hall through October 5.

BroadwayWorld chats with pioneering lesbian playwright and performer Terry Baum about her latest show 'Lesbo Solo: My Gay History Play' running at The Marsh Berkeley through October 12th. Her hilarious and deeply moving piece won 'Best of Fringe' at the San Francisco Fringe Festival.

Penn & Teller, the undisputed masters of modern magic are celebrating their Penn & Teller, the undisputed masters of modern magic are celebrating their incredible 50th Anniversary. Taking place at The London Palladium from Saturday 13 September 2025, the 11-date residency will mark the duo’s first ever West End run of a show. Renowned for their jaw-dropping performances, a joyous exploration of magic and comedy, Penn & Teller first performed together on 19 August 1975 and are now arguably the world’s most famous magicians.

Details have been announced for the weekly post-show conversations taking place on Tuesdays throughout the West End run of the critically-acclaimed Nottingham Playhouse production of Punch. 

It is bad for the state if Broadway falters. Broadway will falter if investment dries up. It is as simple as that. (I’m not sure how the “backfill” idea is in keeping with the idea that the credit is designed to stimulate investment, as that investment will have already occurred, but I also see the argument that folks who decided to invest in shows opening later in the fall were expecting the credit, and they may not invest in the future if they feel they were shafted this go round.)

Recently, we had the chance to chat with Danny Bayne, who is playing Basil Fawlty. We discussed what it was like growing up as a fan of comedies like Fawlty Towers, what he’s looking forward to on tour and why he thinks it’s important that the cast on stage aren’t simply doing impressions of their screen predecessors.