Broadway To London: 12 musicals we want to see transfer in 2019

Broadway Hits We Want To See Transfer To The West End in 2019

You might think the West End is awash with Broadway shows, but unfortunately we only see a fraction of top Broadway and off-Broadway productions, and even then we might have to wait years (it took Dreamgirls 35 years) for the show to transfer to London.

With the recent announcemnt that Kinky Boots, Dreamgirls, Young Frankenstein and Chicago will close at the end of their booking periods, there appears to be plenty of change in London’s theatre-land.

Here’s a list of 12 Broadway musicals we’d like to see transfer in 2019.

1. Dear Evan Hansen

Broadway hit play Dear Evan Hansen in London

A captivating new and original musical that swept the 2017 Tony Awards, winning six of its nine nominations including Best Musical, Best Actor and Best Score.

Dear Evan Hansen is about a lonely teenager who inadvertently becomes a social media sensation despite his popularity being founded on a web of lies.  With a score from La La Land’s Benj Pasek and Justin Paul you’ll come out humming more than one great song.

Dear Evan Hansen Producer Stacey Mindich outlined her plans for the London run to the Daily Mail earlier this year, so we’re tipping this show to open at the Adelphi Theatre following Kinky Boots departure in January 2019 or the Noel Coward Theatre.  Book tickets to DEAR EVAN HANSEN London

 

2. Waitress Waitress

Nominated for 4 Tony Awards including Best Musical, this feel-good Broadway musical is based on the hit 2007 indie film Waitress. With the smell of baked pies wafting into the audience and and tunes from American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles in your ear Waitress will leave you with a warm glow.

UPDATE: 24 September 2018. Waitress will begin pre-view performances on 8 February 2019 ahead of its official opening night on 7 March 2019 at the Adelphi Theatre, London. Book tickets to Waitress

 

3. Mean Girls The Musical

image of Mean Girls The Musical, Broadway
Mean Girls The Musical

Tina Fey’s highly anticipated musical adaptation of the hit teen film opened to glowing reviews at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway, picking up 12 Tony Award nominations in the process. Like West End hit Everybody’s Talking About Jamie the show has themes of anti-bully, female empowerment and self acceptance combined with a catchy score and ferociously funny book. Find out more info on Mean Girls The Musical

4. My Fair Lady

Harry Hadden-Paton & Lauren Ambrose in My Fair Lady
Harry Hadden-Paton & Lauren Ambrose in My Fair Lady

Do we need another My Fair Lady? With 10 Tony nominations, Bartlett Sher’s (The King and I) revival of a classic Golden Age musical includes a stellar cast led by Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), Harry Hadden-Paton (Downton Abbey), Norbert Leo Butz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones). We can’t wait!

Inspiredby George Bernard Shaw’s version of the Pygmalion story Sher drew from the 1938 movie starring Wendy Hiller and Leslie Howard more than any other iteration of the story. My Fair Lady tell’s the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady.” But who is really being transformed?

5. Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

natasha pierre & the great comet of 1812
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

‘A musical cannonball unlike anything else on Broadway’ so says The Guardian.  With 12 Tony nominations including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Actor and Best Actress – Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 is definitely worthy of a West End transfer.

Based on 70 pages of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Dave Malloy’s sung-through musical focuses on Natasha’s affair with Anatole and Pierre’s search for meaning in his life.

Described as an ‘electro-pop opera’ Malloy’s score combines Russian folk and classical music with indie rock and EDM influences.

6. Hello, Dolly!

Hello, Dolly! with Bette Midler
Hello, Dolly! with Bette Midler

Bette Midler is undoubtedly the star attraction in this energetic revival of Jerry Herman’s 1964 musical comedy.

Jerry Herman’s score abounds with catchy songs (Put on Your Sunday Clothes; It Only Takes a Moment; and Hello, Dolly!) and Warren Carlyle’s choreography combined with Santo Loquasto’s set and comstume is a feast for the eyes.

But it’s always about The Divine Miss M, and her Tony Award winning performance as meddlesome mathcmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi in this old school musical is captivating. More info on Hello, Dolly!

7. Groundhog Day The Musical

Andy Karl in Groundhog Day The Musical
Groundhog Day The Musical

Technically not a Broadway transfer as it had a limited run at the Old Vic in 2016, but following its short Broadway run it’s time to bring this hit musical comedy from Matthew Warchus and Tim Minchin, the creative team behind Matilda The Musical, back for a full West End season.

Based on the hit 1993 film starring Billy Murray, Groundhog Day is the story of a cynical TV weatherman who is sent to cover the annual Groundhog Day event in an isolated small town of America. When he suddenly finds himself caught in a time loop, he’s forced to repeat the same day again and again…and again. More info on Groundhog Day The Musical

8. Fun Home

Fun Home, London

Winner of five 2015 Tony Awards including Best Musical Fun Home will have its London premiere off-West End at the Young Vic Theatre. Based on Alison Bechdel’s best-selling graphic memoir, Fun Home is a refreshingly honest musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes, a blazingly original heartbreaker and a non-stop treasure of invention. Expect a West End transfer!

9. Frozen

Disney's Frozen
Disney’s Frozen

From the beloved 2013 Academy Award-winning Disney film, this is the timeless tale of two sisters pulled apart by a mysterious secret. Both are searching for love. They just don’t know where to find it. While the beloved songs from the movie—including the Oscar-winning “Let It Go”—are included in the musical, audiences can expect new songs and elements not seen on screen, including the “hidden folk,” inspired by Scandinavian folklore.

It’s likely that Disney will wait for a large scale theatre to become available like The Palladium or the Prince Edward Theatre (home to Aladdin). The Theatre Royal Drury Lane would be a good fit but is scheduled for an 18 month multi-million pound refurb beginning in 2019 at the earliest. We might just have to wait till 2020!

More info and tickets for Frozen The Musical

Update: Disney’s Frozen to re-open the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 2020.
 

10. Summer – The Donna Summer Musical

Summer - The Donna Summer Musical

Who doesn’t like disco? This vibrant musical charts the incomparable life of Donna Summer —the undisputed Queen of Disco. Features more than 20 of Summer’s classic hits and electric dancing, all in tribute to the voice of a generation. It’s typical juke-box fare but audiences have been flocking to the show with the hit musical playing to 92 percent capacity and grossing over $1 million in a week. Expect a party time when this disco queen transfers.

More info on Summer: The Donna Summer Musical

 
11. Pretty Woman The Musical

Pretty Woman - The Musical, London

Not quite open on Broadway, but the musical adaptation of the Julie Robert’s and Richard Gere classic would be a welcome West End treat. Pretty Woman reinvented a genre, swept the world off its feet, and made millions believe in happily ever after. Helmed by Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, Hairspray) the musical has a score by Bryan Adams and his longtime songwriting partner Jim Vallance, with a book by Garry Marshall and the film’s screenwriter J.F. Lawton.

More info on Pretty Woman The Musical

12. Come From Away

Come From Far Away, London

Broadway’s Tony Award winning musical Come From Away hasn’t officially announced a West End transfer however it has been widely tipped on social media the show will transfer to Phoenix Theatre in 2019.

A New York Times Critics’ Pick, Come From Away is the inspiring true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them following the American terrorist attack in New York on 9/11.

More info and tickets for Come From Away


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