Five Broadway shows we’d love to see in the UK

The countdown to the Tony Awards is on, and across New York, many star-studded productions are celebrating their opening nights in time to be eligible for this year’s ceremony.

If you’ve been keeping up with our sister site based across the pond, TheaterMania, you’ll know that the 2024-2025 season has included WhatsOnStage Award-winning shows like Sunset Boulevard with Nicole Scherzinger, Tom Francis, and Grace Hodgett-Young, plus the original West End cast of Operation Mincemeat reprising their roles on the Great White Way.

But, there are a great number of shows (namely, another that involves a corpse, Dead Outlaw) that we’re eager to see in the UK.

Maybe Happy Ending

A new musical about two life-like helper-bots falling in love has been the surprise of the season, capturing audiences’ hearts at the Belasco Theatre. It’s down to some savvy design work and leading performances from Darren Criss and Helen J Shen, not forgetting the plant, HwaBoon.

John Proctor is the Villain

We likely have Kimberly Belflower’s new play to thank for the resurrection of singer Lorde in time for Easter. Anyway, the pre-show playlist sets the tone for the piece, which is set in a 2018 high school feminism club, where the arrival – or rather, the mysterious return – of Shelby (played by Sadie Sink) shakes things up on her hunt to burn down the patriarchy.

Death Becomes Her

Jaw-dropping costumes by Oscar winner Paul Tazewell? Hilarious comedy performances from Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard? AND a viral TikTok sound? Death Becomes Her has it all. Tell Me, Ernest, when are we going to see the stage adaptation of the cult film on these shores? And would a drop of Viola Van Horn’s potion speed things up?

Oh, Mary!

Cole Escola’s dubious historical comedy about washed-up cabaret star Mary Todd Lincoln and her nasty husband in the weeks leading up to his assassination has been a breakout success with ridiculous and irreverent comedy that has audiences erupting.

Smash

It’s a long-awaited smash hit with audiences, promising a fun night at the theatre for fans of the NBC TV show and novices alike. While you can catch Hilty herself just down the road, it’s at the Imperial that you can see the backstage drama set around a fictional Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe play out on stage. With a score from the songwriting team behind Hairspray, and direction by Susan Stroman, the choreography is the star of the show.