By Nic Conolly
This week’s entertainment spotlight takes centre stage with a mix of performers overseas, a new episode of In the Green Room, opening nights, neglected musicals, milestone performances, and a little theatrical humour along the way. From Australian performers making their mark overseas to the excitement of opening nights at home and abroad, this week celebrates the reach, resilience, and variety of the performing arts. It also shines a light on neglected musicals; the shows that may have slipped out of the mainstream but still deserve their moment in the spotlight, or, in true Monty Python fashion, a chance to declare, “I’m not dead yet.” The new episode of In the Green Room continues that behind-the-scenes focus, giving readers a closer look at performers, preparation, creative processes, and the stories that happen before the curtain rises. Together, these stories celebrate the energy of live performance: the milestones, the comebacks, the opening-night buzz, and the artists carrying musical theatre stories onto stages around the world.
Adelaide
Current – Adelaide Cabaret Festival
The spotlight turns to South Australia this week, with the Adelaide Cabaret Festival running from June 4th to 21st and bringing music, comedy, storytelling, and theatrical performance to the stage. This year’s program features performers with strong connections to musical theatre, cabaret, and live music, making it a rich celebration of artists who know how to hold a room.
Brisbane
Current – Beetlejuice the Musical
Brisbane, Brisbane, Brisbane…Playing all month at QPAC’s Lyric Theatre, Beetlejuice the Musical brings Tim Burton’s cult classic to life in an irreverent, high-energy Broadway hit. Featuring an original score by Australia’s own Eddie Perfect, this production is strange, spectacular, and seriously fun.
Official Website: https://beetlejuicethemusical.com.au
Tickets: https://www.qpac.com.au/whats-on/2026/beetlejuice-the-musical
Melbourne
Current – The Book of Mormon
Hello! Playing all month at the Princess Theatre, The Book of Mormon is the outrageously funny, multi-Tony Award-winning Broadway satire from the creators of South Park. Bold, cheeky, and wildly popular, this musical comedy continues to be one of Broadway’s biggest crowd-pleasers.
Official Website: https://thebookofmormonmusical.com.au/
Princess Theatre / Marriner Group: https://marrinergroup.com.au/shows/the-book-of-mormon-2026
Tickets: https://thebookofmormonmusical.com.au/tickets/melbourne/
Current – Waitress the Musical
Now playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Waitress the Musical is serving up a sweet slice of Broadway with plenty of heart, humour and just enough pie to make you question your interval snack choices. Featuring music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, this deliciously heartfelt musical follows Jenna, a waitress, and expert pie-maker, as she searches for a fresh start.
Official Website: https://waitressthemusical.com.au/
Tickets: https://waitressthemusical.com.au/tickets/melbourne/
Current – Stella
A brilliant new Australian story is stepping into the spotlight with STELLA – A New Australian Musical, receiving its world premiere season at the Alexander Theatre from June 12th to 20th, 2026 for seven performances only. For further information, visit: https://stellathemusical.com
Sydney
Current – Anastasia
Playing through July 18th at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, Anastasia is taking audiences on a journey to the past and all the way from imperial Russia to 1920s Paris. This sweeping Broadway adventure follows a young woman searching for home, identity, and belonging.
Official Website: https://anastasiathemusical.com.au/
Sydney Lyric Event Page: https://www.sydneylyric.com.au/anastasia/ Tickets: https://anastasiathemusical.com.au/tickets/sydney/
Current – Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
The con is on at Hayes Theatre Co, with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels playing until June 21s. Based on the hit 1988 film, this Tony – nominated musical comedy follows two competing conmen on the French Riviera as they charm, scheme and swindle their way through a deliciously deceptive game of musical mischief.
For further information, visit: https://hayestheatre.com.au/event/dirty-rotten-scoundrels/
Current – The Lion King
Playing all month at the Capitol Theatre, The Lion King is ready to make audiences feel the love tonight. Disney’s visually stunning Broadway phenomenon roars to life with world-class puppetry, breathtaking staging and iconic music by Elton John and Tim Rice.
Official Website: https://thelionkingmusical.com.au/
Capitol Theatre Event Page: https://www.capitoltheatre.com.au/the-lion-king
Tickets: https://thelionkingmusical.com.au/tickets/
Current – Tootsie
Now playing at TEATRO at the Italian Forum, Tootsie is dressing Sydney up in big laughs, bigger ambition, and enough showbiz chaos to require a quick-change artist on standby. Making its Australian premiere, this fast-paced Broadway musical plays with identity, ego, and the lengths one performer will go to for a role because sometimes breaking into show business takes heels, heart, and an exceptionally good wig.
