You love Frozen the movie—now experience the stage production in Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical, streaming on Disney Plus as of Friday, June 20. "Captured live, this spectacular stage production brings the beloved tale of sisterhood, bravery, and self-discovery to life in a new breathtaking way," per the streaming service.

Filmed live onstage at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London’s legendary West End, the full-length Broadway musical features all of the "magic, music, and spectacle" of the hit Disney movie—which centers on two royal sisters, Princess Elsa (played onstage by Samantha Barks) and Princess Anna (Laura Dawkes), two estranged sisters whose relationship is torn apart by Elsa's mysterious magical powers—but with exciting stage-only additions to the sisters' story. (Keeping things extra faithful where the story's concerned, Oscar-winning Frozen director Jennifer Lee penned the book for Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical.

Along with astonishing special effects to portray Elsa's icy powers, the theatrical show features 12 new songs written just for the stage by Academy Award winners Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, joining fan-favorite tunes like "For the First Time in Forever,” “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" and, of course, "Let It Go."

Leads Samantha Barks and Laura Dawkes are joined by a talented London cast portraying the colorful characters of Arendelle, including Craig Gallivan as Olaf, Jammy Kasongo as Kristoff, Oliver Ormson as Hans, Richard Frame as Weselton and Ashley Birchall as Sven. The principal cast also includes Martha Bailey Vine, Elizabeth Lyons, Ben Irish, Lizzy-Rose Esin-Kelly, Jak Skelly, Jacqui Sanchez and Ashley J Daniels.

To stream Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical this weekend and beyond, you're going to need access to Disney Plus. Current subscription prices for Disney's streaming platform are $9.99 per month for the ad-supported Disney+ Basic option, $12.99 per month or $129.99 per year for the commercial-free Disney+ Standard tier, or $15.99 per month or $159.99 per year for the Disney+ Premium plan, with ad-free streaming, up to 4K UHD and HDR video.

Check out the official trailer for Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical before tuning into the dazzling stage production on Disney Plus.

There are probably many people bursting out into song today, as Wicked made its streaming debut Peacock on March 21; it’s particularly easy as the Wicked sing-along version is also available to stream in addition to the theatrical version.

Setting box office records, inspiring TikTok dances and earning 10 Oscar nominations and two wins (Best Costume Design and Best Production Design), Wicked was truly a phenomenon. But as musicals are a divisive genre, there were some with dissenting viewpoints (notable critics Amy Nicholson and Justin Chang among them) about this adaptation of the popular Broadway musical that gives us a different backstory to the classic world of Oz.

I hadn’t seen Wicked since November when I saw it in movie theaters, but I recently remedied that, curious about a few things. How would I feel watching the movie on a TV screen and would a rewatch change my opinion of the movie at all, having called it one of my top 10 movies of 2024 and giving it five stars in my Wicked review?

I’m happy to report that I'm still a big fan of this movie. As an unabashed lover of musicals, my opinion shifting to disliking Wicked was likely never really in the cards, but the rewatch reaffirmed that not only was this one of the best movies of last year, it’s one of the best studio movies of the last 10 years and is poised to be a classic for years to come.

Exhibits A and B as to why that is were the fantastic performances of Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. In addition to their incredible voices pulling off all the high notes (particularly Erivo during “Defying Gravity”), they have a great chemistry in bringing the friendship of Elphaba and Glinda to life.

Then there’s director Jon M. Chu, who accomplished something truly special in his new depiction of Oz. The movie looks magical from top to bottom, and Chu’s vision helped bring that to life.

One common complaint I remember hearing from some critiques of the movie was that it was too long (especially considering it only covers the first-half of the Broadway musical). And while I’ll give you a couple of the musical numbers may stretch their limitations (I even had that feeling a bit during “Popular”), the movie still had me and kept me from scrolling through my phone, despite not being in the movie theater setting and no one getting mad at me if I did.

Long story short, whether you will be watching Wicked for the first time or like me revisiting the movie, Wicked is an absolute must-watch on Peacock, and the key to getting ready for part two, Wicked: For Good, later this year.

A Peacock subscription is required to stream Wicked in the US, though the movie is available on-demand if you aren’t a subscriber. In the UK Wicked is only available via digital on-demand.

You can now end 2024 (or start 2025 if you prefer) by singing “Defying Gravity” along with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in your own home as Wicked is now available to watch via digital on-demand platforms in the US.

After being one of the best-reviewed movies of the year (88% “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes), ranked No. 1 in WTW’s official top 10 movies of 2024 list) and a major Oscar contender, Wicked can be purchased or rented through various digital on-demand platforms, including Prime Video, Apple TV Plus, Fandango at Home and more as of December 31. You can purchase a digital copy of the movie for $29.99 or rent it for less (exact rental price may vary by service). The movie is still playing in movie theaters if you prefer to see it on the big screen.

Based on the Tony-winning Broadway musical of the same name, Wicked offers a different perspective on many of the classic characters of The Wizard of Oz, particularly Glinda the Good Witch, played by Grande, and the Wicked Witch of the West, or as she was originally known, Elphaba, played by Erivo. The rest of the cast includes Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode and Jeff Goldblum. The movie was directed by Jon M. Chu.

In addition to the full movie, purchasing a digital copy of Wicked will also give fans access to bonus content. This includes the movie’s sing-along version, deleted and extended scenes, behind-the-scenes features and commentary tracks.

If you’re a fan of physical media, the 4K, Blu-ray and DVD version of Wicked is going to be released on February 4.

Wicked has become a box office smash, making more than $420 million in the US (third most for 2024) and $634 million worldwide (good for sixth among all movies); it also recently passed Mamma Mia! as the highest grossing Broadway adaptation ever. And after landing 11 Critics Choice Award nominations and four Golden Globe nominations, the movie is widely expected to be a major contender for this year’s Oscars. Of course, we'll also be getting the second part of the story with Wicked: For Good, which is going to be a 2025 new movie.

Wicked becomes the latest highly acclaimed movie that came out in the final months of the year to arrive at home before the year ends (even if just barely). Others include Conclave, Anora and Juror No. 2.

If you’ve somehow missed what Wicked is all about, check out the trailer below to get a peek at the movie:

Jazz hands at the ready… to celebrate a whopping 30 years of National Lottery funds helping theatre and performing arts projects across the UK, Big Night of Musicals 2025 returns for a spectacular night featuring performances from some of the best musical theatre shows around.

Here’s what we know so far…

The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals 2025 release date

The event itself took place on Monday, January 27 at the AO Arena Manchester, and will be broadcast on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer on Saturday, March 22 at 18.50pm.

The show will air for 1 hour and 35 minutes on the BBC.

Who’s hosting Big Night of Musicals?

Pulling the whole thing together and making sure the night runs smoothly is actor, comedian and West End star Jason Manford, who fronts the show for the fourth time. "It's a real treat," he says. "It's a real honour to host this lovely show and I’m chuffed it’s in my hometown of Manchester for its fourth year. I'm an advocate of theatre, and I'm really proud that, with Big Night of Musicals, we're able to bring West End quality shows up to the northwest."

What's the atmosphere like in the AO Arena on the night?

"It’s absolutely incredible," says Jason. "You've got 12,000 people in there; kids with their parents and sometimes two or three generations of the same family. So it’s a really special night and it's free… and we know everyone loves a free night out!"

What musical performances can we expect to see?

Among the all-singing, all-dancing productions taking to the stage will be Mean Girls, Bat Out of Hell, Calamity Jane, Dear Evan Hansen, Disney’s Hercules and Here & Now: The Steps Musical, which Jason is particularly looking forward to catching a glimpse of.

"There were musicals I knew nothing about, like Titanique, a parody of the film Titanic told through Celine Dion songs. It rocked the room and I reckon it’ll be one of those sleeper hits," says Jason. "There’s also Here & Now: The Steps Musical. I appeared in Curtains in 2020 alongside its star Rebecca Lock, who’s got a cracking voice.

"Musicals are not all ‘jazz hands’; some will make you laugh, some you’ll cry - but all our performances give theatre-goers an insight into what musicals could be coming to a town or city near you!"

Will Jason be performing himself?

A seasoned theatre performer, Big Night of Musicals just wouldn’t be the same without a star turn from the host with the most. And this time Jason's teaming up with Line of Duty actor Daniel Mays to perform the song A Musical from West End show Something Rotten!

"I was in Something Rotten! last summer, so I knew the song already - Daniel had to learn it en route to Manchester," explains Jason. "We had two hours on Sunday to learn the dance routine, then perform it with the dancers. On Monday - show day - we rehearsed with the orchestra, then worked the routine into the show, walking through the audience and onto the stage. Danny’s a generous performer - and the matching sequin jackets were all his idea!"

We also know that Vicky McClure's Our Dementia Choir graces the stage for a special performance...

That's right! The members of Our Dementia Choir are joined by none other than theatre legend - and their singing hero - Michael Ball OBE for an emotional rendition of The Impossible Dream from Man of La Mancha.

"All the singers in that choir either have dementia themselves or are affected by it - many are fans of Michael Ball, so getting to perform with him in front of thousands is incredible," says Jason. "When your memory starts fading, musical memories are often the last thing to go. You hear of those with dementia not remembering names, faces or where they are but then a song comes on and they know every word. It’s a beautiful performance that really shows what music can do."

There must be lots of challenges to keeping a show like this running smoothly?

There certainly are! Luckily, Big Night of Musicals is in a very safe pair of hands.

"There's lots of plates to spin: Rehearsing a musical number, keeping the 13,000-strong arena audience engaged, while playing down the camera to all those watching at home, too," says Jason. "We had a technical glitch, so I was asked if I could fill time - as a stand-up comedian, that’s literally my job! When we had a technical problem in The Wizard of Oz, I was fully dressed as Cowardly Lion doing stand-up - I'd never done stand-up with a tail!

How are these theatre productions supported by The National Lottery?

They say ‘the show must go on’ but there are instances where that may not have been possible for some theatre productions without financial support from the National Lottery.

"To put £1.3 billion into theatre alone is amazing. Following the pandemic, a lot of these theatres wouldn't be open or these shows still in production, if it wasn't for National Lottery funding," says Jason, who can’t believe the national lottery has been running for 30 years. "It’s amazing, isn't it? I remember when it first started - but I've still only ever won a tenner!"

Is there a trailer for the Big Night of Musicals 2025?

No, sadly there isn't a trailer yet, but as soon as one is released by the BBC we will add it to this guide.

2024 at the movies took movie fans from Arrakis to Oz (and a bunch of other places in between). Where will we go in 2025? Get an idea with our full look at the 2025 release schedule for new movies.

We're keeping track of all of the new films coming out in 2025 (exclusively on the big screen, no streaming only titles here), from the big franchises — including the latest entries in the MCU to Wicked: For Good — to more adult-driven movies or family-friendly titles. We'll keep this list updated as new movies are added or in the event that release dates shift so you can know exactly what is coming out in a given week and what exciting movies are on their way.

Check out our complete rundown of the 2025 new movies release schedule directly below.

August

Americana

• Release date: August 15
• Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, Halsey, Simon Rex, Eric Dane, Zahn McClarnon
• Director: Tony Tost

Sydney Sweeney is showing her funny side once again in this crime comedy where she and a group of people are trying to strike it rich by getting their hands on a rare Native American artifact.

Clika

• Release date: August 15
• Cast: Jay Dee, Eric Roberts
• Director: Michael Greene

The story of a small town musician whose career begins to take off when a video of his goes viral.

East of Wall

• Release date: August 15
• Cast: Porshia Zimiga, Tabatha Zimiga, Scoot McNairy
• Director: Kate Beecroft

The winner of the NEXT Audience Award at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, East of Wall stars real-life horse trainer Tabatha Zimiga as a version of herself as she tries to secure her ranch in the Badlands after her husband's passing, not just for the horses but for the young girls that have come to rely on the ranch as a refuge.

Highest 2 Lowest

• Release date: August 22
• Cast: Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, A$AP Rocky
• Director: Spike Lee

Spike Lee pays homage to the great Akira Kurosawa with his own take on the classic Kurosawa movie, High and Low. Beyond seeing Lee's take on this crime drama, the excitement around Highest 2 Lowest is that it serves as the first movie directed by Lee and starring Denzel Washington since 2006's Inside Man.

The Knife

• Release date: August 15
• Cast: Nnamdi Asomugha, Aja Naomi King, Melissa Leo, Manny Jacinto
• Director: Nnamdi Asomugha

Former NFL player Nnamdi Asomugha makes his directorial debut in this crime thriller that he also co-wrote with Mark Duplass. In it, a young Black family must deal with the fallout of a home invasion as a detective attempts to solve the case over the course of a single night.

