Melbourne theatre and musicals in January

Decked in a blue Puma tracksuit top and floral-print baggy jeans, Angelique (Lucy Ansell) strikes a sure and steady figure in London playwright Emma Dennis-Edwards’ Scotsman Fringe First Award-winning play, Funeral Flowers. Exuding natural charm and abundant confidence, Angelique’s level-headed for a 17-year-old. There’s poetry to the way she talks and swagger to the way she walks. She’s focused on turning a course in floral arrangement into a small business career. But looks can be, if not deceiving, then certainly misleading in this Australian premiere of Dennis-Edwards’ dazzling show, produced by Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre and directed by the powerhouse Candy Bowers.

Melburnians, this news is Big. Huge. Pretty Woman: The Musical is coming to the Regent Theatre. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde, Hairspray), with music by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, this adaptation of the iconic Julia Roberts–Richard Gere romance brings Vivian Ward and Edward Lewis to life on stage. Aussie singer, songwriter and actress Samantha Jade will star as Vivian while Ben Hall (Neighbours, Better Man) will be Edward. There's wit, there's glamour and there's all the unforgettable lines you know and love. 

It’s a play considered to be one of the greatest of all time, and after a show-stopping run in 2023, Death of a Salesman – with award-winning stars Anthony LaPaglia and Alison Whyte reprising their roles – is returning to Melbourne once again. First performed in 1949, the Pulitzer Prize-winning production explores the promises and pitfalls of the American Dream. The two-act tragedy is told through a montage of memories, confrontations, arguments and dreams of protagonist Willy Loman who tries to navigate what it means to be successful in post-war America. Showing from August 11 to 22, Arthur Miller’s inimitable play will be staged at Her Majesty’s Theatre for a limited season that you don't want to miss. 

If you thought history class was boring, Six the Musical is here to change your mind. Created by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, this high-energy musical returns to Australia and will be at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from July 24. In this foot-tapping show, the six wives of King Henry VIII are reimagined as modern-day pop stars out to reclaim their stories. One by one, Catherine of Aragon (Sarah Murr), Anne Boleyn (Mia Paris Scalise), Jane Seymour (Cara Bessey), Anna of Cleves (Kadesa Honeyhill), Katherine Howard (Angela Brischetto) and Catherine Parr (Lorinda May Merrypor) take the mic, wowing you with their power ballads and rock anthems.

In a year when Melbourne Theatre Company has committed to programming mostly new works by local writers, this production of Uncle Vanya by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov bucks that trend a little bit – with a new adaptation by world-renowned Aussie writer, Joanna Murray-Smith. She has dedicated much of her career to analysing the frailties and blind spots of middle-class Australians and is perfectly suited to tackle this particular Chekhov adaptation – freely adding in the occasional f-word and making concrete the comedy in a play that focuses a lot on boredom.

They may look as delicate as flowers, but the women of Steel Magnolias are built to withstand far more than they let on. Arriving at the Athenaeum Theatre this July, a star-studded cast of Australian stage and screen favourites comes together for this new production of Robert Harling’s beloved play about friendship, resilience and life inside a small-town beauty salon. Set in Truvy’s Louisiana salon, it follows a tight-knit group of women as they navigate life’s trials and tribulations, from weddings and babies to heartbreak and loss. What unfolds is a razor-sharp comedy of friendship but also a devastatingly candid story about illness, sacrifice and the bonds that hold people together.