Musical Theatre Reviews Adelaide

★★★★★ A man stands before the red velvet curtain. Not the narrator, but Artistic Director Dane Lam himself. Presenting with casual charm, Lam offers three things to celebrate: last night marked the premiere of one of five new productions created…

★★★★★ Fog drifts between towering pine trees on a circular green stage. Sunlight falls from the left. Then the platform begins to rotate, as though the world itself has started turning, and Jonathon Oxlade’s set delivers its first surprise: a…

★★★★★ In a musical about deposed and murdered royalty, Australian theatre supplies two living queens. Rhonda Burchmore and Nancye Hayes finally enter the same story in the second act, and Anastasia rises with them. Like the best fairy tales, their…

★★★★☆ A guitarist stands in silhouette against a blood-red backdrop. Mark Lanigan-O’Keefe attacks Andrew Lloyd Webber’s opening riff, his shadow thrown across the stage as though Jimmy Page has wandered into Golgotha. The image captures the challenge facing Therry Theatre.…

★★★★½ A red petrol pump stands at stage left. It looks like scenery, a piece of period detail. Then you remember Chekhov: do not place a gun on stage unless somebody is going to use it. Opera Australia’s touring Don…

★★★★★ There is something almost radical about how little happens in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. Before Seinfeld, this was the musical about nothing. Nobody saves the world, nobody gets the girl. Nobody has a glitter-cannon self-realisation. Charlie Brown…

★★★★★ Casey Donovan became a household name when she won Australian Idol in 2004 as its youngest-ever champion. Now, twenty-two years later, she arrives for one night only to a packed Festival Theatre for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Despite its title, This Is…

★★★★½ Anticipated by packed tables within the Space Theatre, another fabulous show, HOUSE OF ROT: Grey Gardens, joins Reuben Kaye’s ‘Delicious Revolution’ for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. A minimally lit stage, swathed in smoke, reveals a piano and five chairs.…

“Steal shit back” is a thesis statement and also the title-song battle cry of Artefact (or, Repatriation: The Musical), Lincoln Elliott’s ambitious emo-rock heist musical about colonial theft, cultural identity, self-determination and the punishing business of making new Australian work.…

★★★★☆ Baylie Carson greets the audience before the show has even begun. They move through the Space Theatre in a blue cropped, sleeveless vest with red trim and black cargo pants. There is a bowl in hand. Inside are small…

★★★★★ The stage for Alfie Boe’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival concert is dressed like a loading dock after soundcheck. Music cases are piled high, the wings are exposed, and the crew drifts in and out of view. It is a deliberate…

★★★★★ Adelaide did not get the full arena-sized production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Instead, it got something rarer. What’s The Buzz? was billed as an access-all-areas concert and conversation with the Australian cast of Jesus Christ Superstar, stripping back the…

★★★★½ Bold, bright, and bubbly are words that come to mind describing the entirety of director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell’s Pretty Woman: The Musical, on now in Adelaide as part of its national tour. Retaining much of the original film’s…

★★★★★ I will start simply. You must see this production. It is truly exceptional in every way. In the words of Fanny Brice, she is “the greatest star,” and this production shines with that star quality. Funny Girl is forever linked…

Pulteney Grammar School’s production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying opened at the Future Events Centre in Paradise with a spectacle before the curtain had even risen. The foyer was filled with branded snack cups, a videographer,…

★★★★☆ There’s nothing a good fairytale musical comedy on a wintery evening can’t fix! Hills Musical Company are treating Adelaide to a spirited revival of Once Upon a Mattress this month. Here, the conventional Princess and the Pea fairy tale is gleefully tossed…

Xanadu is a camp, chaotic and utterly joyful story of the courage it takes to take creative and personal risks. The 2026 Graduating Class at Adelaide University’s Elder Conservatorium Music Theatre have unapologetically delivered just that. Their production fully leans into Xanadu’s loveable…

★★★★★ Time-stepping back to the Adelaide Fringe for 2026 is the hit show Broadway Off-Broadway, following a stellar sold-out debut season last year! Assembling a superb cast of Adelaide talent, producer (and performer!) Emma Kavanagh has levelled up last year’s show…

★★★★★ ARIA Gold singer-songwriter of The Lighthouse and former contestant on The Block: All Stars, Amity Dry has a powerful story to tell. And it’s our story. The story of women. The Perfect Life (A Musical by Amity Dry) arrives at this year’s Adelaide Fringe.…

At first glance, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee leans gleefully into anarchy: awkward bodies, competitive nerves, bodily functions, and a sense that anything could derail at any moment. This musical, presented by Funk Soul Productions, with music and…

Energetic, colourful, and fun are just a few words to describe the wholesome experience that is Here You Come Again, the Dolly Parton musical. Incorporating many of the best hits of Parton’s music, this juke-box musical comedy is packed with glitz,…

The Hills Musical Company have concluded their 2025 season with another winning musical. Be More Chill delves into questions of belonging and self-worth through the lens of a sci-fi high school satire. The result is a chaotic, thoroughly entertaining show that…

Continuously daring to bring bold stories to life, Dead Darling Theatre is in for another winner with the new show, unmothered. A powerful meditation on maternal inheritance, unmothered gently explores the emotional weight passed between generations of women. Still in development,…

Elder Conservatorium Music Theatre’s Graduating Class of 2025 have roared onto the stage for their final milestone production, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. This golden age classic is a satirical plunge into the slimy ways of the corporate world.…

Adored by generations, The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of South Australia has brought one of the world’s most beloved musicals to the stage with their production of The Sound of Music.  Transporting audiences to the Austrian Alps, we are reminded of…

Celebrating its 40th anniversary Australian tour, CATS the Musical has pounced into Adelaide for a limited three-week season. This canon piece of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s remains one of his most iconic works, and in 2025, we are reminded why. CATS…

Therry Theatre is the first non-professional South Australian company to premiere the Broadway hit musical, Come From Away. Based on the true events surrounding stranded airline passengers in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, this beloved show remains a profoundly…

Opening with energy and colour, Mitchell Butel’s Australian premiere of Kimberly Akimbo is brought to life with heart and humour. Book and Lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and Music by Jeanine Tesori, this Tony Award-winning musical, presented by State Theatre Company…

For the first time ever, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast the Musical has premiered in Adelaide. And what a treat it is to be a guest at a show like this! There’s truly nothing like the magic of a Disney production. Settling here in…

Louisa May Alcott’s timeless novel Little Women is a beloved cornerstone of classic literature, often celebrated for its progressive themes and enduring portrayal of strong, complex women. Over the years, it has inspired countless adaptations, each exploring the story’s emotional…