Nobody 2

• Release date: August 15
• Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Sharon Stone, Christopher Lloyd, Colin Hanks
• Director: Timo Tjahjanto

Bob Odenkirk, action star, is back for another round in Nobody 2. The original iteration of the action comedy premiered in 2021 and saw Odenkirk's ordinary-looking Hutch Mansell revealing that he has a past as a trained assassin. In the sequel, he's looking to get a break from his life of violence, but it finds him nonetheless.

Went Up the Hill

• Release date: August 15
• Cast: Vicky Krieps, Darce Montgomery
• Director: Samuel Van Grinsven

New Zealand and Australia have had some really strong elevated horror movies in recent years (The Babadook hailed from Australia), and Went Up the Hill could be the next entry in that category. The movie focuses on a son who goes to the funeral of his estranged mother, only to discover that his mother's spirit hasn't completely passed on just yet.

Witchboard

• Release date: August 15
• Cast: Jamie Campbell Bower, Madison Iseman
• Director: Chuck Russell

Move over ouija board, Witchboard is the thing causing problems now in this new horror movie. Stranger Things' Jamie Campbell Bower stars in the movie, this time being the one that is getting haunted.

Eden

• Release date: August 22
• Cast: Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Brühl, Sydney Sweeney, Toby Wallace, Felix Kammerer
• Director: Ron Howard

Ron Howard's latest movie is based on the true story of a group of people that choose to settle on a remote island away from society. However, this paradise doesn't last long as their personal differences lead to dangerous situations.

Honey Don't!

• Release date: August 22
• Cast: Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, Billy Eichner, Chris Evans
• Director: Ethan Coen

While we all hold out for a Coen brother reunion in the near future, Ethan Coen is continuing on his solo directing career with the crime comedy Honey Don't! His Drive-Away Dolls star Margaret Qualley leads the way as a private investigator that digs into a series of strange deaths that all point back to a mysterious church.

Ne Zha 2

• Release date: August 22
• Cast: Michelle Yeoh
• Director: Yu Yang

A24 gets into the animation game, distributing this animated fantasy, action, adventure movie that hails from China. Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh leads the voice cast for the movie's English-language version.

Relay

• Release date: August 22
• Director: David Mackenzie
• Cast: Riz Ahmed, Lily James, Sam Worthington

David Mackenzie has quietly amassed quite the filmography, and he may have another sleeper hit on his hand with Relay, which has the feel of a 70s era thriller. The movie stars Riz Ahmed as a fixer who breaks his typical rules when he tries to help a whistleblower that comes in the crosshairs of a dangerous group.

Splitsville

• Release date: August 22
• Cast: Adria Arjona, Dakota Johnson, Kyle Marvin, Michael Angelo Covino
• Director: Michael Angelo Covino

Dakota Johnson is the rom-com star of the summer, as after Materialists she stars in Splitsville, an indie rom-com that also plays with the formula a bit. Here, when a man's wife reveals that she has cheated on him, he goes to find solace with his friends, where he learns they actually have an open marriage. Simply put, things get wildly complicated from there.

Trust

• Release date: August 22
• Cast: Sophie Turner, Billy Campbell, Katey Sagal
• Director: Carlson Young

Sophie Turner stars in this thriller of a Hollywood actress that heads to a remote cabin to hideout for a bit following a big scandal. However, trouble finds her and forces her to fight for her life.

Caught Stealing

• Release date: August 29
• Cast: Austin Butler, Zoe Kravtiz, Regina King, Liev Schreiber, Matt King, Bad Bunny
• Director: Darren Aronofsky

Darren Aronofsky, the Oscar-nominated director best known for power, psychological dramas like Black Swan and Mother!, gives comedy a try with the crime comedy Caught Stealing. The movie stars Austin Butler as a former baseball players/now bartender who gets caught in the middle 90s New York's criminal underbelly when his neighbor asks him to watch his apartment.

A Little Prayer

• Release date: August 29
• Cast: David Strathairn, Jane Levy, Anna Camp
• Director: Angus MacLachlan

A Little Prayer first premiered all the way back at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it was very well received; it has a 93% "Fresh" Rotten Tomatoes score as of August 4. The movie, which focuses on a father who must figure out how to protect his daughter-in-law when he learns his son is having an affair, is finally getting a wide release.

The Roses

• Release date: August 29
• Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Demetriou, Zoe Chao, Belinda Bromilow, Kate McKinnon
• Director: Jay Roach

Everything is not smelling like roses for Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman in the divorce comedy The Roses. A reimagining of the 80s movie The War of the Roses, Cumberbatch and Colman go from love to hate in this comedy, directed by Austin Powers and Bombshell director Jay Roach and written by The Great's Tony McNamara.

The Toxic Avenger

• Release date: August 29
• Cast: Peter Dinklage, Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood, Jane Levy, Jacob Tremblay, Julian Kostov, Macon Blair, Taylour Paige
• Director: Macon Blair

Cult superhero The Toxic Avenger is getting another shot at the big screen, this time with Peter Dinklage playing the hero. The big appeal with this movie is that they are playing up the camp and the gore in what hopefully will be a fan's delight.

September

The Baltimorons

• Release date: September 5
• Cast: Michael Strassner, Liz Larsen
• Director: Jay Duplass

The Conjuring: Last Rites

• Release date: September 5
• Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson
• Director: Michael Chaves

Preparation for the Next Life

• Release date: September 5
• Cast: Sebiye Behtiyar, Fred Hechinger
• Director: Bing Liu

Twinless

• Release date: September 5
• Cast: Dylan O'Brien, James Sweeney, Lauren Graham
• Director: James Sweeney

Code 3

• Release date: September 12
• Cast: Rainn Wilson, Lil Rel Howery, Aimee Carrero, Rob Riggle, Yvette Nicole Brown
• Director: Christopher Leone

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

• Release date: September 12
• Cast: Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Dominic West, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, Robert James-Collier, Joanne Froggatt, Allen Leech, Penelope Wilton, Lesley Nicol, Michael Fox, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Kevin Doyle, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sophie McShera, Douglas Reith, Joely Richardson, Paul Giammatti, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale, Arty Froushan
• Director: Simon Curtis

The History of Sound

• Release date: September 12
• Cast: Paul Mescal, Josh O'Connor, Chris Cooper
• Director: Oliver Hermanus

The Long Walk

• Release date: September 12
• Cast: Judy Greer, Charlie Plummer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Ben Wang
• Director: Francis Lawrence

Looking Through Water

• Release: September 12
• Cast: Davie Morse, Michael Douglas, Walker Scobell, Asher Grodman
• Director: Roberto Sneider

Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues

• Release date: September 12
• Cast: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Questlove, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood
• Director: Rob Reiner

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

• Release date: September 19
• Cast: Colin Farrell, Margot Robbie, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Hamish Linklater, Lily Rabe, Billy Magnussen, Jodie Turner-Smith, Sarah Gadon, Brandon Perea
• Director: Kogonada

HIM

• Release date: September 19
• Cast: Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies Guapdad 4000, Tierra Whack
• Director: Justin Tipping

The Lost Bus

• Release date: September 19
• Cast: Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera
• Director: Paul Greengrass

Plainclothes

• Release date: September 19
• Cast: Tom Blyth, Russell Tovey
• Director: Carmen Emmi

The Senior

• Release date: September 19
• Cast: Michael Chiklis, Mary Stuart Masterson, Brandon Flynn, James Badge Dale, Rob Corddry
• Director: Rod Lurie

BFFs

• Release date: September 26
• Cast: Jennifer Morrison, Taye Diggs, Terrence Howard, Nick Stahl
• Director: Constantine Paraskevopoulos

Eleanor the Great

• Release date: September 26
• Cast: June Squibb, Erin Kellyman, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht, Rita Zohar
• Director: Scarlett Johansson

Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie

• Release date: September 26
• Cast: Laila Lockhart Kraner
• Director: Ryan Crego

One Battle After Another

• Release date: September 26
• Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Alana Haim, Wood Harris
• Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

The Strangers: Chapter 2

• Release date: September 26
• Cast: Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso, Ema Horvath
• Director: Renny Harlin

October

Anemone

• Release date: October 3
• Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Bean, Samuel Bottomley, Safia Oakley-Green, Samantha Morton
• Director: Roman Day-Lewis

The Smashing Machine

• Release date: October 3
• Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt
• Director: Benny Safdie

After the Hunt

• Release date: October 10 (limited)
• Cast: Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield
• Director: Luca Guadagnino

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

• Release date: October 10 (limited)
• Cast: Rose Byrne, Conan O'Brien, Christian Slater, A$AP Rocky
• Director: Mary Bronstein

Kiss of the Spider Woman

• Release date: October 10
• Cast:  Jennifer Lopez, Diego Luna, Tonatiuh
• Director: Bill Condon

Roofman

• Release date: October 10 (US); October 3 (UK)
• Cast: Channing Tatum, Juno Temple, Peter Dinklage, Kirsten Dunst, Ben Mendelsohn, LaKeith Stanfield, Emory Cohen, Uzo Aduba, Tony Revolori, Molly Price, Melonie Diaz, Lilly Collias
• Director: Derek Cianfrance

Tron: Ares

• Release date: October 10
• Cast: Jared Leto, Jeff Bridges, Jodie Turner-Smith, Evan Peters, Gillian Anderson, Greta Lee, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, Hasan Minhaj, Sarah Desjardins
• Director: Joachim Ronning

Ballad of a Small Player

• Release date: October 15 (US); October 17 (UK)
• Cast: Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Deanie Ip, Alex Jennings, Tilda Swinton
• Director: Edward Berger

Black Phone 2

• Release date: October 17
• Cast: Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Jeremy Davies, Madeleine McGraw, Demian Bichir, Miguel Mora
• Director: Scott Derrickson

Blue Moon

• Release date: October 17
• Cast: Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Andrew Scott, Bobby Cannavale
• Director: Richard Linklater

Good Fortune

• Release date: October 17
• Cast: Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, Keanu Reeves, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh, Stephen McKinnley Henderson
• Director: Aziz Ansari

Bugonia

• Release date: October 24 (limited), October 31 (wide)
• Cast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Alicia Silverstone
• Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

• Release date: October 24
• Cast: Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Stephen Graham, Paul Walter Hauser, Odessa Young, Gaby Hoffmann, David Krumholtz, Marc Maron, Johnny Cannizzaro, Harisson Gilbertson, Chris Jaymes, Matthew Anthony Pellicano
• Director: Scott Cooper

Mortal Kombat II

• Release date: October 24
• Cast: Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Damon Herriman, Tati Gabrielle Martyn Ford, Max Huang and Ana Thu Nguyen star, with Chin Han, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada
• Director: Simon McQuoid

Regretting You

• Release date: October 24
• Cast: Willa Fitzgerald, Allison Williams, McKenna Grace, Clancy Brown, Dave Franco, Scott Eastwood, Mason Thames
• Director: Josh Boone

Nouvelle Vague

• Release date: October 31
• Cast: Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch, Aubry Dullin
• Director: Richard Linklater

The Thing with Feathers

• Release date: October 31
• Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, David Thewlis
• Director: Dylan Southern

A House of Dynamite

• Release date: October TBD
• Cast: Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Greta Lee, Jason Clarke, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Kaitlyn Dever
• Director: Kathryn Bigelow

November

Die, My Love

• Release date: November 7
• Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, LaKeith Stanfield
• Director: Lynne Ramsay

I Wish You All the Best

• Release date: November 7
• Director: Tommy Dorfman
• Cast: Corey Fogelmanis, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Amy Landecker, Lena Dunham, Alexandra Daddario, Cole Sprouse

Nuremberg

• Release date: November 7
• Cast: Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, Richard E. Grant, Leo Woodall, John Slattery
• Director: James Vanderbilt

Predator: Badlands

• Release date: November 7
• Cast: Elle Fanning
• Director: Dan Trachtenberg

The Running Man

• Release date: November 7
• Cast: Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, Katy O'Brian, William H. Macy, Emilia Jones, Michael Cera, Karl Glusman, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, Colman Domingo
• Director: Edgar Wright

Sarah's Oil

• Release date: November 7
• Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green, Zachary Levi, Bridget Regan, Garret Dillahunt
• Director: Cyrus Nowrasteh

Sentimental Value

• Release date: November 7 (US, limited)
• Cast: Renate Reinsve, Elle Fanning, Stellan Skarsgård
• Director: Joachim Trier

Train Dreams

• Release date: November 7 (limited)
• Cast: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, William H. Macy, Clifton Collins Jr.
• Director: Clint Bentley

