NEWS ROUNDUP: 9 - 15 June

It's that time again, where we take a look back at all the hottest theatre news to surface over the past week, including the biggest night of the broadway calendar and its various outcomes.

35MM: A MUSICAL EXHIBITION

Leading cast announced for Phoenix Arts Club production

Official artwork for 35MM: A Musical Exhibition

The lead cast for the upcoming Phoenix Arts Club staging of Ryan Scott Oliver’s “35MM: A Musical Exhibition” has been revealed. The cast will feature Jaina Brock-Patel (Babies), Katie Ramshaw (& Juliet), Aaron Aisoni (Pretty Woman), Joseph Riley (Once) and David Joseph Healy (pro debut) in undisclosed roles. 35MM first premiered at New York's Galapagos Art Space in 2012, starring Lindsey Mendez and Alex Brightman, following a developmental series of performances at Urban Stages in 2010.

The show will play at the Phoenix Arts Club on the 7th and 8th of July, with two performances (7pm and 9:30pm) on each day. Full cast will be revealed at a later date, and tickets are on sale for all four performances from the Phoenix Arts Club website.

GREENWICH THEATRE

Full cast announced for double bill of shows

Artwork for The Three Musketeers, one of two shows to perform concurrently

Producers for the double bill of productions at the Greenwich Theatre, featuring a new musical adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers” written by Anthony Spargo, as well as a new retelling of the classic fairytale “The Elves and the Shoemaker” by Brad Tutt and Ella McKeown, have revealed the cast whom will feature, comprising Louise Cielecki (Whipped Up!), Jack Benjamin (To Kill a Mockingbird), Verity Bajoria (Fairy Tale of New York), Finn Whelan (Guy/Mart), Michaela Murphy (We’ll Have Nun of It) and James Aldred (The Secret Diary of Henry VIII). They will all feature in The Three Musketeers, and will also split into two teams of three, who will rotate parts for The Elves and the Shoemaker.

Murphy will also act as musical director for The Three Musketeers, leading this cast of actor-musicians, with direction by James Haddrell, the artistic director for the Greenwich Theatre. The Elves and the Shoemaker meanwhile will be directed by one of the writing team Ella McKeown. The two productions will run concurrently from the 30th of July until the 24th of August, with The Three Musketeers having an additional week of performances prior to this. Tickets can be purchased from the Greenwich Theatre website.

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN

Full cast announced for Hope Mill revival

Ore Obuda and the full cast of Young Frankenstein

The full cast has been revealed for the Hope Mill Theatre production of Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein”, with Ore Oduba (The Rocky Horror Show) starring as Dr Frederick Frankenstein, Jessica Martin (Spitting Image) as Frau Blücher, Rhiannon Chesterman (I Wish You Well) as Elizabeth Benning, Pete Gallagher (Fisherman’s Friends) as The Monster, Curtis Patrick (Pretty Woman) as Igor, Simeon Truby (Wicked) as Inspector Hans Kemp/Harold the Hermit, and Julie Yammanee (Jerry’s Girls) as Inga.

The cast is completed by Belle Kizzy Green, Robin Kent, Bryan Mottram, Alanna Panditaratne, Oliver Ramsdale, Hakeem Tinubu, Patricia Wilkins and Jessica Wright. Young Frankenstein will run at Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester from the 10th of October until the 30th of November, with tickets now on sale from the Hope Mill Theatre website.

MONA LOSER

Workshop performances announced for new musical

Official artwork for Mona Loser

From the team behind “Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York)” comes a new musical in development, based on Mary Shelley’s gothic novel “Frankenstein” and set in the music industry. Entitled “Mona Loser”, this new musical by Kit Buchan and Jim Barne will be produced by Birmingham Hippodrome, and perform four shows at Southwark Playhouse this summer.

A sample track titled “Dead Or Alive”, performed by Melanie-Joyce Bermudez, has also been released by the company, which can be viewed on my instagram page. The workshop performances will play at Southwark Playhouse Borough (Little) from the 16th-19th of July 2025, with tickets available from the Southwark Playhouse website.

MEAN GIRLS

Full dates and venues announced for UK & Ireland tour

The west end cast of Mean Girls (credit: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg)

The UK and Ireland tour of "Mean Girls: The Musical" has revealed which venues the show will perform at and when, kicking proceedings off at the Manchester Opera House, where it will run from the 23rd of February until the 7th of March 2026. This will be followed by runs in Cardiff, Sunderland, Milton Keynes, Cheltenham, Hull, Bournemouth, Belfast, Wolverhampton, Glasgow, Llandudno, Southend, Blackpool, Dublin, Bristol, Crawley, Bradford, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Newcastle. Further dates are set to be revealed later in the year.

Mean Girls had its world premiere in Washington DC in 2017, followed by a broadway transfer the following year, where it ran at the August Wilson Theatre for two years before being forced to close by COVID-19, perhaps most famously starring Sabrina Carpenter for the final two shows of its run. More recently the show just closed in London a week ago, after a year long run at the Savoy Theatre. Further details about the tour, including cast and creatives, will be revealed at a later date, and a full list of dates and venues can be found on the official Mean Girls website.

78TH TONY AWARDS

Winners revealed during the 2025 ceremony

Jak Malone accepting his Tony Award (credit: Theo Wargo)

In the biggest night on the broadway calendar, the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League have bestowed the 2025 Tony Awards, with the winners being revealed in the early hours of Monday the 9th of June. Fifteen musicals and fourteen plays received nominations, with a total of fourteen different productions winning awards. Leading the way in nominations were Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her and Maybe Happy Ending. The latter show by Will Aronson and Hue Park received the most awards with six, including best musical, best book of a musical and best actor in a musical for Darren Criss. There was also a notable win for British favourite Jak Malone as best featured actor in a musical, for his performance as Hester in Operation Mincemeat.

The play with the most wins was Stranger Things: The First Shadow with three, including awards for lighting, sound and scenic design. It also received a special Tony, honouring the illusions and technical effects. Taking the prize for best new play was Pulitzer prize winning Purpose, which also won the Drama Desk Award for outstanding play. There were also surprise shutouts for several shows expected to do well, including Gypsy, John Proctor Is The Villain, and Dead Outlaw, with Death Becomes Her only managing a single award for costume design; you can find the full list of winners and nominees on the official Tony Awards website.