The year 2025 is set to bring plenty of excitement, especially in the Manchester theatre world. Lovers of musical theatre are in for a treat as a number of award-winning productions are set to be performed in Manchester over the course of the year that are definitely worth a song and dance about. From classic musicals such as Chicago and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to brand new adaptations like 13 Going On 30 and A Knight’s Tale, there are plenty of musicals coming to Manchester theatres in 2025 to suit all tastes. Without further ado, here are some of the top musicals being performed in Manchester that you’ll want to mark your calendars for.
1. Wicked – December 3, 2024 – January 12,2025, Palace Theatre
Currently performing at Palace Theatre, one of the most decorated musicals (both awards and on stage) Wicked has been dazzling Manchester audiences. The West End and Broadway musical phenomenon, that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, continues its run in Manchester until January 12 – so be quick!
Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked imagines a beguiling backstory and future possibilities to the lives of L. Frank Baum’s beloved characters from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reveals the decisions and events that shape the destinies of two unlikely university friends on their journey to becoming Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
🎟️ Book here.
2. Kinky Boots – February 4-8, Palace Theatre
A brand new production of the Olivier, Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical Kinky Boots The Musical will tour the UK and Ireland in 2025, with a stop at the Palace Theatre Manchester along the way and with a very special guest in the starring role. Kinky Boots The Musical was a Broadway and West End phenomenon based on a true story and film of the same name released in 2005 and features a score by the iconic Cyndi Lauper and the book by Harvey Fierstein.
After inheriting his family’s failing shoe factory and with a relationship on the rocks, life is proving to be very challenging for Charlie Price. That is until he meets Lola, a drag queen whose sparkle and unsteady heels might just hold the answer to saving the struggling business.
🎟️ Book here.
3. Dear Evan Hansen, February 18-22, Palace Theatre
A new production of the Olivier, Tony and Grammy award-winning Best Musical Dear Evan Hansen will be gracing the stage of the Palace Theatre Manchester as part of a UK tour in 2025. Off the back of the film adaptation of the original Broadway musical, starring ben Platt, Kaitlyn Dever and Julianne Moore, the show that is packed with some of the biggest musical theatre songs of the last decade will head to Manchester in February 2025.
Meet Evan: an anxious high school kid who wants nothing more than to fit in. The thing is, on his way to fitting in, he didn’t tell the whole truth, and now must give up on a life he never dreamt he’d have. As events spiral and the truth comes out, Evan faces a reckoning with himself and everyone around him.
🎟️ Book here.
4. Bat Out Of Hell, February 24-March 8, Palace Theatre
Calling all lovers of rock and musicals – this Manchester show is for you! The award-winning Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical, featuring Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf‘s greatest hits, will return to the Manchester Palace Theatre as part of a UK wide tour. For the stage musical, the legendary and award-winning Jim Steinman incorporated iconic songs from the Bat Out of Hell albums, including You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth, Bat Out of Hell, I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) andTwo Out Of Three Ain’t Bad, as well as the previously unreleased song What Part of My Body Hurts the Most.
Inspired by the spectacular arena tour of Australia and New Zealand, this reimagined show promises to be a thrilling experience, featuring a dynamic eight-piece rock band on stage and sprawling multi-level platforms that will transport you through the diverse worlds of Bat Out of Hell, from Raven’s bedroom to the depths of the Lost’s underground domains.
🎟️ Book here.
5. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, March 11-16, Palace Theatre
A brand new production of one of the most fantasmagorical musicals of all time is heading to Manchester in 2025. Based on Ian Fleming’s timeless story for children and later made into the famous 1968 film, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang features the unforgettable songs by the Sherman Brothers including Toot Sweets, Hushabye Mountain, Truly Scrumptious and the Academy Award-nominated title song, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
In Chitty Chitty Bang Bang we meet absent-minded inventor Caractacus Potts who restores a broken-down old racing car with the help of his children Jemima and Jeremy. Soon the family discover the car has magical powers, and along with the delectable Truly Scrumptious, the family end up on a hilarious fantastical adventure to far off lands.
🎟️ Book here.
6. Mary Poppins, April 9-May 17, Palace Theatre
After 20 years since the world premiere in Bristol and subsequent, record breaking productions around the world, Mary Poppins, will fly back into the Palace Theatre in Manchester. Based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney film, the story of the world’s favourite nanny arriving on Cherry Tree Lane is more magical than ever before, featuring dazzling choreography, incredible effects and unforgettable songs.