Jay Kelly

• Release date: November 14
• Cast: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Emily Mortimer, Bill Crudup, Laura Dern, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Riley Keough, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Lecky, Thaddea Graham, Jim Broadbent, Eve Hewson, Alba Rohrwacher, Lenny Henry, Josh Hamilton, Greta Gerwig
• Director: Noah Baumbach

Keeper

• Release date: November 14
• Cast: Tatiana Maslany, Rossif Sutherland, Erin Boyes, Birkett Turton, Claire Friesen, Tess Degenstein, Christin Park
• Director: Osgood Perkins

Now You See Me: Now You Don't

• Release date: November 14
• Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Arianna Greenblatt, Dominic Sessa, Justice Smith
• Director: Ruben Fleischer

Rental Family

• Release date: November 21
• Cast: Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, Akira Emoto
• Director: Hikari

Sisu 2

• Release date: November 21
• Cast: Jorma Tommila, Richard Brake, Stephen Lang
• Director: Jalamari Helander

Wicked: For Good

• Release date: November 21
• Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode
• Director: Jon M. Chu

The Secret Agent

• Release date: November 26 (New York)
• Cast: Wagner Moura
• Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho

Zootopia 2

• Release date: November 26
• Cast: Jason Bateman, Ginnifer Goodwin, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Shakira
• Director: Jared Bush & Byron Howard

Hamnet

• Release date: November 27
• Cast: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn
• Director: Chloé Zhao

December

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2

• Release date: December 5
• Cast: Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, Matthew Lillard, Elizabeth Lail
• Director: Emma Tammi

Ella McCay

• Release date: December 12
• Cast: Emma Mackey, Woody Harrelson, Ayo Edebiri, Kumail Nanjiani, Jack Lowden, Rebecca Hall, Jamie Lee Curtis, Albert Brooks
• Director: James L. Brooks

Scarlet

• Release date: December 12
• Director: Mamoru Hosoda

Silent Night, Deadly Night

• Release date: December 12
• Cast: Rohan Campbell, Ruby Modine, Mark Acheson, David Lawrence Brown, David Tomlinson
• Director: Mike P. Nelson

Avatar: Fire and Ash

• Release date: December 19
• Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver
• Director: James Cameron

The SpongeBob Movie: The Search for Squarepants

• Release date: December 19
• Cast: Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown, Brian Doyle-Murray, Rodger Bumpass, Mr. Lawrence, Carolyn Lawrence
• Director: Derek Drymon

Anaconda

• Release date: December 25
• Cast: Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Thandiwe Newton, Steve Zahn, Daniela Melchior, Selton Mello
• Director: Tom Gormican

The Housemaid

• Release date: December 25
• Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Sydeny Sweeney
• Director: Paul Feig

Marty Supreme

• Release date: December 25
• Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler the Creator, Fran Drescher, Penn Jillette, Odessa A’zion, Kevin O’Leary, Abel Ferrera and Sandra Bernard
• Director: Josh Safdie

Song Sung Blue

• Release date: December 25
• Cast: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Michael Imperioli, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi, Ella Anderson, King Princess, Mustafa Shakir, Hudson Hilbert Hensley
• Director: Craig Brewer

Released movies

The Damned

• Released: January 3
• Cast: Odessa Young, Joe Cole, Lewis Gribben, Siobhan Finneran, Rory McCann
• Director: Thordur Palsson
• The Damned review

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

• Released: January 10
• Cast: Gerard Butler, O'Shea Jackson
• Director: Christian Gudegast
• Den of Thieves 2: Pantera review

Alarum

• Released: January 17
• Cast: Scott Eastwood, Willa Fitzgerald, Sylvester Stallone, Mike Colter
• Director: Michael Polish

One of Them Days

• Released: January 17
• Cast: Keke Palmer, SZA, Maude Apatow, Lil Rel Howery, Janelle James, Katt Williams
• Director: Lawrence Lamont
• One of Them Days review

Wish You Were Here

• Released: January 17
• Cast: Isabelle Fuhrman, Mena Massoud, Jimmie Fails, Gabby Kono-Abdy, Jennifer Grey, Kelsey Grammer
• Director: Julia Stiles

Wolf Man

• Released: January 17
• Cast: Julia Garner, Christopher Abbott, Matilda Firth
• Director: Leigh Whannell

The Colors Within

• Released: January 24
• Cast: Sayu Suzukawa, Akari Takaishi
• Director: Naoko Yamada

Flight Risk

• Released: January 24
• Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace
• Director: Mel Gibson
• Flight Risk review

Inheritance

• Released: January 24
• Cast: Phoebe Dynevor, Rhys Ifans
• Director: Neil Burger

Presence

• Released: January 24
• Cast: Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Callina Lang, Eddy Maday, Julia Fox
• Director: Steven Soderbergh

Companion

• Released: January 31
• Cast: Jack Quaid, Sophie Thatcher, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, Rupert Friend
• Director: Drew Hancock
• Companion review

Dog Man

• Released: January 31 (US); February 7 (UK)
• Cast: Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd, Ricky Gervais
• Director: Peter Hastings

Like Father Like Son

• Released: January 31
• Cast: Dylan Flashner, Dermot Mulroney, Ariel Winter, Vivica A. Fox, Mayim Bialik,
• Director: Barry Jay

Love Me

• Released: January 31 (US)
• Cast: Kristen Stewart, Steven Yeun
• Directors: Sam Zuchero & Andy Zuchero

Armand

• Released: February 7 (US)
• Cast: Renate Reinsve
• Director: Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel

Bring Them Down

• Released: February 7
• Cast: Christopher Abbott, Barry Keoghan, Colm Meaney
• Director: Chris Andrews

Heart Eyes

• Released: February 7 (US); February 14 (UK)
• Cast: Jordana Brewster, Devon Sawa, Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding
• Director: Josh Ruben

I'm Still Here

• Released: February 7 (US); February 21 (UK)
• Cast: Fernanda Torres, Fernanda Montenegro, Selton Mello
• Director: Walter Salles

Love Hurts

• Released: February 7
• Cast: Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Daniel Wu, Sean Astin, Mustafa Shakir, Lip Tipton, Rhys Darby, Marshawn Lynch, André Eriksen
• Director: JoJo Eusebio

Parthenope

• Released: February 7 (US, limited); May 2 (UK)
• Cast: Celeste Dalla Porta, Gary Oldman, Stefania Sandrell, Silvio Orlando, Luisa Ranieri, Isabella Ferrari, Silvia Degrandi, Lorenzo Gleijeses, Daniele Rienzo, Dario Aita, Marlon Joubert, Alfonso Santagata, Biagio Izzo, Peppe Lanzetta
• Director: Paolo Sorrentino
• Parthenope review

Captain America: Brave New World

• Released: February 14
• Cast: Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, Harrison Ford
• Director: Julius Onah

Paddington in Peru

• Released: February 14 (US)
• Cast: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas
• Director: Dougal Wilson
• Read WTW's Paddington in Peru review

Cleaner

• Released: February 21
• Cast: Daisy Ridley, Taz Skylar, Clive Owen
• Director: Martin Campbell

The Monkey

• Released: February 21
• Cast: Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Laura Mennell, Christian Convery, Sarah Levy, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell
• Director: Osgood Perkins

The Unbreakable Boy

• Released: February 21
• Cast: Zachary Levi, Meghann Fahy, Patricia Heaton, Jacob Laval
• Director: Jon Gunn

Last Breath

• Released: February 28
• Cast: Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn Cole, Cliff Curtis
• Director: Alex Parkinson
• Read WTW's Last Breath review

My Dead Friend Zoe

• Released: February 28
• Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Utkarsh Ambudkar
• Director: Kyle Hausmann-Stokez

Riff Raff

• Released: February 28
• Cast: Ed Harris, Jennifer Coolidge, Bill Murray, Pete Davidson, Gabrielle Union, Miles J. Harvey, Lewis Pullman, Emanuela Postacchini, Michael Angelo Corvino
• Director: Dito Montiel

Superboys of Malegaon

• Released: February 28
• Cast: Adarsh Gourav, Shashank Arora, Vineet Kumar Singh, Anuj Singh Duhan, Saqib Ayub, Pallav Singh, Manjiri Pupala, Muskkaan Jaferi and Riddhi Kuma
• Director: Reema Kagti 

Uppercut

• Released: February 28
• Cast: Ving Rhames, Luiii, Jordan E. Cooper, Joanna Cassidy
• Director: Torsten Ruether

Vicious

• Released: February 28
• Cast: Dakota Fanning, Kathryn Hunter, Mary McCormack
• Director: Bryan Bertino

Eephus

• Released: March 7
• Cast: Frederick Wiseman, Bill Lee
• Director: Carson Lund

F*** Marry Kill

• Released: March 7
• Cast: Lucy Hale, Brooke Nevin, Virginia Gardner
• Director: Laura Murphy

In the Lost Lands

• Released: March 7
• Cast: Dave Bautista, Milla Jovovich
• Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Mickey 17

• Released: March 7
• Cast: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo
• Director: Bong Joon Ho
• Read WTW's Mickey 17 review.

Night of the Zoopocalypse

• Released: March 7
• Cast: David Harbour, Scott Farley, Kyle Derek
• Director: Ricardo Curtis & Rodrigo Perez-Castro

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl

• Released: March 7
• Cast: Susan Chardy, Elizabeth Chisela, Henry B.J. Phiri
• Director: Rungano Nyoni

Queen of the Ring

• Released: March 7
• Cast: Emily Bett Rickards, Josh Lucas, Walton Goggins
• Director: Ash Avildsen

The Rule of Jenny Pen

• Released: March 7
• Cast: John Lithgow, Geoffrey Rush
• Director: James Ashcroft

Seven Veils

• Released: March 7
• Cast: Amanda Seyfried
• Director: Atom Egoyan

The Actor

• Released: March 14
• Cast: Andre Holland, Gemma Chan
• Director: Duke Johnson

Black Bag

• Released: March 14 (US); March 21 (UK)
• Cast: Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Marisa Abela, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Rege-Jean Page, Orli Shuka
• Director: Steven Soderbergh
• Read WTW's Black Bag review.

Borderline

• Released: March 14
• Cast: Samara Weaving, Ray Nicholson, Jimmie Fails, Alba Baptista, Eric Dane
• Director: Jimmy Warden

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie

• Released: March 14
• Cast: Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, Peter MacNicol, Wayne Knight, Laraine Newman
• Director: Peter Browngardt

The Last Supper

• Released: March 14
• Cast: Robert Knepper, Jamie Ward, James Faulkner
• Director: Mauro Borrelli

Novocaine

• Released: March 14
• Cast: Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Matt Walsh, Betty Gabriel, Jacob Batalon
• Director: Dan Berk & Robert Olsen

Opus

• Released: March 14
• Cast: Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder
• Director: Mark Anthony Green

The Alto Knights

• Released: March 21
• Cast: Robert De Niro, Cosmo Jarvis, Debra Messing, Kathrine Narducci
• Director: Barry Levinson
• Read WTW's The Alto Knights review

Ash

• Released: March 21
• Cast: Eiza Gonzalez, Aaron Paul, Iko Uwais, Beulah Koale, Kate Elliott, Beulah Koale, Ellison and Andrew B. Miller
• Director: Steven Ellison (aka Flying Lotus)

Asian Persuasion

• Released: March 21
• Cast: Dante Basco, Kevin Kreider, Paolo Montalban, Geneva Carr, Scarlet Sherr, Celia Au, Jax Bacan
• Director: Jhett Tolentino

The Assessment

• Released: March 21
• Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Alicia Vikander, Himesh Patel, Charlotte Richie, Minnie Driver
• Director: Fleur Fortuné

Bob Trevino Likes It

• Released: March 21
• Cast: Barbie Ferreira, John Leguizamo
• Director: Tracie Laymon

Locked

• Released: March 21
• Cast: Bill Skarsgard, Anthony Hopkins
• Director: David Yarovesky

Magazine Dreams

• Released: March 21
• Cast: Jonathan Majors, Harrison Page, Hayley Bennett
• Director: Elijah Bynum

Snow White

• Released: March 21
• Cast: Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, Patrick Page, Andrew Burnap, Ansu Kabia
• Director: Marc Webb

The Ballad of Wallis Island

• Released: March 28
• Cast: Tom Basden, Tim Key, Carey Mulligan
• Director: James Griffiths

Death of a Unicorn

• Released: March 28
• Cast: Jenna Ortega, Paul Rudd, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani
• Director: Alex Scharfman

The Friend

• Released: March 28
• Cast: Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, Constance Wu, Ann Dowd
• Directors: Scott McGehee & David Siegel

The Penguin Lessons

• Released: March 28
• Cast: Steve Coogan, Jonathan Pryce
• Director: Peter Cattaneo