Official Website: https://teatroitalianforum.com.au/date/tootsie/
Ticketmaster: https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/tootsie-tickets/artist/2728443
Current – Hair
Let the sunshine in with peace, love, rebellion, and a whole lot of rock-musical energy. Presented by the Australian Shakespeare Company and directed by Glenn Elston OAM, this major professional tour features a fully professional cast, crew, and live band. Expect big voices, big hair, and even bigger flower-power vibes.
Official website: https://shakespeareaustralia.com.au/productions/hair-sydney
Tickets: https://www.theatreroyalsydney.com/events/season-2026/hair/
Perth
Current – MJ The Musical
Showing at Crown Theatre, MJ The Musical is ready to moonwalk into Perth for its final Australian tour stop. This explosive Broadway musical celebrates the life, artistry, and iconic moves of Michael Jackson.
Official Website: https://mjthemusical.com.au/
Crown Theatre event page: https://www.crownperth.com.au/entertainment/crown-theatre/shows/mj-the-musical
Tickets: https://mjthemusical.com.au/tickets/perth/
The Buzz… Recently Announced Shows
Spamalot
Get ready to gallop into a night of utterly ridiculous royal revelry, because Monty Python’s Spamalot is riding into Melbourne and Sydney in 2026 and frankly, resistance is futile, unless you are a very stubborn French guard. Drew Anthony Creative is bringing this gloriously silly Broadway classic to the stage in an all – new reimagined production, complete with King Arthur, Knights of the Round Table, killer rabbits, cows, showgirls, and enough absurdity to make even the bravest knight say, “Run away!”
Melbourne audiences can storm the castle at the Athenaeum Theatre from September 16th, before the quest continues to Sydney Event Centre at The Star from October 15th to 18th, and Coliseum Theatre Western Sydney from October 22nd to 25th.
Lovingly ripped off from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot is a musical quest packed with laugh-out-loud moments, zany characters, and the iconic anthem “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. It is Broadway with a coconut – clopping twist, a medieval musical where no joke is too silly, no rabbit is too terrifying, and no flesh wound is enough to stop the fun. So, polish your armour, sharpen your sense of humour, and prepare to say “Ni!” to boredom. Whether you are a die-hard Python fan, a musical theatre lover, or simply someone who enjoys a good cow – based catastrophe, Spamalot promises to be a knight to remember. It may offend everyone or someone, at least but one thing is certain: this is one quest you do not want to miss!
You can sign up for the waitlist at https://www.drewanthonycreative.com.au/spamalot-melbournesydney-2026
Carousel
Step right up and take a turn on Carousel, as Neglected Musicals brings Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic back into the spotlight for limited performances at Foundry Theatre from October 15th, 2026. This is one musical that truly deserves another ride around the theatrical merry – go – round.
Following carousel barker Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan, Carousel is a sweeping story of love, hope, heartbreak, redemption, and second chances, proof that some musicals never stop turning, even when they have been waiting patiently in the wings. With classics including “If I Loved You,” “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over,” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” this is a score that still knows how to make hearts spin, soar, and possibly sob into a program. Neglected Musicals notes this will be its 36th presentation, directed by Lisa Callingham. So, hold tight, grab your ticket, and let the music carry you. Carousel may be classed as “neglected,” but this production gives it a well – earned chance to come full circle; reminding audiences that some shows are not old – fashioned, they are simply waiting for the right moment to go round again.
Further information and tickets are available at https://neglectedmusicals.com.au/show/carousel/
In the Green Room with … Katrina Retallick
Katrina Retallick is an Australian theatre performer, actor, singer, and visual artist with the kind of career that makes you wonder whether she has secretly found extra hours in the day. She sings, acts, paints, does comedy, performs musical theatre, is a mother to four children, and, just to keep everyone else humble, once played Alice Beineke in The Addams Family and sang a high C while upside down. As one does. Known for her warmth, wit, vocal skill, and excellent ability to survive theatrical chaos, Retallick has appeared in a wide range of Australian stage productions including Come from Away, Falsettos, South Pacific, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Ruthless! Big Fish, Elf: The Musical, Bright Star and The Player Kings. Her work moves easily between comedy, drama, and musical theatre, proving she can deliver a punchline, land an emotional moment, and probably paint the set afterwards if required. Alongside her performing career, Retallick is also a visual artist, creating work that reflects her love of character, colour, and storytelling. Whether she is commanding the stage, raising the roof vocally or creating art away from the spotlight, Katrina Retallick remains a wonderfully versatile artist with talent in every direction.
