The biggest musicals to see in Australia this year

Did they really just say that?! I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard (while simultaneously feeling terrible about it) as I did watching The Book of Mormon. This horribly hilarious Tony, Olivier and Grammy award-winning production last toured Australia in 2015, where it broke the record for the highest-selling on-sale period of any production in Melbourne’s Princess Theatre’s 159-year history. Now it’s back to tell the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a small village in Uganda. While the plot centres on Mormonism, the creators (also behind South Park) call it an “atheist’s love letter to religion” – a wink and a jab at organised faith more broadly. You need not be a musical theatre nut, but you need to be cool with explicit language, challenging themes and “did they really just say that?” humour.

Touring dates: Sydney from July 2025, Melbourne from February 2026, Brisbane from July 2026

Tomorrow couldn’t come faster – or more like 2025 – when Annie is set to make its grand return to Australia. Based on the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, first published in 1924, this family-friendly musical has gone on to become one of the most awarded and loved productions of all time. Bet your bottom dollar that there'll be sun when the musical brightens up the stage of Sydney’s Capitol Theatre in March 2025, marking its first return to Australia since 2012.

Touring dates: Melbourne from July 2025, Brisbane from December 2025

It's been seen by more than a million people on Broadway and many more on the West End, and now the Tony Award-winning MJ the Musical has landed in Australia for the first time. Centred around the making of his 1992 Dangerous World Tour, MJ the Musical features more than 25 of Michael Jackson’s biggest pop hits set to show-stopping dance numbers – including ‘Beat It’, ‘Smooth Criminal’, ‘Man In The Mirror’ and ‘Thriller’. Off the back of his critically acclaimed turn in the US National Tour of MJ, American actor Roman Banks is leading a stacked cast of local and international performers.

Touring dates: Melbourne from September 2025, Perth from June 2026

Rawr! Four decades since its Aussie debut, the British “mega-musical” Cats is headed back home for its 40th anniversary. This iconic, feline-focused musical is based on T.S. Eliot's poem collection Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and first premiered in London in 1981, where it ran for a record-breaking 21 years with almost 9,000 performances. Featuring timeless tunes (including hit song ‘Memory’), spectacular sets and captivating costumes, this musical is sure to be a claw-some night out for the young and old. 

Touring dates: Melbourne from December 2025, Brisbane from February 2026

It’s time to slip on your self-lacing sneakers and grab your hoverboard – because the Sydney Lyric Theatre is set to host the Australian premiere of Back to the Future: The Musical in September 2025. Based on the blockbuster movie from 1985, the story follows the adventures of high school student Marty McFly and the eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown as they time travel to different periods in history and Marty faces the critical paradoxical question of “Wait, am I my own grandfather!?” While the critical reception for Back to the Future's theatrical spin has been mixed, you can’t argue with its popularity – it's been seen by nearly 3 million people worldwide to date. It also broke box office records for London’s Adelphi Theatre when it opened, and the West End production is now in its fourth year – with an extended season now running through to mid-2025.

Touring dates: Sydney from September 2025 

Since its debut on Broadway in 2018, Pretty Woman: The Musical has broken box office records and captivated audiences in London’s West End. Now, Pretty Woman: The Musical is heading our way, with its Australian premiere set to open in Brisbane in 2025. Based on one of Hollywood’s most beloved rom-coms, the 1990 blockbuster Pretty Woman starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, this musical adaptation tells the iconic tale of a chance meeting between Edward (a ruthless businessman) and Vivian (a free-spirited escort) in a whole new way. It's going to be big. And we mean BIG! HUGE! 

Touring dates: Sydney from November 2025

A lavish musical for the whole family with opulent settings and dazzling costumes, Anastasia will premiere Down Under in 2025. This rave-reviewed musical is inspired by the beloved 1997 animated feature from 20th Century Fox and, of course, the mysterious tale of Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov’s rumoured escape in the dawning days of the Russian Revolution. It will open once upon a December at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre in 2025, before touring to Perth’s Crown Theatre in March 2026, and will finally land at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre in April 2026.