The Woman in the Yard

• Released: March 28
• Cast: Danielle Deadwyler, Russell Hornsby
• Director: Jaume Collet-Sera

A Working Man

• Released: March 28
• Cast: Jason Statham, Jason Flemyng, Merab Ninidze, Maximilian Osinski, Cokey Falkow, Michael Peña, David Harbour, Noemi Gonzalez, Arianna Rivas, Emmett J. Scanlan, Eve Mauro
• Director: David Ayer
• Read WTW's A Working Man review

Screamboat

• Released: April 2
• Cast: David Howard Thornton, Jesse Kove, Kailey Hyman, Brian Quinn
• Director: Steven LaMorte

Freaky Tales

• Released: April 4
• Cast: Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Normani, Dominique Thorne, Jack Champion, Tom Hanks
• Director: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck

Gazer

• Released: April 4
• Cast: Ariella Mastroianni
• Director: Ryan J. Sloan

Hell of a Summer

• Released: April 4
• Cast: Fred Hechinger, Abby Quinn, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Paradis Saremi, Rosebud Baker and Adam Pally, Billy Byrk, Finn Wolfhard
• Directors: Billy Byrk and Finn Wolfhard

The Luckiest Man in America

• Released: April 4
• Cast: Paul Walter Hauser, Walton Goggins, Hayley Bennett, Brian Geraghty, Patti Harrison
• Director: Samir Oliveros

A Minecraft Movie

• Released: April 4
• Cast: Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Sebastian Hansen, Jennifer Coolidge, Jemaine Clement, Kate McKinnon, Danielle Brooks
• Director: Jared Hess
• Read WTW's A Minecraft Movie review

A Nice Indian Boy

• Released: April 4
• Cast: Karan Soni, Jonathan Groff, Sunita Mani
• Director: Roshan Sethi

The Amateur

• Released: April 11
• Cast: Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, Caitríona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, Michael Stuhlbarg, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Adrian Martinez, Danny Sapani, Laurence Fishburne
• Director: James Hawes
• Read WTW's The Amateur review

Drop

• Released: April 11
• Cast: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane
• Director: Christopher Landon

The King of Kings

• Released: April 11
• Cast: Oscar Isaac, Pierce Brosnan, Forest Whitaker, Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman, Mark Hamill, Ben Kingslet
• Director: Seong-ho Jang

Sacramento

• Released: April 11
• Cast: Michael Cera, Michael Angarano, Maya Erskine, Kristen Stewart
• Director: Michael Angarano

Warfare

• Released: April 11 (US)
• Cast: D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Taylor John Smith, Michael Gandolfini, Adain Bradley, Noah Centineo, Evan Holtzman, Henrique Zaga, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton
• Director: Ray Mendoza & Alex Garland

The Shrouds

• Released: April 18
• Cast: Vincet Cassel, Diane Kruger
• Director: David Cronenberg

Sinners

• Released: April 18
• Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Delroy Lindo
• Director: Ryan Coogler
• Read WTW's Sinners review.

Sneaks

• Released: April 18
• Cast: Anthony Mackie, Keith David, Laurence Fishburne, Martin Lawrence
• Director: Rob Edwards

The Wedding Banquet

• Released: April 18
• Cast: Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Joan Chen, Youn Yuh-jung
• Director: Andrew Ahn

The Accountant 2

• Released: April 25
• Cast: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, J.K. Simmons, Daniella Pineda
• Director: Gavin O'Connor
• Read WTW's The Accountant 2 review

Cheech & Chong's Last Movie

• Released: April 25
• Cast: Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong
• Director: David Bushell

The Legend of Ochi

• Released: April 25
• Cast: Helena Zengel, Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson, Willem Dafoe
• Director: Isaiah Saxon

On Swift Horses

• Released: April 25
• Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Diego Calva, Sasha Calle
• Director: Daniel Minhan

Until Dawn

• Released: April 25
• Cast: Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo, Belmont Cameli, Odessa A’zion, Maia Mitchell, Peter Stormare
• Director: David F. Sandberg

Electra

• ReleasedMay 2
• Cast: Maria Bakalova, Abigail Cowen, Jack Farthing
• Director: Hala Matar

Rust

• Released: May 2
• Cast: Alec Baldwin, Patrick Scott McDermott, Josh Hopkins, Travis Fimmel
• Director: Joel Souza

The Surfer

• Released: May 2
• Cast: Nicolas Cage
• Director: Lorcan Finnegan

Thunderbolts

• Released: May 2
• Cast: Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis Dreyfuss, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Sebastian Stan, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan
• Director: Jake Schreier

Words of War

• Released: May 2
• Cast: Jason Isaacs, Ciaran Hinds, Maxine Peake
• Director: James Strong

Fight or Flight

• Released: May 9
• Cast: Josh Hartnett, Katee Sackhoff
• Director: James Madigan

Friendship

• Released: May 9 (US)
• Cast: Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara, Jack Dylan Grazer
• Director: Andrew DeYoung

Juliet & Romeo

• Released: May 9
• Cast: Clara Rugaard, Jamie Ward, Jason Isaacs, Rebel Wilson, Rupert Everett, Dan Fogler, Derek Jacobi, Rupert Graves, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo
• Director: Timothy Scott Bogart

Shadow Force

• Released: May 9
• Cast: Kerry Washington, Omar Sy, Mark Strong, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Cliff “Method Man” Smith
• Director: Joe Carnahan

Watch the Skies

• Released: May 9
• Cast: Inez Dahl Torhaug, Jesper Barkselius, Sara Shirpey
• Director: Victor Danell

Final Destination: Bloodlines

• Released: May 16
• Cast: Brec Bassinger, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Max Lloyd Jones, Owen Patrick Joyner, Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Rya Kihlstedt, Tinpo Lee, Anna Lore, Gabrielle Rose, April Amber Telek, Alex Zahara
• Director:  Zach Lipovsky & Adam B. Stein

Hurry Up Tomorrow

• Released: May 16
• Cast: The Weeknd, Jenna Ortega, Barry Keoghan
• Director: Trey Edwards Shults

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life

• Released: May 23
• Cast: Camille Rutherford, Pablo Pauly, Charlie Anson
• Director: Laura Piani

The Last Rodeo

• Released: May 23
• Cast: Neal McDonough, Christopher McDonald, Sarah Jones
• Director: Jon Avnet

Lilo & Stitch

• Released: May 23
• Cast: Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders, Sydney Elizabeth Agudong, Kaipo Dudoit, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, Hannah Waddingham, Courtney B. Vance, Zach Galifianakis
• Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning

• Released: May 23
• Cast: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, Holt McCallany, Hannah Waddingham, Nick Offerman, Janet McTeer, Lucy Tulugarjuk
• Director: Christopher McQuarrie
• Read WTW's Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning review

Bring Her Back

• Released: May 30
• Cast: Billy Barratt, Sora Wong, Sally Hawkins
• Directors: Danny and Michael Philippou

Karate Kid: Legends

• Released: May 30
• Cast: Ben Wang, Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio, Ming-Na Wen, Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley
• Director: Jonathan Entwistle

The Phoenician Scheme

• Released: May 30
• Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Richard Ayodae, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Riz Ahemd
• Director Wes Anderson
• Read WTW's The Phoenician Scheme review

Ballerina

• Released: June 6
• Cast: Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno,Norman Reedus, Keanu Reeves
• Director: Len Wiseman
• Read WTW's Ballerina review

Dangerous Animals

• Released: June 6
• Cast: Jai Courtney, Hassie Harrison, Josh Heuston
• Director: Sean Byrne

The Life of Chuck

• Released: June 6
• Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Karen Gillian, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Harvey Guillen, Mark Hamill, Jacob Trembaly, Matthew Lillard, Daivd Dastmalchian, Kate Siegel
• Director: Mike Flanagan

The Ritual

• Released: June 6
• Cast: Al Pacino, Dan Stevens, Ashley Greene, Abigail Cowan, Patricia Heaton
• Director: David Midell

How to Train Your Dragon

• Released: June 13
• Cast: Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler, Julian Denison, Gabriel Howell, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Nick Frost
• Director: Dean DeBlois

Materialists

• Released: June 13
• Cast: Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal
• Director: Celine Song
• Read WTW's Materialists review

The Unholy Trinity

• Released: June 13
• Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Samuel L. Jackson, Brandon Lessard
• Director: Richard Gray

28 Years Later

• Released: June 20
• Cast: Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Erin Kellyman
• Director: Danny Boyle
• Read WTW's 28 Years Later review

Bride Hard

• Released: June 20
• Cast: Rebel Wilson, Justin Hartley, Anna Chlumsky, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Sherry Cola, Anna Camp, Stephen Dorff
• Director: Simon West

Elio

• Released: June 20
• Cast: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil, Shirley Henderson, Remy Edgerly
• Director: Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian & Don Shi

Everything's Going to Be Great

• Released: June 20
• Cast: Bryan Cranston, Allison Janney, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Jack Champion, Simon Rex, Chris Cooper
• Director: Jon S. Baird

F1

• Released: June 27
• Cast: Brad Pitt, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies, Damson Idris, Sarah Niles, Kim Bodnia, Samson Kayo
• Director: Joseph Kosinski
• Read WTW's F1: The Movie review

M3GAN 2.0

• Released: June 27
• Cast: Allison Williams, Jemaine Clement, Violet McGraw, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jenna Davis, Timm Sharp, Aristotle Athari, Jen Van Epps, Ivanna Sakhno
• Director: Gerard Johnstone

Ponyboi

• Released: June 27
• Cast: Dylan O'Brien, River Gallo, Murray Bartlett
• Director: Esteban Arango

Sorry, Baby

• Released: June 27 (limited)
• Cast: Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges
• Director: Eva Victor

Jurassic World Rebirth

• Released: July 2
• Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
• Director: Gareth Edwards
• Read WTW's Jurassic World Rebirth review

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight

• Released: July 11
• Cast: Lexi Venter, Embeth Davidtz, Zikhona Bali
• Director: Embeth Davidtz

Superman

• Released: July 11
• Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Skyler Gisondo, Wendell Pierce, Anthony Carrigan, Edi Gatheig, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced
• Director: James Gunn
• Read WTW's Superman review

Eddington

• Released: July 18
• Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O'Connell, Micheal Ward, Amélie Hoeferle, Clifton Collins Jr., William Belleau, Austin Butler, Emma Stone
• Director: Aris Aster
• Read WTW's Eddington review

I Know What You Did Last Summer

• Released: July 18
• Cast: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddy Prinze Jr., Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers, Jonah Haur-King
• Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Smurfs

• Released: July 18
• Cast: Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, JP Karliak, Dan Levy, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, James Corden, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Sandra Oh, Alex Winter, Billie Lourd, Xolo Maridueña, Kurt Russell, John Goodman
• Director: Chris Miller & Matt Landon

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

• Released: July 25
• Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson
• Director: Matt Shakman
• Read WTW's The Fantastic Four: First Steps review

Folktales

• Released: July 25
• Director: Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady

The Home

• Released: July 25
• Cast: Pete Davidson, John Glover, Bruce Altman
• Director: James DeMonaco

Oh, Hi!

• Released: July 25
• Cast: Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan
• Director: Sophie Books

Together

• Released: July 30
• Cast: Alison Brie, Dave Franco
• Director: Michael Shanks

The Bad Guys 2

• Released: August 1
• Cast: Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Awkwafina, Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Lilly Singh, Alex Borstein, Maria Bakalova, Natasha Lyonne, Danielle Brooks
• Director: Pierre Perifel & JP Sans

The Naked Gun

• Released: August 1
• Cast: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Kevin Durand, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston, Liza Koshy
• Director: Akiva Schaffer
• Read WTW's The Naked Gun review

She Rides Shotgun

• Released: August 1
• Cast: Taron Egerton, Ana Sophia Heger, Rob Yang and John Carroll Lynch
• Director: Nick Rowland

Freakier Friday

• Released: August 8
• Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Chad Michael Murray, Julia Butters, Mark Harmon, Stephen Tobolowsky, Manny Jacinto, Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons
• Director: Nisha Ganatra

My Mother's Wedding

• Released: August 8
• Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sienna Miller, Emily Beecham, Freida Pinto
• Director: Kristin Scott Thomas

Weapons

• Released: August 8
• Cast: Josh Brolin, Julia Garner
• Director: Zach Cregger
• Read WTW's Weapons review

Wicked has brought a lot of passion back to movie theaters, as moviegoers have made the adaptation of the popular Broadway musical a box office smash hit. Some of that passion has reportedly included audience members singing along with the musical numbers. While I made my personal stance clear that the singing needed to stop in regular Wicked screenings to be respectful of everyone who bought a ticket, the time has come for those wanting to belt out "Defying Gravity” — Wicked sing-along screenings are going to be held in movie theaters around the world on December 25, and you can get your tickets now.