What is your name, what do you do in MT, and what is one theatre habit you have that would confuse people outside the industry?
Katrina Retallick is my name, and I am an actor/singer/teacher in MT in Australia. I guess a habit that I have that might seem confusing is my constant ‘sirening’ to myself. At many times of the day, every day, I will (very quietly) glide up and down a vocal scale. It is a way of warming up the voice and checking in, that the cords are meeting in a healthy way. I do it in the shower, I do it in the kitchen, in the car! Not on the bus, though…
What is one piece of advice you wish someone had given you earlier in your MT journey?
Work harder on your weakest skill. I should have taken dance lessons much more often and far more consistently.
What is one thing from your area of MT that you think everyone should try at least once?
This is one from the rehearsal room, really, but I think everyone should try being in a sonic circle. It is simply a circle of people humming or chanting or intoning sound together. To stand in the middle of that and to receive the vibration of human voices is really amazing.
What is your go – to beverage order and what does it say about you?
I quite like a glass of red wine in the evening. Especially as it is getting cooler. I think it says that, at one time in my life, I worked at Cellarmasters, selling wine and I still quite like a glass or two.
After a big rehearsal, show, or production week, how do you unwind without accidentally still thinking about theatre?
In summer, it would always be a day at Wylie’s Baths. Swimming, reading a book, having lunch, maybe a massage there as well. After the Player Kings Gala performance – which was a 12 – hour theatre show (mostly wearing high heels!), I could barely walk but I could get myself to the swimming pool, so all was well.
What is your dream role, job, or creative opportunity in MT?
I would dearly love to perform the role of Margaret Johnson in The Light in the Piazza. I think it is one of the most magical scores; they are also beautifully drawn characters.
Aussies Abroad
David Ouch
Australian performer David Ouch, whose credits include Titanic, Moulin Rouge, and Elf, has joined the full company of Death Note: The Musical as a Swing for its much-anticipated reimagined production at London’s Barbican Theatre. The production will play a strictly limited season from July 30th to September 12th, 2026, with the Barbican describing it as a 50 – performance run. The new staging features a revised script and newly written songs alongside the original score by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics by Jack Murphy and a book by Ivan Menchell. Based on one of the world’s most successful manga titles, Death Note was first published in Japan in 2003 and has since become a global phenomenon, selling more than 30 million copies worldwide and inspiring video games, novels, films, television adaptations, and a Netflix series. The story follows Light Yagami, an exceptionally gifted high school student who discovers a mysterious notebook with the power to kill. Disillusioned by what he sees as a failing justice system, Light begins using the Death Note to eliminate criminals and reshape the world according to his own idea of justice.
As the unexplained deaths begin to mount, the authorities turn to the enigmatic master detective L to uncover the truth. What follows is a gripping psychological battle between two brilliant minds, where every name written carries deadly consequences.
Tickets are available through https://www.westendtheatre.com/172609/shows/death-note-tickets/
Tod Strike
Australian performer Tod Strike is taking his talents overseas, joining Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber on its 2026 world tour. Strike, whose credits include Evita and Dear Evan Hansen, will appear as a Swing, covering Asparagus, Bustopher Jones, Rumpus Cat and Old Deuteronomy; which is an impressive Jellicle workload, even by cat standards. The production will play at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai from June 17th to 28th, 2026, bringing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic musical to international audiences. Based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, Cats remains one of musical theatre’s most recognisable titles, famous for its movement, music, feline world-building and, of course, “Memory.”
Strike’s theatre credits include Calamity Jane, Chess, Little Shop of Horrors, Les Misérables, Sweet Charity and Cabaret. For Opera Queensland, he has appeared in Turandot and Otello, and he was also part of the Queensland premieres of Into the Woods and Kiss Me, Kate. His career has also included time as a member of The Ten Tenors, performing on their album Tenorissimo. From opera stages to musical theatre favourites, and now to the Jellicle Ball, Strike brings a wide-ranging performance background to the production. Covering four major roles in Cats is no small feat, or paw but it is another exciting international credit for an Australian performer continuing to make his mark on stages around the world.
WRITER
Stage Door Matters is written by Nic Conolly (she/they) for Theatre Matters, an Australian-based theatre publication. By day, Nic works as a Teacher Aide; by night, they can usually be found loitering in a theatre foyer, pretending this is a personality trait and not a lifestyle choice. Nic’s background includes performing in a travelling Australian circus, teaching circus arts, and being involved in local productions- which explains the dramatic flair and lack of inside voice. They saw their first show, Cats under the Big Top, and have been in a committed relationship with theatre ever since.
