YESTERDAY…From The Archives
Sondheim’s PACIFIC OVERTURES at 50
Presented by Rob Morrison 13th January 2026
Musical Theatre Melodies broadcast on Tuesday, 13th January will feature a 50th anniversary tribute to the Stephen Sondheim musical Pacific Overtures, from the 1976 original Broadway cast recording starring Mako, James Dybas, Timm Fujii, Alvin Ing, Patrick Kinser-Lau, Isao Sato, Sab Shimono, Mark Syers, Ricardo Tobia, Gedde Watanabe and Fusaka Yoshida. This will be followed by selections from Sondheim – A Musical Tribute featuring an all-star Broadway cast performing the songs of Sondheim recorded “live” in concert at the Shubert Theatre in New York on the evening of 11 March 1973……………Read More……..
George M. Cohan musical Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway
Presented by Rob Morrison 6th January 2026
Musical Theatre Melodies broadcast on Tuesday, 6th January will feature a 120th anniversary tribute to the New York premiere of the George M. Cohan musical Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway, from the 1959 U.S. TV cast recording starring Tammy Grimes, Larry Blyden, Russell Nype and David Burns, with Howard St. James, Polly Rowles, Diana Millay and Michael Clarke Lawrence.
This will be followed by an episode of the 1951 3DB Melbourne radio series With a Song in My Heart paying tribute to George M. Cohan featuring ………Read More.…….
THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD is 40
Presented by Rob Morrison 23rd December 2025
Musical Theatre Melodies broadcast on Tuesday, 23rd December will feature a 40th anniversary tribute to the Rupert Holmes musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood (suggested by the unfinished novel of the same name by Charles Dickens), from the 1985 original Broadway cast recording starring Betty Buckley, Cleo Laine and George Rose, with Patti Cohenour, Howard McGillin, Jerome Dempsey, Stephen GlavinJoe Grifasi, John Herrera, George N Martin and Jana Schneider. This will be preceded by an interview with the…………..Read More…….
TODAY-Important In The Moment
DEAR ENGLAND
MAYFLOWER THEATRE until 17th January 2026 then touring
This week Mayflower Theatre is giving Southampton the opportunity to see Dear England, the Olivier Award winning National Theatre production that charts the efforts of Sir Gareth Southgate to overcome the years of hurt and take the England football team to the promised land of victory on the world stage. Dear England is a resounding success – unexpected, powerful, and deeply immersive. It seamlessly blends football, emotion, and theatrical innovation. From the opening scene, the staging Designed by Es Devlin, draws the audience into its heart. The electric atmosphere of a football stadium with its striking simplicity ………..Read More………….
FRIENDS The Musical Parody
MAYFLOWER THEATRE until 10th January 2026 then touring
Well pantomime season is well and truly over, or is it? Any unsuspecting visitor to Mayflower Theatre this week may be forgiven for thinking otherwise. At the opening of the show we are greeted by a warm up comedian (not the pantomime dame) who for ten minutes engages with the audience ensuring that they shout, cheer and do as they’re told before we see any semblance of a show. Not only that but he’s back for a further five minutes at the start of the second act getting the audience involved in a quiz about the characters. What we get is a 2 hour, sorry a 1 hour 25 minute………….Read More…………
A CHRISTMAS CAROL – Review
MAYFLOWER STUDIOS – until 31st December
Reviewed 23rd December 2025
A Christmas Carol embodies all that personifies Christmas and how, even in the darkest moments, the goodness of people can overcome the biggest challenges and even in the meanest of people there are elements of goodness, it’s just being able to trigger them. And never has this been better presented than in this Mayflower Made adaptation of the Dickens story for the Christmas Youth Production, which is running at the Mayflower Studios until 31st December. The quality of every aspect of this production makes me wonder why the main theatre even………..Read More……
TOMORROW…..The Week’s News
NEWS UPDATE – 12th January 2026
by: pHayward 12th January 2026
- Starlight Express – the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s award-winning musical has set its final performance date at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre of 13 May 2026, ahead of setting out on a world tour in 2027. By the time it closes, the show will be the longest-running revival of a Lloyd Webber musical in the capital in 20 years. A new London cast album, released in November 2024, has had over 17 million streams.
- Theatre Royal Windsor – has announced a new touring initiative for 2026, with three productions originating at the venue and visiting theatres ………..Read More…….
NEWS UPDATE – 5th January 2026
by: pHayward 5th January 2026
Overtures Live On Stage have listed the musicals that we know will be playing in London and across the country during the coming year. So, welcome to 2026 and enjoy deciding which shows you might book tickets for – but most importantly – Happy New Year!
- 9 to 5 the Musical – The popular musical, based on the1980 film featuring the tunes of Dolly Parton and telling the story of three off…………..Read More.….
NEWS UPDATE – 22nd December 2025
By: pHayward 22nd December 2025
Coven – There’s been a cast change at new musical Coven which runs at North London’s Kiln Theatre to 17 January 2026. Bobbie Little will replace Diana Vickers in the roles of Edmund/Covell, with Vickers withdrawing due to unforeseen personal circumstances. With music and lyrics by Daisy Chute and Rebecca Brewer, and a book by Brewer, the show is set in 1612 in Pendle, Lancashire. The story follows Jenet, who, as a child, accuses her own family of witchcraft. Two decades later, she………….Read More……….