It’s a one-day-only event, but more than 1,000 movie theaters in the US, Canada and select international markets are going to host Wicked sing-alongs that include on-screen lyrics, as well as a special introduction from the movie’s stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. There will be multiple screenings in most theaters on December 25. To find out where and when the sing-along screenings are going to be near you and buy your tickets in advance, visit wickedmovie.com/singalong. Regular, non-sing-along screenings of Wicked are still playing.

"The overwhelming response to Wicked has been remarkable," said Jim Orr, president of domestic theatrical distribution for Universal Pictures. "These sing-along screenings offer fans a unique opportunity to become part of the story they’ve embraced so enthusiastically. There’s something extraordinarily special about experiencing this beloved musical together as a community, and we’re thrilled to create that opportunity this holiday season."

Framed as the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda before Dorothy came to Oz, in addition to Erivo and Grande, Wicked stars Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Peter Dinklage, Ethan Slater and Marissa Bode.

Wicked has truly become a phenomenon. It is now the highest-grossing Broadway musical movie adaptation of all time (beating Grease), having made more than $460 million worldwide as of publication. It's also earned raves from critics, including WTW’s own five-star Wicked review.

The movie is also starting to earn some major awards recognition. It was nominated for four Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture Comedy/Musical, Best Actress Comedy/Musical for Cynthia Erivo, Best Supporting Actress for Ariana Grande and Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. It was also named as the Best Picture of the year by the National Board of Review and Washington DC Area Film Critics; director Jon M. Chu was also tabbed as Best Director by the National Board of Review.

Check out the official promo spot for Wicked sing-along screenings right here, and be sure to get your ticket for the Christmas Day special event:

The movie theater is one of my favorite places to go to, I’m typically there at least once a week to watch something. So in this time where people seem more inclined to stay home and watch things on streaming and the frequent worrying reports about the future of movie theaters, I’m thrilled that so many are excited to see a movie like Wicked and are responding by buying tickets to watch it on the big screen.

But I’m not thrilled about all the reports that people are singing along with Wicked when they go to see it in theaters.

Wicked is of course based on the wildly popular Broadway show that premiered in 2003. People have long committed its songs to memory, including the showstoppers “Popular” and “Defying Gravity.” I can understand the excitement about getting to see the story of Elphaba and Glinda and these iconic numbers reimagined for the movie. I can understand how you can get swept up in the moment — I have not seen the stage production but was completely gripped watching the movie, particularly its final number (read my Wicked review for my complete thoughts). If you’re the same and get the feeling that you want to sing along with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, I’m imploring you, please don’t.

This is about movie theater etiquette, which sadly is something we may have to remind people about now that they’re going back to the movie theater.

You may be saying, “I bought a ticket to watchWicked, so why shouldn’t I enjoy the movie however I want?” Well, unless you are the only person in the movie theater (incredibly unlikely in this case), the other people in the audience paid the same price for a ticket as you did. While you may want to make it an interactive experience and sing along, that’s not necessarily what everyone else signed up for and you should be considerate of that.

A movie theater is a communal experience. Comedies can be funnier when you’re laughing out loud with dozens of other people; scary movies can be more frightening when you all get spooked by a jump scare. But those are instant, involuntary reactions; even if you didn’t share that reaction, that’s what you expect when you go see those kind of movies. But when I go see a musical, I expect to hear the actors singing, not the people in the audience who consciously choose to sing along even though that’s not a natural reaction to the movie. Individualism is great, but we also have to remember that there are communal contracts that should be adhered to, and not talking, or singing, in a movie is one of them (while we’re at it, put your phones away as well).

Some people have taken the opposite position to me on this topic, including Dwayne Johnson it seems. One that I particularly want to note is from pop culture writer for The Ringer Mallory Rubin, who said that movie theaters should have “a quiet car” experience, like how the Amtrak trains have a specific section where the expectation is that you do not talk (at least nothing above a whisper). I get what she is going for with this idea, but I believe she has it backwards. I don’t have the numbers on this, but I would tend to think that the likelier majority for audiences going to see Wicked are people who aren’t planning to sing along. So why should they be the ones who have to take an extra step to see the movie? The special screening should be the sing along version.

In fact, we’re actually going to be getting a sing along version of Wicked in the near future. Right around the movie’s premiere it was announced that sing along editions of Wicked would screen in theaters, with Variety reporting that nearly 1,000 North American movie theaters are going to show this version, where you can belt your heart out, starting December 25. Clearly they could/should have had this sooner, but that’s a lesson for Wicked: Part Two.

I never want to discourage people from going to a movie theater. If you feel like my opinion is doing that, I apologize, that is not my intention. I want you to see Wicked and enjoy the experience as much as I did. But you should recognize that while singing may add to your experience, it could negatively impact someone else’s and in turn discourage them from returning to the movie theater.

So, if you were planning on seeing Wicked this holiday weekend and were excited to try and match Erivo note for note on “Defying Gravity,” please think twice and remember your time to do just that in an environment where that is the expectation is coming soon enough. So save your voice.

The Wicked movie ended on a major high note, but if you left the theater feeling like there was still a lot of things unresolved, there’s a very good reason for that — the movie was the first half of the story, which is going to be concluded with Wicked: For Good (originally titled Wicked: Part Two), one of the most anticipated 2025 new movies.

A number of big Hollywood movies have opted to split their stories into two parts in recent years (Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame, Dune, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse). But Wicked has an inherent advantage; as a Broadway play it was already split into two acts. Wicked (aka Wicked: Part One) was an adaptation of the musical’s first act, while Wicked: For Good will take on the second act of the show.

What happens in Wicked: For Good and, perhaps most importantly, when can you see Wicked: For Good on the big screen? We’ve got everything you need to know about the movie right here.

Wicked: For Good release date

Wicked: For Good is releasing exactly one year after Wicked, with the sequel hitting movie theaters on November 21.

In the meantime, here’s how you can watch Wicked to make sure you’re caught up with the movie ahead of release the second part's release.

Wicked: For Good cast

The cast of Wicked: For Good will include just about all of the main cast members from Wicked’s first half. Most importantly that includes Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda; both actresses received Oscar nominations for their performances in Wicked.

That also includes Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, Michelle Yeoh as Madam Morrible, Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Ethan Slater as Boq and Bowen Yang as Pfannee.

No new additions to the cast have been announced at this time, though we know we are getting Dorothy (an official announcement on who is playing Dorothy has not been made).

You can get your first look at the Wicked: For Good cast with this video teasing the release of movie's trailer:

Wicked: For Good plot

Here is the official synopsis for Wicked: For Good from Universal:

"Elphaba, now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz’s silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard.

"Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. Under the instruction of Madame Morrible, Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard.

"As Glinda’s stardom expands and she prepares to marry Prince Fiyero in a spectacular Ozian wedding, she is haunted by her separation from Elphaba. She attempts to broker a conciliation between Elphaba and The Wizard, but those efforts will fail, driving Elphaba and Glinda only further apart. The aftershocks will transform Boq and Fiyero forever, and threaten the safety of Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose, when a girl from Kansas comes crashing into all their lives.

"As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good."

Wicked: For Good trailer

Watch the Wicked: For Good trailer right here:

Wicked: For Good director

Jon M. Chu continues on as the director for Wicked: For Good. Here is a full list of his feature directing credits, including the first half of Wicked:

• Step Up 2: The Streets (2008)
• Step Up 3D (2010)
• Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2011)
• G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
• Justin Bieber’s Believe (2013)
• Jem and the Holograms (2015)
• Now You See Me 2 (2016)
• Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
• In the Heights (2021)
• Wicked (2024)

Wicked: For Good behind the scenes

Both parts of Wicked were filmed back-to-back, so production on Wicked: For Good is already completed. A TV special on the production of Wicked is available right now if you want to learn more about it, with Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked now streaming on Peacock.

In addition to the cast and director, some of the movie’s other key contributors include Winnie Holzman, who wrote the adaptation of the Broadway show for the big screen, and producers Marc Platt and David Stone. Universal Pictures is the studio behind the movie, alongside Marc Platt Productions.

Check out some behind-the-scenes footage and hear from the stars and director of Wicked: For Good with this behind the scene's video:

After becoming a Broadway sensation, Wicked is now a major movie event, and we’ve got everything you need to know about how to watch Wicked right now.

Wicked is an alternate look at two of the classic characters from The Wizard of Oz: the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch. Originally a novel by Gregory Maguire and then turned into a Tony-winning Broadway musical, the story details how the two characters, opposites in the classic movie, first became friends before going down diverging paths.

What to Watch’s Wicked review dubbed the movie one of the best musicals in years. If you’re looking to see why for yourself, here’s everything you need to know about how, when and where to watch Wicked.

How to watch Wicked in movie theaters

Wicked is playing in movie theaters in the US, UK and most of the world.

In order to find Wicked showtimes you can visit the movie’s official website or go to Fandango. Both are going to show you all of the movie theaters in your area where the movie is playing as well as what times are available. You can then purchase your tickets for your desired showtime directly through the sites (a Fandango app is also available for download on smart devices).

If you’re a regular at a particular movie theater, you may want to look into signing up for a movie theater subscription and membership program. In addition to allowing you to see what movies are playing at your favorite movie theater, these programs also offer free, discounted and monthly allotment of movie tickets, as well as other moviegoing perks like deals on concessions. Numerous US and UK movie theater chains offer subscription/membership programs.

Is Wicked streaming?

No, you cannot stream Wicked directly on one of the major platforms, but the movie is available to rent via digital on-demand.

Because Wicked is a Universal Pictures movie, we can make a pretty safe bet that whenever it does become available for streaming, it will do so first on Peacock, where all Universal are first streamed.

We’ll update this page as info on Wicked’s streaming plans are announced.

What else to know about Wicked

Here is the official synopsis for Wicked:

“Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, stars Emmy, Grammy and Tony winning and Oscar-nominated powerhouse Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, a young woman misunderstood because of her green skin who has yet to discover her true power, and Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and global superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman gilded by privilege who has yet to discover her true heart.

“The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.”

(FYI, this movie part one of two, covering the first act of the Broadway show; Wicked Part Two is slated for November 21, 2025).

In addition to Erivo and Grande, Wicked stars Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Peter Dinklage and Jeff Goldblum. The movie was directed by Jon M. Chu.

Critics are loving Wicked, as the movie is “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 92% as of publication.

Watch the trailer for Wicked right here:

Though I am a fan of musicals, Wicked is one that I hadn’t gotten to see on stage. But with its basis in The Wizard of Oz stories and its biggest songs being engrained into pop culture, I went into the movie theater with a base knowledge of what to expect with the Wicked musical movie adaptation. I left with the understanding of why Wicked became the phenomenon that it is (and that’s only after seeing one half of the story).

In case you’re coming in completely blind, Wicked (based on the Broadway musical based on the book by Gregory Maguire) provides an alternative history to Oz and many of the classic characters that Frank L. Baum created in his original novels, specifically Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), aka the Wicked Witch of the West. The story tells of how the two characters became friends at school before their choices led them down diverging paths. The book and Broadway show cover more, but this Wicked movie is the first of two parts, with movie fans having to wait until November 21, 2025, to see the second half.

While many will likely be eager to see the full story once the credits start rolling on Wicked Part One, the movie itself feels like a complete story with an incredible ending. Add in the great performances by its two leads and an incredible job by director Jon. M Chu and his team in creating this version of Oz, you get what easily could be the best musical in years (at least since 2021’s strong showing of Annette, Encanto, In the Heights, tick, tick… Boom! and West Side Story).

A large part of that has to do with the performances by Erivo and Grande, who each had big shoes to fill. Not only are Elphaba/the Wicked Witch and Glinda iconic roles from The Wizard of Oz, but their original Broadway counterparts — Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth — are beloved for their runs as the characters. But these two talented performers rise to challenge, as Erivo and Grande have created the versions of Elphaba and Glinda for a new generation and carry the movie to incredible heights.

For me, Erivo just edges out her co-star thanks to her powerful voice and having a bit more of an emotional journey she needs to pull off in this part of the story; she is truly magnificent in the role. That’s not to belittle Grande, who is sparkling in all ways as Glinda and I’m intrigued to see where her character goes in Wicked Part Two.

Of course the movie is not a two-women show. Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible and Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero are strong in their supporting performances. The rest of the ensemble, which includes Marissa Bode, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Peter Dinklage and Jeff Goldblum, are solid in their performances.

The other person who should get plenty of credit is director Chu. Already with plenty of experience in the musical genre (Step Up franchise, In the Heights), Chu has outdone himself with Wicked. His version of Oz is stunning while his crafting of the musical scenes is mostly fantastic. All in all, the movie never stumbles as he was able to make the right choice at pretty much every turn.