Touring dates: Melbourne from December 2025, Perth from March 2026, Sydney from April 2026 

Following its sold-out 2024 premiere, Melbourne Theatre Company's rip-roaring musical adaptation of My Brilliant Career is hitting the road with a 2026 Australian tour. This incredible production takes one of the best-known early Australian novels – Miles Franklin’s 1901 classic – and twists it into a musical for a new generation. Set in 1890s drought-stricken rural Australia, it follows Sybylla Melvyn’s dreams of an illustrious life as a writer, as she’s stifled by Edwardian mores. Six star Kala Gare will reprise her role as Sybylla, with much of the original ensemble of actor-musicians also coming back. Expect fantastic numbers that run the gamut from Six-like power pop to beer-soaked country pub rock and on to torch songs, including ‘Someone Like Me’ and ‘In the Wrong Key’.

Touring dates: Melbourne from January 2026, Canberra in early March 2026, Sydney from late March 2026, Wollongong from May 2026

Among the spectacular outdoor events staged for Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, The Phantom of the Opera is perhaps the most ambitious and extravagant. Its 2022 premiere was record-breaking, making it the highest-grossing production in the event's decade-long history. Four years later, the tragic tale of the beautiful young singer returns for an exclusive 40th anniversary season, directed by Australia’s master of musical theatre, Simon Phillips. With the Sydney Opera House as a backdrop, an enormous floating stage, an exceptional live orchestra, audacious costumes and nightly fireworks, it’s set to be one of the biggest Aussie productions of 2026.

Touring dates: Sydney from March 2026

We’re already having a huge year for musicals in Australia – but now, the world’s #1 musical is heading back Down Under, with Disney Theatrical Group announcing that an all-new Australian staging of Disney’s The Lion King will premiere in Sydney from April 2026. Approaching 30 landmark years on Broadway, The Lion King has been seen by over 112 million people worldwide, and continues to ascend as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. It has been more than a decade since The Lion King’s last Australian tour – and this epic show has captivated nearly 4 million audience members during its two previous tours Down Under.

Touring dates: Sydney from April 2026

It’s time to get schooled! Following record-breaking runs in London and New York, Heathers: The Musical is making its professional Australian debut in 2026. In case you’re unfamiliar with the 1989 cult classic movie starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, the story follows teen misfit Veronica as she attempts to right the wrongs of a trio of high school queen bees, all named Heather. When mysterious teen rebel J.D. arrives, Veronica soon learns it might kill to be a nobody… but it’s murder being a somebody. The high-school-is-hell comedy rock musical is touring six Aussie cities in 2026, with tickets on sale now.

Touring dates: Melbourne from April 2026, Adelaide from July 2026, Gold Coast from late July 2026, Canberra from August 2026, Sydney from September 2026, Perth from October 2026

Something sweet is coming to Australia… and it’s not a new dessert pop-up. Broadway smash-hit musical Waitress is making its national debut in 2026, blending sweetness, sass and soulful songs – including iconic hit "She Used to be Mine' – in one heartwarming show. Based on the late Adrienne Shelly’s cult 2007 indie flick, the musical follows Jenna, a small-town waitress and seasoned pie maker who dreams of escaping her rocky marriage and starting fresh. When a baking contest and an unexpected new romance give her a taste of change, Jenna discovers that the secret ingredient to happiness might be closer than she thought. Waitress will debut at Sydney Lyric Theatre in July 2026, and we have our fingers crossed that they'll announce more Aussie locations soon.

Touring dates: Melbourne from May 2026, Sydney from August 2026

Brisbane, it’s time to get spooky! Earlier this year, Melbourne scored the Australian premiere of Beetlejuice the Musical – and now, the eight-time Tony Award-nominated show is returning to Australia in 2026 for a season at Brisbane’s QPAC. The unnerving, green-haired and striped-suit-wearing ghost that featured in the nightmares of '90s kids has been transported from screen to stage in the critically acclaimed musical version with a serious cult following. Let's get spooky!

Touring dates: Brisbane from June 2026

What if the Spice Girls did a concept album about King Henry VIII’s wives and Baz Luhrmann directed the concert video? That, in a nutshell, is Six’s vibe: an up-tempo, empowering, all-singing, all-dancing account of the lives of the six key ladies in the Tudor monarch’s orbit. In mid-2026, the smash-hit musical will make its royal return to Australia, just over a year after its last tour wrapped up in May 2025 – a sure sign of how good it is!

Touring dates: Melbourne from July 2026, Sydney from October 2026, Brisbane from February 2027