Musicals magazine - February 2025

As legendary Diva of the stage Patti LuPone brings her dazzling solo show A Life in Notesto London’s Coliseum for one night only, Edward Seckerson traces the remarkable journey behind this intimate, song-filled roadmap of her career – from Evita and Anything Goes to Company and beyond – and discovers how the Broadway legend continues to captivate audiences with her fearless storytelling through music.

Producing songs for a musical is very different to writing standalone pop songs, Nancy Durrant discovers in conversation with pop stars-turned-composers. From KT Tunstall’s ’90s mixtape-inspired score for Clueless the Musicalto Jake Shears’s lessons learned on Tammy Faye and Tom Fletcher’s long journey with The Creakers, they reveal the steep learning curves, the joy of collaboration, and the unexpected ways Musical Theatre reshaped how they write songs.

Tim Bano shines a spotlight on the trailblazing women breaking barriers in the world of Musical Direction. Exploring the challenges, triumphs, and systemic changes reshaping this traditionally male-dominated field. From tackling gender bias to reimagining the role of an MD, these women are orchestrating a new era in musical theatre.

Musical Theatre legend Elaine Paige returns to our pages with her regular column celebrating the shows that revolutionised Musical Theatre. This time, it’s the initially controversial, now iconic rock musical Hair.

Titanique, Little Shop of Horrors, Here You Come Again and the touring production of A Chorus Line and the UK premier of Natasha Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 feature in our UK show reviews – and don’t miss our US show reviews, including Gypsy starring Audra McDonald.

Our expert recording reviews include the soundtrack of the blockbuster adaptation Wicked Part One, brand new UK cast recordings of Hadestown and London Tide.

In My Musicals we find out which musicals have made an impact on the life and career of two-time Olivier awarding-winning actor Joanna Riding.