If you’re wondering why I said the musical scenes were “mostly fantastic” it’s because there are a couple instances where they may have dragged on a hair too long. For myself that was most noticeable in “Popular,” but I’ve heard some make a similar claim about one or two other songs. They’re still a blast to watch, but just some choices to extend or add in a small moment don’t work as well as others.

Chu does completely justify the choice to split Wicked into two parts though. That kind of move has been a popular one in Hollywood in the last 15 years or so, lets face it primarily for monetary reasons. The results have been mixed (the Harry Potter and Hunger Games franchises’ final movies). While the stage show’s entire runtime (which obviously includes the second act we’re getting in Part Two) is just five minutes longer than Wicked Part One's runtime (two hours 40 minutes), the movie doesn’t feel slow or bogged down with unnecessary filler. And most importantly, it has a beginning, middle and end (and what an ending) to its main characters’ journeys, while leaving the enticing prospect of more to come.

Wicked delivers on what many fans of musicals want: a big, colorful spectacle with songs and performances that will blow the doors off. If you’re not a fan of musicals, mileage will vary whether or not the movie can flip you as it hits all the big staples of the genre, though hopefully you’d at least be able to appreciate the craftsmanship and performances. But most importantly, Wicked not only continues the legacy of the Broadway show, but it adds a brilliant new chapter to the cinematic legacy of The Wizard of Oz.

Wicked releases exclusively in movie theaters on November 22 in the US, UK and elsewhere around the world.

Ahead of its release in movie theaters worldwide on November 22, fans can get a special behind-the-scenes look at Wicked with an all-new NBC special, Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked, which airs on the network tonight, Tuesday, November 19, at 10 pm ET/PT.

The adaptation of the immensely popular Broadway musical, Wicked is one of the most anticipated new movies of 2024. Defying Gravity is here to add to the proceedings, as it features the stars of the Wicked cast — Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang and Marissa Bode — discussing their memories and secrets from the making of the movie on the set of the Emerald City. The special will also be the first place that audiences worldwide can watch a “thrillifying” scene from the movie ahead of its release.

If this is something that you need to tune in for, you must have access to your local NBC channel to watch live at 10 pm ET/PT. That means you need a traditional pay-TV provider, a TV antenna, a live TV streaming service (ie Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV) or a Peacock Premium Plus subscription to watch live. If you can’t watch live, the special will be available to stream on Peacock on-demand the next day.

Based on the Tony-winning musical and the book by Gregory Maguire, Wicked reimagines the classic characters of Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, exploring their backstory as friends that ultimately took diverging paths.

Reviews for Wicked are now in, with What to Watch's Wicked review giving the movie five stars. Others are also loving the musical, as it is "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes at 92%.

Just as an FYI to fans though, the movie releasing on November 22 is actually part one of two telling the entire story of Wicked (this first half is pretty much the first act of the Broadway musical). Wicked Part Two is already slated to come out a year later, on November 21, 2025.

Defying Gravity is actually the second behind-the-scenes special for a big movie premiering this week, as CBS aired The Making of Gladiator 2 on Monday, November 18, and it's now streaming on Paramount Plus, ahead of the release of Gladiator 2 in movie theaters also on November 22.

Watch the preview trailer for Defying Gravity below, and be sure to tune in to the special at 10 pm ET/PT on November 19 on NBC.

Moviegoers are going to head back to Oz in a couple of weeks when the highly anticipated musical Wicked premieres in movie theaters, but fans can celebrate the movie’s impending arrival on Saturday, November 9, when the movie's stars take part in the Wicked Hollywood premiere. But you don’t have to be in Los Angeles to see it, as Fandango and E! have teamed up to offer a livestream of the Wicked premiere online and free.

Starting at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT on November 9, fans can live stream the Wicked red carpet on E! digital platforms (E! Online, E! News and the E! News App), Fandango, Access Hollywood and Rotten Tomatoes video and social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram Twitter/X). On these streams will be E! News’ Justin Sylvester and Access Hollywood and Fandango’s Zuri Hall as they conduct live celebrity interviews, show exclusive movie clips and share in-depth stories about the movie. There will also be the E! CreatorCam, with E! News The Rundown’s Erin Lim Rhodes live on TikTok and Instagram to provide fans with an interactive view of the red carpet.

Wicked is one of the most anticipated 2024 new movies still to come (it releases exclusively in movie theaters on November 22). Based on the smash Broadway hit, Wicked tells the story of how Elphaba, destined to become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda first met, became friends and then were set on their diverging paths. It is the first of two movies adapting the Broadway production, with Wicked Part Two scheduled for a year later, November 21, 2025.

While the official announcement from E! and Fandango doesn’t confirm who will be in attendance, we would expect many of the movie’s big stars to be on hand for the Wicked Hollywood premiere, including Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, and Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda. Also starring in the movie are Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Peter Dinklage and more. The movie is directed by John M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights).

Reviews for Wicked have not been released yet, but first reactions from press screenings have been shared online and people have been calling it a “masterpiece” “absolutely stunning” and “Ariana and Cynthia will blow you away.”

If that has you excited, you can purchase your tickets for Wicked right now, with Fandango offering a “Popular Poster Pack” bundle that includes two tickets, a special limited poster and access to a digital copy of Wicked when it becomes available on Fandango at Home.

Again, Wicked premieres exclusively in movie theaters on November 22, but you can tune in for the Hollywood premiere from 7-9 pm ET/4-6 pm PT on Saturday, November 9. Watch the trailer for the movie right here:

Wicked Nish Panesar lays a trap and Vinny Panesar falls into it in Monday's episode of EastEnders at 7.30pm (see our TV Guide for full listings). 

The Panesar patriarch has been biding his time to get revenge on Vinny, after discovering he and Suki were plotting to take his business empire. 

Over the past few weeks, Nish has been laundering money through the Chicken Shop, and he's secretly set Vinny up as the fall guy!

He continues the operation, by staging a handover of cash between Vinny and Harti in the Square gardens. But will Vinny realise what his dad is up to?

Suki, who's thankfully a lot smarter than her silly son, knows Nish can't be trusted. She tells Vinny he's being played, but he ignores her warnings as he heads off to an unknown drop-off point. 

Later, Suki's worst fears are confirmed when she catches up with Harti in the cafe. He reveals Nish has tipped off the police, and they'll be waiting to arrest Vinny when he arrives!

Suki quickly intervenes and is able to bring Vinny back to Number 41, where she urges him to leave Walford, immediately. 

Vinny does as he's told and jumps into a waiting cab. But what he - and Suki - don't realise is it's a trap set by Nish, and they've just fallen straight into it!

What does nasty Nish have in store for his traitors? 

Meanwhile, it's the day of Debbie Colwell's funeral, and emotions are running high for her killer husband, Reiss.

Martin Fowler arrives at Number 25 to support the grieving widower, who's struggling after receiving a call from Sonia Fowler in prison.

As the pair prepare to leave, Debbie's parents Brenda and Hugh arrive and are clear in their message - Reiss is not allowed at the funeral.

Reiss tries to plead his case, but it's no use. He's not welcome.

Martin takes pity on Reiss and arranges a last-minute wake for Debbie in The Vic.

Reiss is deeply touched by his friend's support and grateful to given the chance to say a few words about his late wife.

But as Reiss begins reading his eulogy to Debbie, he's stopped in his tracks when Bianca Jackson suddenly bursts in.

She's back in Walford and wants to know why her sister is banged up for a crime she didn't commit. Things are about to get a whole lot louder now B is back!

Elsewhere, Teddy Mitchell wants his son Harry to get a job.

He and Sharon Watts join forces to convince Phil Mitchell to give the lad a trial shift at The Arches. 

Harry isn't convinced he wants to be Walford's next grease monkey, but relents after Jack Branning makes a snide dig about his work ethic.

However, Teddy doesn't take kindly to Jack's comments. He (and his jumper) pay the copper a visit, where Teddy issues Jack with a menacing threat. 

Ooh, we always knew he was a wrong'un!

EastEnders continues on BBC One on Tuesday at 7:30pm.

Wicked Little Letters takes its inspiration from a bizarre real-life scandal that rocked the English seaside town of Littlehampton in the 1920s. 

Dubbed the "Seaside Mystery" by tabloids of the time, it saw the place rocked by the "Littlehampton Letters" a series of poison-pen letters received by residents that were full of choice insults ranging from "cow" and "foxy-arsed" to things we wouldn't want to repeat here (though don't worry: you'll hear plenty of them before the credits roll).

The main recipient of the menacing missives was Edith Swan (Olivia Colman), a holier-than-thou Littlehampton resident. She's recently fallen out with her former friend and problem neighbor, Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley), a rowdy Irish woman who has settled in the area and whose attitude makes her stand out like a sore thumb.

Rose is accused of being the chief suspect, and the local coppers are happy to lock her up. All except woman police officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan), who launches her own investigation to track down the real culprit despite being told to stay in her lane. 

Although it's billed as a mystery, Wicked Little Letters doesn't seem all that interested in the "mystery" of the stranger-than-fiction that inspired it. The real culprit is plain to see, and even though it finds some more hard-hitting beats  — Rose's connection to her family, or Edith trying to live within the limits set by her domineering father, Edward (Timothy Spall)  — largely, the movie plays out like an out-and-out farce, but one with fifty more f-bombs than you'd find elsewhere. Think Carry On, but if it was penned by Malcolm Tucker. 

If that sounds like your type of humor, you're in for a devilishly fun time. The whole affair functions more as a vehicle for acerbic exchanges and plenty of antics that are completely at odds with the upstanding area. If it's not typically your cup of tea, you might struggle to make it through. 

The production team deserve praise Wicked Little Letters' best asset is undoubtedly its cast. Its two leads are endlessly watchable: Olivia Colman is a proven comic talent, and she's on fine form here as a sanctimonious spinster who secretly loves the limelight. Likewise, Buckley is exuberant as Rose. Outsider though she may be, the actress brings depth to what could easily have been a one-note character in a lesser laugh-fest. They're not the only stars, either, as the supporting cast is full of great turns, with We Are Lady Parts' Anjana Vasan standing out in particular.  

My one major sticking point is the tonal imbalance at the heart of the film. As I mentioned, Jonny Sweet's script makes some nods towards issues of class and sexism in Sweet's script, but they aren't that sharp, and feel at odds with the mood of the rest of the film which otherwise leans more into the tale's comic side. 

I'd also note that, though I found the "villains" of the piece — Spall's moralizing patriarch or Skinner's clueless Constable Papperwick, for example — deeply entertaining and great fun to laugh at, some viewers may well find these characters veer too far into caricature for their tastes.

Neither of these complaints should detract from Wicked Little Letters' status as an absolute riot. From the moment that first foul-mouthed letter is read out at the Swan household, the laughs just keep on coming.

Wicked Little Letters is in UK cinemas from Friday, February 23. It's hitting select US theaters on March 29, with a wide release following on April 5. 

Wicked Little Letters is a sweary comedy that brings a bizarre true story from 20th-century England to the big screen - and now it is coming to Netflix. 

This new movie transports us back in time to the picturesque seaside town of Littlehampton which found itself in the public eye after its residents began receiving foul-mouthed poison-pen letters from an anonymous sender. The main recipient was Edith Swan (Olivia Colman), a holier-than-thou woman who found herself being called all manner of colorful insults in the mystery missives. 

The movie depicts the hunt to find the sweary scribe behind the letters and turns it into a hilarious comedy that pits two neighbors (and former friends) against one another. Here's everything you need to know about Wicked Little Letters.

Wicked Little Letters release date and how to watch

Wicked Little Letters will premiere on Netflix on Friday, July 26, 2024.

Wicked Little Letters first aired in UK theatres on Friday, February 23. If you missed the sweary comedy during its UK cinema run, Wicked Little Letters is also available to rent at home on services like Prime Video and iTunes.

In the US, the movie had a limited release on Friday, March 29 and the movie originally premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.

Wicked Little Letters reviews

As of our latest update, Wicked Little Letters has an 80% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, from over 150 reviews. The audience score's even higher, sitting at 92% from over 100 ratings.

In our four-star Wicked Little Letters review, we called the movie 'a stellar sharp-tongued comedy elevated by its top-tier cast'. 

Variety's Peter Debruge said of the movie: "In Sharrock’s hands, “Wicked Little Letters” is an entertaining account of what feels like a primitive form of today’s online flame wars, where people take sides as commenters openly disparage one another."

Total Film rated the movie 3/5 and highlighted the "uniformly excellent cast", summing the flick up as "an ultimately rather cosy tale of British eccentricity, enlivened by a superb cast".

