Features

20 award-winning musicals on tour across the UK

Take a look at what’s heading to a theatre near you over the next 12 months!

Tom Millward
London
Wicked, Hamilton, Heathers, Jesus Christ Superstar and Come From Away Matt Crockett / Danny Kaan / Pamela Raith / Johan Persson / Craig Sugden

There are a plethora of celebrated musicals easing on down the road over the next year or so and we thought it might be useful to assemble a list of 20 of these award-winning gems for you right here on WhatsOnStage.

For the purpose of this article, we’ve selected titles that have previously triumphed at either the Tony, Olivier or WOS Awards.

How many will you be attending in your hometown?

                                                                                                                              

42nd Street

Promotional image for 42nd Street Curve

Come and meet those dancing feet at your local theatre! This quintessential Broadway musical, which explores the trials and tribulations of mounting a show on the Great White Way during the height of the Great Depression, was crowned Best Musical at both the 1981 Tonys and 1984 Olivier Awards. Under the direction of Jonathan Church, a new production will open at Leicester’s Curve in May and also spend a summer season at Sadler’s Wells in London.
On tour from 17 May

 

Disney’s Aladdin

A scene from the original West End production of Disney’s Aladdin Disney / Deen Van Meer

Not only does the “shining, shimmering, splendid” stage adaptation of Disney’s Aladdin feature the multi-Grammy and Oscar-winning score by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, but the original Broadway premiere also earned James Monroe Iglehart his first-ever Tony Award for his formidable portrayal of Genie. And for the first time ever, the production is packing its magic carpet and heading out on tour across the UK, opening at Edinburgh’s Playhouse Theatre this October ahead of a festive season at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff.
On tour from 24 October

 

Annie

Craig Revel Horwood and Paul O’Grady as Miss Hannigan Hugo Glendinning / Matt Crockett

Maybe far away or maybe real nearby? Everyone’s favourite singing orphan managed to scoop a whopping seven Tony Awards (including Best Musical) back in 1977 and she’s proving as popular as ever! Currently on tour and starring Craig Revel Horwood, Paul O’Grady, Elaine C Smith or Jodie Prenger as Miss Hannigan (depending on which venue you attend), Annie is a bona fide crowd-pleaser… and you can bet your bottom dollar on that!
Currently on tour until 25 November

 

Blood Brothers

A scene from Blood Brothers Jack Merriman

Willy Russell’s seminal tale of two Liverpudlian twins separated at birth won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical back in 1983 and it features such classics as “Tell Me It’s Not True” and “Marilyn Monroe”.
Currently on tour until 7 October

 

The Bodyguard

Melody Thornton as Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard Matt Crockett

The stage adaptation of the Whitney Houston-led thriller The Bodyguard – infused with all her greatest hits from “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” to “I Will Always Love You” – took home the 2013 WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Musical. It’s now back touring the country with former Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton starring as “Queen of the Night” Rachel Marron.
Currently on tour until 30 December

 

The Cher Show

Millie O’Connell, Debbie Kurup and Danielle Steers in The Cher Show Pamela Raith

If we could turn back time, we’d re-visit this dazzling bio-musical all across the country, but it’s last chance saloon now to see Gabriella Slade’s stunning WhatsOnStage Award-winning costumes as The Cher Show tour comes to an end at Norwich’s Theatre Royal this week.
Currently on tour until 11 March

 

Come From Away

A scene from the West End production of Come From Away Matt Crockett

Winner of Best New Musical at both the Oliviers (2019) and WhatsOnStage Awards (2020), Come From Away has warmed the hearts of countless audiences at the Phoenix Theatre and is gearing up to launch its first-ever UK and Ireland tour at Leicester’s Curve next year. Celebrating the generosity of spirit of the people of Gander, who took in stranded travellers from across the globe during the aftermath of 9/11, the musical is a must-see for 2024.
On tour from 1 March 2024

 

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

A scene from Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Matt Crockett

The 2018 WhatsOnStage Award winner for Best New Musical has played the West End and stages across the country and has even been adapted into an acclaimed movie starring Max Harwood, Sarah Lancashire and Richard E Grant… and still everybody’s talking about Jamie! The show, inspired by the true story of a 16-year-old from Sheffield who longs to become a drag queen, will be back on tour from September, opening at The Lowry in Salford.
On tour from 7 September

 

Girl from the North Country

Katie Brayben and Shaq Taylor in Girl from the North Country Cylla von Tiedemann

It’s your last chance to experience the Tony Award-winning orchestrations of those classic Bob Dylan hits, as Conor McPherson’s Girl from the North Country comes to the end of its tour in Wimbledon this month. Set in Duluth, Minnesota during the Great Depression, it follows the lives of a diverse set of characters at a rundown guesthouse and it’s reportedly set for a film adaptation too.
Currently on tour until 18 March

 

