A spate of new musicals will cheer the spirits in 2024
There is nothing like a bit of pure escapism
By Rachel Lloyd
Musicals are finding their rhythm again. After an off-beat couple of years, attendance on Broadway and in the West End is approaching or exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Theatres are once again bolstering the economies of New York and London. The musical genre, long derided as uncool, has been given a boost by “Barbie”, 2023’s biggest film, which was partly inspired by the technicolour musicals of the mid-20th century.
A host of productions will hit the stage in 2024. Several will be adaptations of existing films or stories. “Starter for Ten”, David Nicholls’s novel about television quizzes, was turned into a hit film in 2006; its musical iteration will be performed at the Bristol Old Vic in Britain. In America, fans of “The Notebook” and “Water for Elephants” can watch all-singing, all-dancing versions on Broadway. “El Otro Oz”, a bilingual production billed as a “Mexican folk-infused musical inspired by ‘The Wizard of Oz’”, will open off-Broadway.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition of The World Ahead 2024 under the headline “All-singing, all-dancing”