Wicked Little Letters cast

The Lost Daughter co-stars Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley lead the cast of Wicked Little Letters as Edith Swan and Rose Gooding, respectively. 

Edith is a deeply conservative woman who still lives with her parents, and she's the recipient of several of the titular missives. Rose, meanwhile, is the complete opposite: she's a rowdy and foul-mouth Irish migrant whom many suspect simply must be the sweary scribe. 

The third most important character is Anjana Vasan (We Are Lady Parts), who stars as Woman Police Officer Gladys Moss, who launches her own investigation into the entire ordeal, suspecting that the real culprit could be someone else entirely. 

In addition, the Wicked Little Letters cast also includes: 

• Joanna Scanlan as Ann
• Gemma Jones as Victoria Swan
• Timothy Spall as Edward Swan
• Malachi Kirby as Bill
• Eileen Atkins as Mabel
• Lolly Adefope Kate
• Paul Chahidi as Chief Constable Spedding
• Hugh Skinner as Constable Papperwick

Wicked Little Letters plot

As we mentioned, Wicked Little Letters brings the mystery of the Littlehampton Letters to life, and the search for the true culprit who's been terrorizing the town. 

Studiocanal's full summary reads: "A 1920s English seaside town bears witness to a dark and absurd scandal in this riotous mystery comedy. Based on a stranger-than-fiction true story, Wicked Little Letters follows two neighbours: deeply conservative local Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and rowdy Irish migrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley). 

"When Edith and fellow residents begin to receive wicked letters full of unintentionally hilarious profanities, foulmouthed Rose is charged with the crime. The anonymous letters prompt a national uproar, and a trial ensues. However, as the town's women — led by Police Officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan) — begin to investigate the crime themselves, they suspect that something is amiss, and Rose may not be the culprit after all."

Is there a Wicked Little Letters trailer? 

The Wicked Little Letters trailer sets up the mystery of the obscene poison-pen letters, without managing to reveal most of the filthy language that they actually contain. Check it out below:

Studio Canal has also put together a short video of the cast and crew discussing the bizarre true story behind the movie and how they reacted to it, which we've embedded below:

Thea Sharrock movies

Thea Sharrock is an English firm and theatre director. She notably became the youngest artistic director in British theatre back in 2001 when she took over London's Southwark Playhouse and has worked with plenty of top stars over the years. She made her feature film debut in 2016; Wicked Little Letters is her third movie.

• Me Before You (2016)
• The One and Only Ivan (2020)
• Wicked Little Letters (2024)
• The Beautiful Game (2024)

Wicked Little Letters filming locations

Although the movie dramatizes the Littlehampton Letters scandal and some scenes were shot there, a lot of Wicked Little Letters was filmed in another West Sussex town: Arundel. 

The Visit Arundel website has an entire page dedicated to the movie's filming locations, including a map indicating relevant settings to help you retrace Edith and Rose's footsteps around the town, pointing out specific locations and what they became in the movie itself. It's perfect if you're planning to pay the place a visit! 

Everyone loves a showtune, not least actor, singer and comedian Jason Manford. So he's the perfect host for BBC One's show-stopping Saturday night spectacular, The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals 2024.

For the third year running, Big Night of Musicals sees some of the UK’s best-loved West End and touring theatre shows come together for one night only for the musical extravaganza at the AO Arena Manchester. 

Taking to the stage for a mix of jaw-dropping ballads and toe-tapping treats will be the casts of "Hamilton", "Disney’s Aladdin", "Les Misérables", "The Phantom of the Opera", "Mrs. Doubtfire", "Everybody’s Talking About Jamie", "A Chorus Line", "Moulin Rouge! The Musical", "Grease", "Hadestown" and "Guys & Dolls".

Making his own West End debut in 2012 as Italian barber Pirelli in "Sweeney Todd", Jason has become a bona-fide musical theatre star going on to appear in the hit musicals "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", "The Producers "and, last year, "The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium". 

And hosting Big Night of Musicals makes Jason, 42, eager to tread the boards once more… 

What do you enjoy about hosting The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals?

"It’s a unique show born out of the National Lottery wanting to support the theatre industry and put musicals back in people’s lives post-lockdown and each year it’s bigger and better. No TV channel could afford to make an incredible show like this — featuring the best songs from the best musicals — without National Lottery funding. It’s very special to be a part of."

Can you describe the atmosphere at Manchester’s AO Arena?

"It’s one big party — the energy is electric! It can be a once-in-a-lifetime thing to play to 15,000 people in an arena, so all our performers are excited. The audience knows they’re coming to see the actual casts of these actual musicals, with costumes and props and a huge orchestra, so they feel privileged to be there. There’s definitely something in the air."

Which musicals are you looking forward to seeing on the night?

"This show just romps along with one amazing performance after the next. There’s 'Disney’s Aladdin', and also 'Mrs Doubtfire', which I’ve seen on Broadway, but not the West End. 'Les Miserables' is always a real standout; that’s the moment that usually gets a standing ovation. And 'Hamilton' - that was at the Palace Theatre in Manchester while I was at the Opera House in panto playing Jack in Jack & The Beanstalk last year. So we were rivals!"

You're joined this year by Bodyguard and Drifters Girl star Beverley Knight, who was also your fellow judge on ITV talent show Starstruck…

"Beverley and I are dear friends and I love that she’s involved in the show. When I hosted The Olivier Awards in 2022, Beverley was nominated [for Best Actress in a Musical for 'Drifters Girl'] and I remember she was rehearsing for a performance with five other fantastic West End stars and they were all looking at her like, 'Who is THIS?' She’s just otherworldly."

You sang a rousing rendition of From Now On from The Greatest Showman at Big Night of Musicals last year. Are you performing again?

"Yes, we have got an opening number that we're just formulating and putting together. In fact, when I’ve finished chatting to you, I'll be in rehearsals for that. It’ll be a really good, solid opener for the show. Everyone’s involved and I think the audience will go wild!"

When did your love of musicals begin?

"I've always loved music. My family were all in bands and my grandma was the lead singer of a folk band, so weekends were often spent watching her and listening to The Rat Pack — they covered many songs you didn't know were from musicals. At high school, I was involved in all the drama productions — either on stage or backstage — and I loved the camaraderie of it. Growing up in South Manchester, we didn't really go to the theatre; but my school went to see 'Sweeney Todd' when I was about 12 and I loved it."

You made your West End debut in Sweeney Todd in London’s West End in 2012. Was that a real ‘pinch me’ moment?

"A little, considering it was the first musical I saw. It was a hell of a moment to be in that show with such big names as Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton. It coincided with the London Olympics, so I was in the capital for that whole time. It was a special time in my career."

Is there a musical role you’d love to play?

"I'd love to do something original, a brand-new musical that goes on to become part of the theatre landscape, with me being the ‘first’ to play a certain character. I'd love to play the dentist in 'Little Shop of Horrors', and maybe 'Les Miserables', playing either Thenadier or Javert. Not Jean Valjean — it’s a lot of work and I like a cup of tea and a sit down!"

Would you ever write a play or musical?

"I'm writing something at the moment based on the origins of Captain Hook, who I played in panto in 'Peter Pan' a few years ago. I’ve been working on that with producer Michael Harrison, and this other guy, Gary Barlow, who you may have heard of! He’s been writing songs for it and I reckon we might have something to show people later this year."

You're a father of six — do any of your children want to follow you into show business? 

"I may have put them off by moaning about how tired I am all the time! My eldest daughter attends a drama club, and is in all her school productions. She's about to play Ursula in 'The Little Mermaid' and I've been teaching her how to do an evil laugh!"

The National Lottery's Big Night of Musicals is on Saturday at 7.50pm on BBC1.

Get those jazz hands at the ready as it’s curtain up for the return of the show-stopping spectacular that is The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals 2024 on BBC One. 

After a huge night of on-stage action on Monday, January 22, The National Lottery's Big Night of Musicals is making its way to our TV screens to once again shine a light on the magic of musical theatre.

Here's what you need to know about the musical event...

When is The Big Night of Musicals 2024 on TV?

The National Lottery's Big Night of Musicals is being recorded in front of a packed audience at the AO Arena, Manchester on Monday, January 22, to be shown the following Saturday, January 27 on BBC1. 

Performances will also be broadcast in a special show on BBC Radio 2, which will feature exclusive backstage access and interviews with the stars taking part on the night. 

What is The National Lottery's Big Night of Musicals 2024?

The National Lottery's Big Night of Musicals is the all-singing, all-dancing spectacular as the casts of some of the UK’s best-loved West End and touring theatre shows come together for a one-night-only performance at the AO Arena Manchester. 

Who is hosting The Big Night of Musicals 2024?

For the third year running, actor, singer, and comedian Jason Manford was the compere for the evening.

Making his own West End debut in 2012 as Italian barber Pirelli in Sweeney Todd, Jason has become a bona-fide musical theatre star going on to appear in the hit musicals Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Producers and, last year, The Wizard of Oz, at the London Palladium, making him the perfect host for this musical extravaganza.

"I'm thrilled to be hosting The National Lottery's Big Night of Musicals once again," says Jason. "We've got another amazing line-up of smash hit shows for the Manchester Arena audience to enjoy. And the best thing about this show is that the tickets are free!"

It's a very big show to host solo - will there be any special guests?

Jason is joined this year by Bodyguard, Sister Act and Drifters Girl star Beverley Knight, who was also Jason's fellow judge on the ITV talent show, Starstruck. The British soul diva is set to perform one of her classic numbers on the night and will also help surprise some National Lottery heroes.

Beverley says: "It’s great to be coming back to be part of this incredible show. The support National Lottery players make to the theatre industry is crucial to the performers and myriad of people – at large and small venues – who help make a night at the theatre so special. I can’t wait to see this astonishing line-up of talent in Manchester belting out musical classics."

Beverley is set to reprise her role as Deloris van Cartier in the return of Sister Act, running at the West End’s Dominion Theatre from March 15, 2024.

What performances can we expect?

Taking to the stage for a mix of rousing chorus numbers, jaw-dropping ballads, and toe-tapping treats will be the casts of Hamilton, Disney’s Aladdin, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Mrs. Doubtfire, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, A Chorus Line, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Grease, Hadestown and Guys & Dolls.

Jason performed From Now On from The Greatest Showman last year. Will he be singing again?

Apparently, Jason and the team have rehearsed a big opening number to kick off the evening. Specific details are being kept under wraps but Jason recently teased: "Everyone's evolved and I think the audience will go wild!"

How are the National Lottery involved?

The event is run by the National Lottery as a thank you to Lottery players who, in the past year, have helped support over 750 theatre-related projects across the UK.

Is there a trailer for The Big Night of Musicals 2024?

Yes! Our Big Night of Musicals 2024 trailer arrived just a few days prior to the show's arrival on our TV screens. It features just a few snippets of the performances, along with some talking heads clips from some of our stars. Check it out below:

Jazz hands at the ready, as it’s time for Strictly Come Dancing 2023 to razzle-dazzle us with its annual celebration of theatreland toe-tappers in Musicals Week!

As our remaining celebrities and their professional partners prepare to tread the boards, the BBC One sequin spectacular’s house band, conducted by musical director Dave Arch, will also be hard at work mastering the line-up of showstopping songs. Particularly skilled at channelling Broadway in the ballroom is singer Tommy Blaize, who has worked on the programme since it began in 2004.

Here, in an exclusive interview, Tommy, who is embarking on his own UK tour next year, tells What To Watch what it takes to make this special theme a hit…

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday on BBC One. Check our TV Guide for more information.

Apple TV Plus series Schmigadoon! has proven to be both a homage and playful spoof of many classic musicals throughout its run. In the first season, the show focused on classic musicals from around the 1950s — their bright colors and upbeat, family safe tones. But in Schmigadoon! season 2, things get a darker turn as they move on to the musicals that defined the late '60s and '70s.

That era of musical theater saw the emergence of Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Weber and Bob Fosse, with some of its most famous plays including Sweeney Todd, Cabaret, Company, Annie and Chicago.

Every episode features a number of different Easter eggs for musical theater fans. And if you're not necessarily familiar with the shows they're tipping their hats to, perhaps Schimgadoon! will help you discover these classic stage productions.

Let's look at all the different musicals that Schmigadoon! season 2 references

A Chorus Line

Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban, James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante's 1975 musical focuses on dancers as the audition for a spot on the chorus line of a Broadway production. Schmigadoon! makes a nod to the show with the number "I Need to Eat," which sees Melissa (Cecily Strong) attempt to get a job at the Kratt Klubb in order to find out details about Elsie’s murder and exonerate Josh. The song is a direct parody from A Chorus Line's opening number "I Hope I Get It," while also making references to "The Music and the Mirror." A Chorus Line's "Dance: 10, Looks: 3" also gets a shout out during the Schmigadoon! number "Bells and Whistles."