Hamilton

The current London cast of Hamilton Danny Kaan

With a staggering seven Oliviers and 11 Tony Awards (including Best Musical) to its name, Hamilton is simply a musical phenomenon. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hip Hop-infused juggernaut, telling the story of United States founding father Alexander Hamilton, will be launching its first-ever UK tour in Manchester this autumn.
On tour from 11 November

 

Heathers

A scene from Heathers The Musical Pamela Raith

Winner of the 2019 WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Musical, Heathers has one of the most loyal and active fan bases we’ve ever seen. The teenage dark comedy – with extra lashings of murderous intent – is set in an Ohio high school ruled by an infamous trio, who all happen to be called Heather.
Currently on tour until 7 October

 

Jersey Boys

A scene from Jersey Boys Birgit and Ralf Brinkhoff

The story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons took home the 2006 Tony Award and 2009 Olivier and WhatsOnStage Awards for Best New Musical and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down. The current touring production will walk like a man to its final destination, Leicester’s Curve, this May.
Currently on tour until 6 May

 

Jesus Christ Superstar

The US touring cast of Jesus Christ Superstar MurphyMade

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s celebrated staging of Jesus Christ Superstar was crowned Best Musical Revival at the 2017 Olivier Awards and it is this very production that will be given further life this autumn with a brand-new tour launching in Manchester. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s classic gives Jesus’ final days and Judas Iscariot’s betrayal a rock opera spin and features such standards as “I Don’t Know How to Love Him”, “”Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)” and, of course, “Superstar”.
On tour from 11 September

 

The King and I

A scene from The King and I Johan Persson

The 2015 Tony-winning Best Revival of a Musical is back on tour in the UK, headlined by Call the Midwife‘s Helen George as Anna Leonowens and Broadway’s Darren Lee as the King of Siam. The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic about a British governess and her rocky relationship with a Southeast Asian monarch features such standards as “Getting to Know You”, “Something Wonderful” and “Shall We Dance?”
Currently on tour until 1 July

 

Disney’s The Lion King

A scene from Disney’s The Lion King Disney / Johan Persson

The 1998 Tony Award-winning Best Musical The Lion King is the crown jewel of the Disney Theatrical empire and is still wowing audiences across the UK and Ireland over two decades later. The current tour ends in Dublin this autumn. Be Prepared, folks!
Currently on tour until 11 November

 

My Fair Lady

Michael D. Xavier as Professor Henry Higgins, Heather Jackson as Mrs Higgins, Charlotte Kennedy as Eliza Doolittle and Sinead Kenny as Clara Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady Marc Brenner

Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s iconic musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion garnered a “loverly” total of six Tony Awards in 1957 (including Best Musical). If that wasn’t enough, the current production also features sumptuous Tony-winning costumes from Catherine Zuber and a cast that includes Michael D. Xavier, Charlotte Kennedy and Adam Woodyatt. The tour is now entering its final weeks, so if the street where you live is in the Birmingham or Manchester area, don’t miss your opportunity!
Currently on tour until 1 April

 

Six

A scene from Six the Musical Joan Marcus

Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived… at a theatre near you! Similar to Heathers, Six has also nurtured a passionate fan base (affectionately known as the “queendom”) since its 2017 premiere. Presented in the format of a modern-day girl group concert, where each Queen has the opportunity to tell their testimony of life with Henry VIII through song, the piece features a Tony Award-winning score by Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow and Tony-winning costumes by Gabriella Slade. It also was recently voted Best West End Show for a second consecutive year at the WhatsOnStage Awards.
Currently on tour until 26 November

 

Titanic the Musical

A scene from Titanic the Musical Scott Rylander

This particular staging of Maury Yeston and Peter Stone’s Titanic the Musical is about to set sail on a 10th anniversary UK tour. When the show originally premiered, it took home no less than five Tony Awards (including Best Musical). It revolves, of course, around the passengers and crew onboard the Titanic, when it infamously sank on 15 April 1912 and over 1,500 lives were lost.
On tour from 16 March

 

Wicked

Laura Pick as Elphaba in Wicked Matt Crockett

Thank Goodness! The global phenomenon Wicked – the 2007 WhatsOnStage Award winner for Best New Musical – will be heading out on another UK and Ireland tour this December, regaling the masses with the “untold story of the Witches of Oz” one more time. West End alum Laura Pick will once again be defying gravity in the central role of Elphaba, who would become the Wicked Witch of the West. Get ready for the most swankified musical in town, folks!
On tour from 7 December

 

The Wizard of Oz

A scene from the Curve production of The Wizard of Oz Marc Brenner

Wicked isn’t the only Oz-themed musical hitting the (Yellow Brick) road this December. The 2011 adaptation of The Wizard of Oz (featuring additional songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, alongside the classics from Harold Arlen and E Y Harburg) won the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Musical Revival in 2012 and was successfully revamped at Curve last year. It’s now set for a summer season at The London Palladium and a tour launch in Liverpool.
On tour from 13 December

                                                                                                                           

Tickets for select dates are on sale below.