Theatre and musicals in Melbourne this week

Melburnians, this news is Big. Huge. Pretty Woman: The Musical is coming to town. The beloved Broadway and West End hit will land at the Regent Theatre from July. 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, joined by Michelle Brasier and Tim Omaji in key roles. There's wit, there's glamour and there's all the unforgettable lines you know and love. Expect a toe-tapping score, excellent choreography and, of course, a heartwarming rags-to-riches story.  Pretty Woman: The Musical promises a dazzling night out in the city that loves its musicals. You can grab your tickets here.  Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox. Want more? Discover the best of Melbourne theatre and musicals this month.

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. Since its breakout debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017, the show has become a global sensation thanks to its infectious songs, sharp wit and empowering message. It’s making a triumphant return to Australia, so get ready to say “Yasss Queen”. For more info and to secure your tickets, head to the website.  Read on for our five-star review of Six the Musical from 2024. *** Divorced, beheaded… live? This unconventional pop rock musical takes a dry historical topic and turns it into a rowdy 80-minute concert to rival the Spice Girls themselves. Everyone knows that King Henry VIII had not four, not five, but six wives – enough to require a mnemonic technique to keep track. History has reduced the legacies of these ladies to little more than singular words in a rhyme detailing their fearsome fates, but what if we carved out space to...

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 – where everyone knows everyone’s business and hairspray may as well replace oxygen – Steel Magnolias follows a tight-knit group of women as they navigate life’s trials and tribulations, from weddings and babies to heartbreak and loss. At the centre is Shelby, a young woman with diabetes determined to have a child despite the risks to her health, and her mother, M’Lynn. 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. Directed by Lee Lewis, expect a balance of humour and heartbreak, with a witty script that doesn't shy away from the tough stuff. The six-woman ensemble is led by Lisa McCune, alongside Belinda Giblin, Debra Lawrance, Mandy Bishop, Jessica Redmayne and Lotte Beckett – a powerhouse ensemble that will bring new life to a story that has endured for decades since the film was first released in 1989. Part of a national tour across Australia, the production arrives in Melbourne for a limited season at the Athenaeum Theatre from July 23 to August 9. To find out more...

The curse of the Kennedys hangs heavy over the sorry tale of Grey Gardens, the bittersweet and sour musical with a score by Scott Frankel, lyrics by Michael Korie and a book by Doug Wright.  The resplendent, 28-room mansion was once a jewel in the East Hampton crown, snapped up by Wall Street lawyer Phelan Beale in 1924. It stayed in the family for just over half a century, during which time its lustre would dull disastrously.  Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, the future First Lady herself destined for tragedy, would often stay there as a child with her little sister Caroline ‘Lee’, as guests of their musically inclined socialite aunt, Edith ‘Big Edie’ Ewing Bouvier Beale, Phelan’s wife. The girls were fast friends with Big Edie’s daughter, later dubbed ‘Little Edie’. The oft-absent Phelan sent word to Big Edie of their divorce by telegram shortly after the cessation of WWII, leaving her the house but very little means to maintain it. Little Edie left to pursue a showbusiness career in New York City but soon returned with her tail between her legs, her once-luscious hair lost to alopecia totalis.  Together they huddled, bickering in co-dependent disharmony as Grey Gardens gradually crumbled around them, filling up with festering rubbish as the water and heating failed, with the health department on the warpath alongside a cornucopia of cats, rats, raccoons, lice and fleas who promptly moved in. Yikes, this sounds like it’s too sad to handle?   Look, you will feel the feels...