Musical Theatre Reviews Melbourne

★★★★★ In a great black pit, where the vermin of the world turn beauty to filth and greed, a humble barber returns from exile, bristling with grief. A grim question emerges from the haze: Could revenge be his inevitability? This…

★★★★☆ A sparkling standout production of High School Musical is breaking free at the National Theatre in St Kilda! Live on stage for a limited season, this energetic production, presented by James Terry Collective, captures the fun, friendship and nostalgia…

★★★★★ If you only make it to one show this year, choose A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical. Staged in Melbourne’s majestic Princess Theatre, this production demonstrates just how powerful a finely crafted jukebox musical can be. Conceived with…

★★★★★ It’s simply one of a kind, no category! SIX the Musical has blasted into Melbourne with an outstanding cast of queens rocking the roof off the Comedy Theatre. In a display of entertainment like no other, audiences will feel…

Interest in the Kennedy family is perennial. Every few years, another television series, film or book promises to reveal the “true” story behind America’s most scrutinised dynasty. This year, it was Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette…

It’s the world’s greatest musical numbers celebrated in an exciting spectacle of entertainment! With a brilliant cast of stars lighting up the stage, Off Broadway brings glitz and glamour, sparkles and sequins, inspiring electric energy and a flurry of feathers.  Featuring…

★★★★☆ Following a smash-hit national run covering five major Australian cities, Pretty Woman: The Musical struts into Melbourne’s iconic Regent Theatre for a glamorous finish. This glossy Jones Theatrical Group production retains much of the beloved 1990 rom-com’s storyline, with the sheen…

★★★½ Bursting onto the stage at The National Theatre, Theatrical Inc.’s latest production, Bring It On: The Musical, is an explosion of athleticism, infectious energy and enough school spirit to power an entire pep rally. Based on the beloved noughties…

★★★½ As we stand centre stage in the theatre of life, facing its fickle finger of fate – could hope be our boldest, most courageous performance, and love the seductive encore we keep returning to, no matter how turbulent the…

★★★½ Tucked away in the expansive Monash Clayton Campus is a portal to late 1800s Australia: Stella, performed in the Alexander Theatre.  Stella is a new Australian musical with book, music and lyrics by Monique diMattina, showing us Australia’s future…

Independent theatre in Melbourne has always provided a safe space for bold risks, strange ideas, and the kind of creative bravery that rarely survives in bigger, more traditional institutions. Sainting Joan is a perfect example of why that ecosystem matters.…

★★★★½ In a haunting, twisted world where boundaries between virtue, obsession and cruelty get indecipherably blurry, a timeworn riddle dares to ask, “What makes a monster and what makes a man?” 15th-century Paris rises in shadows and song as The Hunchback…

★★★★☆ If you were given a choice between waiting hopefully for something that could be, and giving everything to what’s already in front of you – which way would you go? This is the proverbial dilemma that sits at the core of Once, an honest,…

★★★★★ Melbourne, there’s a warm deliciousness that has drifted across our city and landed at Her Majesty’s Theatre, and it’s full of sugary delight and decadent lashings of whipped, creamy goodness. Waitress the Musical has hit the stage, with the…

★★★★☆ Impromptunes: The Completely Improvised Musical returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2026 with a brand-new burst of fully improvised musical theatre mayhem. Since first appearing in 2013, the troupe has become a familiar and welcome fixture on…

★★★★½ Based on the 1989 film of the same name, Heathers has become a fan favourite for musical lovers in the last decade. Having major runs internationally, Australia is now lucky enough to be visited once again by the show after its…

★★★★★ Evil Dead The Musical is an uproariously, bloody camp time. It is the musical adaptation of Sam Raimi’s classic horror film Evil Dead, a film I remember attempting to watch years ago and never finishing because I thought it…

Jones Theatrical Group and Marriner Group’s latest rendition of The Book of Mormon is a raucous and raunchy musical comedy with absolutely no intention of behaving itself. The Book of Mormon has stood the test of time because it dares…

A sun-kissed, faraway Greek island. A mother, a daughter, one wedding, three possible dads. An old diary leads a bride-to-be on a discovery quest about her history, revealing unspoken stories along the way. What could go wrong? A familiar premise,…

My Brilliant Career, brought to you by Melbourne Theatre Company, is back for an encore season after a smash hit in 2024. Directed by Anne-Louise Sarks, this is a masterclass in Australian theatre. The award-winning musical brings bush ballads, pop, and…

The temperature is definitely rising in Melbourne, and a fever has hit the city centre! Saturday Night Fever is here, so lace up those chunky heels, get those big do’s done, and head on down to The Athenaeum Theatre to join…

A flock of fairytale characters have taken over Arts Centre Melbourne for Shrek The Musical! There are prattling pigs, silly soldiers, a wicked witch, a funny fairy and a daring donkey.  You’ll see mixed-up mice, an ugly duckling, boisterous bears, a…

The full moon is out, the fog is setting, and as the lights dim, the build of feline curiosity amongst the audience rises. The Australian tour of CATS has landed at Hamer Hall in Melbourne, and the arched elegance is sublime. …

An absolutely enchanted evening awaits in Melbourne with Anastasia, the hit Broadway musical! Making the grandest of entrances, the crowd was full of excitement as their opening night carriage welcomed them into the Regent Theatre. With a sea of gold across the…

School of Rock is the latest musical presented by Theatrical Inc. and it’s a fun, high-energy explosion. Directed by Cody Riker, a regional Tony award winner, it’s playing at The National Theatre, St Kilda. The story follows Dewey Finn, a…

Hair is a psychedelic journey into the world of the Beat Generation, hippy culture and the anti-war movement of the late 1960s in America. The Australian Shakespeare Company brings the show back to Melbourne for an extended season this November.…

The Lucky Country is short, sweet and doesn’t miss a beat. Co-created by Vidya Makan and Sonya Suares, The Lucky Country is an exploration of the multi-faceted identities that make up Australia. The musical, running at just over an hour,…

Some artists are so big they stop being people and become myths. Michael Jackson was one of them. MJ The Musical, now moonwalking its way across the stage at Her Majesty’s Theatre Melbourne, doesn’t try to unpack the whole myth, though.…

American Psycho: A Musical Thriller reminds us that sometimes the scariest monsters don’t lurk in the shadows, they strut Wall Street in Armani. See You Sunday’s debut production manages to walk the line between dark satire and visceral horror. Under the…

Disney’s Tarzan: The Stage Musical has swung into the National Theatre St Kilda with an explosion of colour, soaring acrobatics, and heartfelt storytelling. Presented by James Terry Collective, this stage adaptation of the beloved 1999 film invites audiences deep into the jungle…