Manchester theatre-goers can expect iconic songs from one of the most popular musicals including Step In Time, Chim Chim Cher-ee and, of course, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (try writing that out), that stand the test of time, getting the whole family tapping their feet and humming the tunes.
🎟️ Book here.
7. A Knight’s Tale The Musical, April 11-May 10, Manchester Opera House
The world premiere production of A Knight’s Tale The Musical, based on the Columbia Pictures film written and directed by Brian Helgeland, which starred Heath Ledger and Paul Bettany, is set to debuting at Manchester Opera House. Expect a truly rockin’ soundtrack, packed with chart-topping hits as audiences join Will Thatcher and his band of merry misfits for a Knight like no other.
The film is a stylish, music driven, action packed adventure, which saw Ledger play William Thatcher, a 14th century peasant squire who breaks all the rules when he passes himself off as a nobleman and takes the jousting world by storm. Witness two rivals go lance to lance at the world finals, but unlike other musicals heading to Manchester you’d better arm yourself and hang on tight for the ride of your life.
🎟️ Book here.
8. Moulin Rouge! The Musical, August 20-October 4, Palace Theatre
Enter a world of splendour and romance, of eye-popping excess, of glitz, grandeur, and glory, as Baz Luhrmann‘s revolutionary film Moulin Rouge! The Musical comes to life on the Manchester stage as part of its first ever World Tour , remixed in a new musical mash-up extravaganza. A celebration of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and — above all — Love, Moulin Rouge! The Musical is more than a musical — it is a state of mind.
Set in Paris, 1899, a world of indulgent beauty and unparalleled extravagance, of bohemians and aristocrats, of boulevardiers and reprobates, Moulin Rouge! is the story of a lovesick American writer, Christian, and Satine, the dazzling star of the Moulin Rouge nightclub.
🎟️ Book here.
9. Chicago, August 25-30, The Lowry
Adding to the award-winning musicals coming to Manchester is Chicago, winner of six Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards and a Grammy and the longest running American musical in Broadway and West End history. Having played at Manchester’s Palace Theatre in November 2024, Chicago is set to bring some razzle dazzle to The Lowry in Salford in 2025 – and we can safely say, we’ve had it comin’.
Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today’s tabloids.
🎟️ Book here.
10. Here & Now – The Steps Musical, September 2-13, Manchester Opera House
Better get in line, 5-6-7-8! A musical based on the songs of UK pop group Steps, Here & Now, will be embarking on a UK and Ireland tour next year with a run in Manchester. Here & Now is produced by the band and ROYO with Pete Waterman and Fascination Management with an original book by Shaun Kitchener and is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and choreographed by Olivier Award winning Matt Cole.
Welcome to seaside superstore Better Best Bargains, where it’s Friday night, the vibe is right, and everyone’s dancing in the aisles. But when Caz discovers the shelves are stocked with lies and betrayal, the summer of love she and her friends dreamed of suddenly feels like a tragedy. Have they all lost their chance of a ‘happy ever after’? Or does love have other plans in store…
🎟️ Book here.
11. 13 Going On 30 – The Musical, September 21-October 12, Manchester Opera House
Dust off your Thriller dance, because the world premiere production of 13 Going on 30 – The Musical is opening at Manchester Opera House for a limited season. The musical is based on the 2004 rom-com classic starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo, is written by the film writers Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, and will be directed by the award winning, Andy Fickman (Heathers, She’s The Man).
Jenna Rink is an adorably awkward 13-year-old girl who wishes she could skip over the misery of high school. When her birthday wish comes true, Jenna magically wakes up as an adult to find herself “thirty, flirty and thriving” as the editor of a fashion magazine with a seemingly perfect life. But as she gradually unravels the mystery of what kind of person she has become, she goes on a journey to work out what — and who — really matters.
🎟️ Book here.
12. Miss Saigon, November 4-15, Palace Theatre
Of all the iconic musicals set to perform on the Manchester stage, there is nothing quite like legendary show, Miss Saigon. Set to return to Manchester in autumn 2025, the production promises to be ‘reborn’ as a new touring production, and will visit cities around the UK with hit songs including The Heat is On in Saigon, The Movie in My Mind, Last Night of the World and The American Dream.
In the last days of the Vietnam War, 17-year-old Kim is forced to work in a Saigon bar run by a notorious character known as The Engineer. There she meets and falls in love with an American GI named Chris, but they are torn apart by the fall of Saigon. For three years Kim goes on an epic journey of survival to find her way back to Chris, who has no idea he’s fathered a son.
🎟️ Book here.