In New York, it’s all about headline musicals as blockbuster films continue their migration onto the stage with the March opening of Frozen directed by Michael Grandage, Tina Fey’s Mean Girls and the John Tiffany directed Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – in no less than two parts (and two tickets) opening April 22nd. Angels in America is also back, and in a very big way, with Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane. Musical anthologies could be Broadway’s next big thing, however, with forthcoming Escape to Margaritaville that utilizes Jimmy Buffett classics to tell the existential tale of a part-time bartender, singer and lady-charmer wasting away in a harbor island town. Summer: The Donna Summer Musical includes the obvious disco diva’s classics while Head Over Heals by co-producers Gwyneth Paltrow and Donovan Leitch showcases the music of the Go-Go’s in June. But it’s The Cher Show that proves best of the bunch, opening at the Neil Simon later this year and offering a more-human tale woven to the musical career and songbook of Cher.
In London, hallmark plays open to a more favorable marketplace and audience than in New York – which is even more evident in 2018. Menier Chocolate Factory presents Kiss of the Spiderwoman, but with a provocative twist of passion and friendship that develops between two men imprisoned in a Latin American jail. The Inheritance directed by Stephen Daldry explores the multi-generational, socio-economic affairs of the heart within NY’s innermost gay circles following the AIDS crisis. But London is not immune to thematic theatrics, as Tina – The Tina Turner Musical proves a true Proud Mary at the Aldwych Theatre in March. Baz Luhrmann also returns to the stage with the reprisal of his 1992 cult-hit Strictly Ballroom into a camp, lavish, arched-back dance drama testing its heels at the Piccadilly Theatre next month. And then there’s the King & I, the long-anticipated London revival of the Tony Award-winning Lincoln Center production coming to London’s Palladium this June.
In Paris, the spring concert scene includes an intimate concert by Muse on February 24th, Ricky Lee Jones on March 3rd and a sold-out Charlotte Gainsbourg on March 30th at La Cigale. In Berlin you can catch Lady Gaga and The Killers in the next month while in Barcelona you’ll find Harry Styles and Kylie Minogue pacing through the Catalan capital. In Sydney, indie-band Grizzly Bear does an intimate summer concert at the Sydney Opera House while this weekend Phoenix heads-up Sydney City Limits at Centennial Park. In Las Vegas, we would hit revival shows like Diana Ross at the Wynn or Wayne Newton at Bally’s while in LA the pre-Coachella season kicks-off with fledgling festivals like Air + Style Los Angeles and first Hollywood Bowl nights of the year with LCD Soundsystem, Luis Miguel and Paul Simon to kick-off the season.
For more info, check out our City Guide.
