Another Closing, Another Show... what comes next?
My thoughts on recently announced show closures and their potential replacements, as well as reviews of Once on This Island in Concert, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, and more.
OHMYGOD HEY!
Welcome back to my weekly collation of the various reviews, opinion pieces and theatre news updates I’ve shared across multiple social media platforms.
This week, when I haven’t been at the theatre, I’ve been talking about its turnover, as major musical productions have announced their Summer closing dates on either side of the Atlantic. Both Broadway’s Moulin Rouge! The Musical and the West End’s Hercules will conclude their runs this year, inviting speculation as to the next resident of each of their theatres. In New York, the Al Hirschfeld Theatre will greet its first new opening in the better part of a decade, while London’s vast Theatre Royal, Drury Lane seems set for The Greatest Showman - unless rumours about its stateside priority are to be believed.
Meanwhile, the performances I attended this week were linked by melancholy, as even the more bittersweet fare such as The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, or Shadowlands proved tear-jerking. Far heavier though was a return visit to a gala night performance welcoming the new cast of Cabaret and the opening night of Pulitzer Prize finalist, Here There Are Blueberries at Stratford East. In frightening times, there’s much to consider about how we depict the all-too-easy descent into fascism onstage, but ultimately the most important thing seems to be that, in spite of everything, we do.
In considerably lighter news, you can enjoy a split second cameo appearance from the vocal tones of yours truly in the latest brilliant theatre documentary from Wait in The Wings, concerning the real life Annie Oakley (of gun-getting fame). I’ll take no notes at this time on my performance.
This Week’s Videos
Why is MOULIN ROUGE! closing? The reason why the musical is ending its Broadway run after 7 years…
A few days ago, it was announced that Moulin Rouge! The Musical would close on Broadway after 7 years at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
The stage musical, based on the Baz Luhrmann film of the same name, opened in July 2019 and earned multiple Tony Awards, before giving way to multiple international productions and a US national Tour.
Is this a surprising announcement for Broadway, and does it tell us anything about the current theatrical landscape in New York? Or is this simply an example of a successful show reaching a natural end?
Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Is HERCULES closing for THE GREATEST SHOWMAN... or not? What's going on with the Disney musicals…
Less than a year after it arrived in the West End, it has been announced that Disney's Hercules will conclude its run in London.
This perhaps surprising news has invited speculation as to why the popular show is ending so soon, and which show might be next at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane?
Is this the soon to be announced West End home of The Greatest Showman, or is Broadway going to be that musical's next destination after its Bristol world premiere?
Check out my thoughts in this theatre news recap...
Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
This Week’s Reviews
All Is But Fantasy at The Other Place, RSC, Stratford-Upon-Avon
8★ Review available on YouTube / Spotify / Apple Podcasts
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at Theatre Royal Haymarket, West End, London
★★★★★ Review available on YouTube / Spotify / Apple Podcasts
Arcadia at The Old Vic Theatre, London
★★★★★ Review available on YouTube / Spotify / Apple Podcasts
Once on This Island in Concert at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, West End, London
Review available on YouTube / Instagram / TikTok
Così fan tutte at London Coliseum, West End, London
Review available on YouTube / Instagram / TikTok
A week of musicals, plays, & opera!
This week, we had a varied lineup of shows including new plays, revivals, cabaret, concerts, musicals and opera.
We saw The Devil Wears Prada, All Is But Fantasy at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Arcadia, Once on This Island, Così fan tutte at the English National Opera, and more.
Check out this brand new vlog to find out what a week in our lives looks like!
What’s coming up this week?
One of the current West End season’s most auspicious openings is also among its last as Dracula starring Cynthia Erivo officially opens at the Noël Coward Theatre just before the deadline for Olivier Awards eligibility. I dare say that this production, which has already prompted some conversation in previews (more from me on that imminently) will continue to provoke chatter.
Stay tuned for my review of that as well as my thoughts on some of last week’s plays and, before too long, the commencement of the theatrical awards season for 2026 and my earliest predictions…
Until next week, I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey… week! - Mickey-Jo