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Hello, Dolly! and nine other sparkling revivals to see in the West End this summer
To celebrate Imelda Staunton breathing new life into the 1964 favourite, here are all the other returning classics to catch in London
On Saturday, Hello, Dolly! opened at the London Palladium, starring veteran of the stage and screen Imelda Staunton as Dolly Levi. Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman’s classic story of a matchmaker tasked with finding love for a standoffish ‘half-a-millionaire’ is back in London for the first time in 40 years, marking its fourth run to date in the West End. Yet the idea of reaching back into the musical theatre canon to pull out a winner is far from unusual. Shows like Hello Dolly! never really disappear. In fact, summer 2024 is one of the busiest ever for revivals, with shows reappearing on our stages that first arrived as far back as 1951.
In celebration of the opening of Hello, Dolly! and all the musical theatre history we’re welcoming to our stages this summer season, here are nine other shows you won’t want to miss. Make sure to secure your Hello, Dolly! tickets here.
Sister Act
Until 31 August at the Dominion Theatre
Based on the 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg, Sister Act the musical first opened in the West End in 2009. It wasn’t until 2022 that we welcomed it back, with Beverly Knight in the role of lounge singer turned nun in witness protection, Deloris Van Cartier. In the show’s current run at the Dominion Theatre, Knight reprised her role before handing over to Alexandra Burke, who plays Van Cartier until the production closes on August 31. Also in the cast is Gavin & Stacey’s Ruth Jones, making her West End debut as Mother Superior.
A Chorus Line
31 Jul – 25 Aug at Sadler’s Wells
A Chorus Line won an Olivier for Best New Musical when it first arrived in the West End in 1976. Centered around 17 professional dancers auditioning for spots in the chorus line of a Broadway show, the musical gained attention for its atypical structure and narration style, with each of the dancers and the choreographer getting to have their moment centre stage. This new production comes to Sadler’s Wells at the end of the month, transferring from Curve after an acclaimed run.
Cabaret
Booking until 31 May 2025 at the Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
First arriving in the West End in 1968, Cabaret has remained one of the most performed and most celebrated musicals in Britain and beyond, returning to London time and time again. This particular revival has been playing at the purpose-built Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre since 2021, when it launched starring Eddie Redmayne as the Emcee and Jessie Buckley as Sally Bowles. Plenty of big names have taken on the roles since then – and the show currently stars Heartstopper’s Rhea Norwood and Bad Education’s Layton Williams.
Guys And Dolls
Booking until 4 Jan at the Bridge Theatre
Frank Loesser’s musical about the characters of the New York underworld first came to the West End in 1953, playing at the London Coliseum. The musical has had numerous London and West End revivals over the years, but none quite like its current iteration at the Bridge Theatre, which employs an immersive in-the-round staging that has to be experienced to be believed.
Kiss Me, Kate
Until 14 Sept at the Barbican Theatre
If you’re looking to really wind back the clock then this 1940s Cole Porter musical is the one for you. The story is somewhat meta: a theatre group stage a musical version of Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew, and drama ensues both on and off stage. Premiering on Broadway in 1948 and the West End in 1951, Kiss Me, Kate is decidedly vintage but far from outdated. Given director Bartlett Sher’s success with revivals of other classics like The King and I and My Fair Lady, this is going to be unmissable.
Starlight Express
Until 2 Feb at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
For a taste of the 80s, you might want to catch Luke Sheppard’s new production of Starlight Express, the story of a young steam train hoping to win a race and impress a certain observation car. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s roller-skating classic first arrived in the West End in 1984, but certainly not in this much style – this version is housed in its own purposely designed Starlight Auditorium.
The Baker’s Wife
Until 14 Sept at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Many of the shows that roll back into the West End for repeated runs are instantly recognisable, but Stephen Schwartz and Joseph Stein’s 1989 musical is something of a hidden gem. The Baker’s Wife delighted audiences when it came to the West End at the end of the 80s, but despite strong reviews and a dedicated cult following, we’ve hardly seen it back on our stages since. This new production at the Menier Chocolate Factory offers a great re-introduction to the show, which follows the disruption to the inhabitants of a French village when the baker’s wife leaves him for another man.
The Rocky Horror Show
6 Sept – 20 Sept at the Dominion Theatre
The Rocky Horror Show first debuted in London in 1973 and ran for over seven years, with plenty of other productions and tours staged in the years since. This fan favourite is only back with us for a limited run, so if you want to experience all the thrills, frights and fabulousness of Frank-N-Furter (and see him played by none other than Jason Donovan) then you’ll need to act fast.
The Wizard Of Oz
12 Aug – 8 Sept at the Gillian Lynne Theatre
There have been multiple musical adaptations of both L. Frank Baum’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the 1939 film The Wizard Of Oz, but Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Sams’ 2011 version combines the best elements of all. The Wiz comes back to the West End this summer with JLS’s Ashton Merrygold as the Tin Man and Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne as the Wicked Witch of the West.