Annie

Annie is not the darker type of musical many of the famous shows referenced in Schmigadoon! season 2, but the Apple TV Plus series does weave in the classic tale of the red-headed orphan in a few ways. Most notably in Kristin Chenoweth's Miss Codwell, who oversees Schmicago's orphanage, has a bit of Miss Hannigan in her. Two of Annie's most famous songs, "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" and "It's the Hard Knock Life," are referenced in "Good Enough to Eat" from episode 4. 

Cabaret

Bob Fosse's classic musical of 1930s Germany cabaret singer Sally Bowles is clearly a big influence on this season. Dove Cameron plays Jenny Banks, Ariana DeBose plays the Emcee and Ann Harada is Madame Fraue, who are directly influenced by Bowles, Master of Ceremonies and Fraulein Schneider, respectfully. Each of those characters get their own song based on Cabaret songs, with Emcee singing "Welcome to the Kratt Klubb" based on "Wilkommen" and Jenny singing "Kaput" inspired by Sally Bowles' "Mein Herr." Melissa also gets to perform a Cabaret nod, with "Maybe It's My Turn Now," a riff on "Maybe This Time." 

Chicago

The obvious reference to Chicago, another Bob Fosse production, is that Schmigadoon has been transformed into Schmicago for the second season. Jane Krakowski's Bobbie Flanagan is the show's version of Chicago's lawyer Billy Flynn, with her performing a take on his most famous numbers: "Razzle Dazzle" becoming "Bells and Whistles" and "Bobby's Vamp" making allusions to "All I Care About." "Bobby's Vamp" and "Bustin' Out" also make some reference to Chicago songs "Roxie" and "Cell Block Tango."

Company

One of the Stephen Sondheim musicals that Schmigadoon season 2 pays homage to is Company (Sondheim teamed with George Furth for the show). The most notable reference is "Bustin' Out," which is clearly based on Company's "You Could Drive a Person Crazy." But Company fans may also spot some nods to the show's songs "Bobby, Baby" and "Getting Married Today" in the Bobbie Flanagan numbers “Bobby’s Vamp” and “Bells and Whistles.” The Company song "The Ladies Lunch" also gets a nod with a character saying throughout the season's run, "I'll Drink to That."

Dreamgirls

Schmigadoon! season 2 opens its finale with a reference to the 1981 R&B musical Dreamgirls (more famously made into a 2006 movie), with DeBose's Emcee singing the powerful ballad "Over and Done."

Hair

The counterculture movement didn't escape Broadway, with Hair (by Gerome Ragni and James Rado) the most famous example and a clear inspiration for a group of characters in Schmigadoon! season 2 with Aaron Tevitt's Topher and his tribe of hippies. We also get a Hair-style number in "Gotta Get Naked," which draws comparisons to "Let the Sunshine In."

Jesus Christ Superstar

Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera of the story of Jesus Christ's final days was a Broadway hit, and Schmigadoon! season 2 episode 5 pays its respects to the show with a pair of numbers. The first is "Famous as Hell," based on "Heaven on Their Minds," and the second is "Get Out," which is a play on the show's "The Last Supper."

Pippin

Pippin is a clear influence for Schmigadoon! season 2 right from its very first number, as Titus Burgess' narrator takes on a similar role to the show's Leading Player and sings a riff on "Magic to Do" with "Welcome to Schmicago." But that's not all, Tevitt's showstopper "Doorway to Where" clearly has its roots in "Corner of the Sky" and the love song of "Something Real" between Jenny and Topher is a nod to Pippin's "Love Song."

Promises Promises

The general musical fan may not be as familiar with Burt Bacharach and Neil Simon's Promises Promises, based on the 1960s Best Picture winner The Apartment, but it shouldn't be a surprise that the Schmigadoon team chose to reference it. The moment comes in episode 5 of the second season with "There's Always a Twist," which draws on "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" and "Turkey Lurkey Time."

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

It's just a quick one, but as the season wraps up we finally get to see the act that Sergeant Rivera (Jaime Camil) has wanted to perform at the club, which is very reminiscent of Dr. Frank-N-Furter from the movie musical.

Sweeney Todd

If Schmigadoon! season 2 wanted to make it clear it was going darker, it had to include the musical about the murderous barber and the meat pies made from humans, Sweeney Todd. Alan Cumming takes on the role of Dooley Blight, a Todd stand-in, while Chenoweth's Codwell is a combination of the previously mentioned Miss Hannigan and Sweeney Todd's Mrs. Lovett. Parodies of some of Sweeney Todd's most famous numbers are included in the season — "Worst Brats in Town" for "Worst Pies in London" and "Good Enough to Eat" for "Little Priest." The intro for episode 5 also has some of the overtones to "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd." And let's not forget the plotline of Dooley wanting to kill for revenge and the pair's plots to use orphans for meat in their sausages are directly lifted from Sweeney Todd. 

Sweet Charity

Neil Simon paired with Bob Fosse (along with lyricist Dorothy Fields and composer Cy Coleman) for Sweet Charity. Like Promises Promises it was based on a movie, Italy's Nights of Cabiria. Schmigadoon! makes references to the show with its numbers "Talk to Daddy," inspired by "The Rhythm of Life" and "The Rich Man's Frug," and "Do We Shock You," based on "Big Spender." 

There were some other fun references and Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the season's run, including shows like Godspell, Bye Bye Birdie, Oliver and possibly a couple that we missed on the first go around. See if you can spot any that we missed by watching all of Schmigadoon! season 2 right now on Apple TV Plus.

The land of Oz has a special place in Hollywood history, and fans everywhere got to return to that world when the musical Wicked hit the big screen as a 2024 new movie.

After debuting on Broadway in 2003, Wicked earned nine Tony Award nominations and won three of them, while its original music became a hit. Now, more than 20 years later, the Oz-set story that takes place before Dorothy ever arrived is jumping from the stage to the screen in what is one of the biggest 2024 new movies (and 2025 as well; we'll explain).

Here is everything you need to know about the Wicked movie.

Wicked how to watch

Wicked is now playing in movie theaters worldwide and is available to watch at-home via digital on-demand platforms in the US and UK. Here are all the details you need to know on how to watch Wicked.

This will cover the first half of the popular Broadway play, as director Jon Chu opted to tell the story in two parts. Wicked Part Two is currently scheduled for November 21, 2025.

Wicked plot

Here is the official synopsis for Wicked from Universal Pictures:

"Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, stars Emmy, Grammy and Tony winning powerhouse Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and global superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart.

"The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda's unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba's determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences on her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West."

Wicked cast

Two of the most iconic roles of the stage from the last 20 years are going to be brought to movie theaters by Cynthia Erivo, who is playing Elphaba, and Ariana Grande, playing Glinda.

Erivo is an Oscar-nominated actress for Harriet (she was also nominated for Best Original Song for the movie), as well as starring in the likes of Widows, Bad Times at the El Royale, Genius, Pinocchio and Luther: The Fallen Sun. She is also a veteran of the stage, performing in shows like The Color Purple, How to Succeed at Business Without Really Trying and The Last Five Years on Broadway and in London, as well as releasing a number of solo albums.

Grande is a Grammy-winning singer and songwriter who has sold more than 85 million records in her career. She has acted in a handful of TV shows and movies, most notably Hairspray Live! and Don't Look Up, but Wicked is her biggest acting role to date.

The supporting cast of Wicked is stuffed with big names as well, including recent Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) as Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum (Thor: Ragnarok) as the Wizard, Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) as Fiyero, Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) as Pfannee, Keala Settle (The Greatest Showman) as Miss Coddle, Brownwyn James (Lockwood & Co.) as ShenShen, Ethan Slater (Fosse/Verdon) as Boq and Marissa Bode as Nessarose, making her movie debut.

Wicked photos

Chu released the first photos from the movie, giving fans a glimpse as Erivo’s Elphaba and Grande’s Glinda:

Wicked trailer

Watch the official trailers for Wicked, featuring previews of many of the Broadway show's most iconic songs and the movie's A-list cast, right here:

Check out the previous Wicked trailer and other behind-the-scenes videos as well right here:

Wicked reviews

Find out what we thought of the movie with What to Watch's Wicked review. As far as general consensus, Wicked is "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 89% as of December 4.

Wicked awards

Here's a look at the major awards and nominations that Wicked has earned so far:

Oscars

• Best Picture (nominee)
• Best Actress — Cynthia Erivo (nominee)
• Best Supporting Actress — Ariana Grande (nominee)
• Best Costume Design (nominee)
• Best Editing (nominee)
• Best Makeup & Hairstyling (nominee)
• Best Original Score (nominee)
• Best Production Design (nominee)
• Best Sound (nominee)
• Best Visual Effects (nominee)

BAFTAs

• Best Leading Actress — Cynthia Erivo (nominee)
• Best Supporting Actress — Ariana Grande (nominee)
• Best Costume Design (nominee)
• Best Make Up & Hair (nominee)
• Best Production Design (nominee)
• Best Sound (nominee)
• Best Special Effects (nominee)

Golden Globes

• Best Motion Picture Comedy/Musical (nominee)
• Best Actress Comedy/Musical — Cynthia Erivo (nominee)
• Best Supporting Actress — Ariana Grande (nominee)
• Cinematic and Box Office Achievement (winner)

Critics Choice Awards

• Best Picture (nominee)
• Best Actress — Cynthia Erivo (nominee)
• Best Supporting Actress — Ariana Grande (nominee)
• Best Acting Ensemble (nominee)
• Best Director — Jon M. Chu (winner)
• Best Adapted Screenplay — Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox (nominee)
• Best Cinematography (nominee)
• Best Production Design (winner)
• Best Costume Design (winner)
• Best Hair and Makeup (nominee)
• Best Visual Effects (nominee)

London Critics Circle Film Awards

• British/Irish Performer of the Year — Cynthia Erivo (nominee)

National Board of Review

• Best Film (winner)
• Best Director — Jon M. Chu (winner)
• NBR Spotlight Award — creative collaboration of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande

Producers Guild of America

• Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures (nominee)

SAG Awards

• Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (nominee)
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role — Cynthia Erivo (nominee)
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role — Arian Grande (nominee)
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role — Jonathan Bailey (nominee)
• Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture (nominee)

Washington DC Film Area Critics Association

• Best Feature (winner)
• Best Production Design (winner)

Writers Guild of America

• Best Adapted Screenplay (nominee)

Jon M. Chu movies

Director Jon M. Chu has plenty of experience with musicals, having directed Step Up 2: The Streets, Step Up 3D, the concert movie Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and In the Heights. Chu has also directed the likes of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Jem and the Holograms, Now You See Me 2 and Crazy Rich Asians.

Chu has also been a producer on many of his movies and a couple of recent high profile TV projects, Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration and The Company You Keep.

Jazz hands at the ready as some of the UK’s best-loved musical theatre shows come together for one night only, under one roof for BBC One's Big Night of Musicals 2023 by The National Lottery. 

After making its debut last year, the glitzy event sees Jason Manford once again hosting the evening as the crème de la crème of West End shows and touring productions put on a show to top all others. 

Here's what to expect from the epic evening...

When is Big Night of Musicals 2023 on?

The 90-minute musical extravaganza — which was recorded on Monday February 27 — will be broadcast on Saturday, March 25 at 7.50 pm on BBC One.

You will be able to watch after the show has aired on BBC iPlayer. 

Where is Big Night of Musicals 2023 taking place?

For the second year running, Big Night of Musicals 2023 sees the casts of 13 incredible West End and touring theatre shows — such including Les Miserables, Wicked and Shrek — take to the stage of the AO Arena Manchester for one spectacular event in front of 12,000 people.

Who is the host of Big Night of Musicals 2023? 

Our compère for the evening is singer, actor, comedian and judge of ITV1’s Starstruck, Jason Manford, who knows a thing or two about musicals having starred in, among others, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Producers in London’s West End.

"It’s a privilege to be asked again but it’s a hard job," says Jason. "There’s a 12,000-strong crowd, a 40-piece orchestra, someone talking into my ear, plus lots of divas and egos — hopefully I’ve shown I can juggle all those bits without getting too flummoxed! 

"Manchester feels like my crowd. To walk out onto a stage in your hometown in front of thousands of people, knowing you've got one hell of a show for them, was exciting."

What performances can we expect on Big Night of Musicals 2023?

Big Night of Musicals 2023 features an eclectic mix of powerhouse ballads, rousing chorus numbers and toe-tapping treats from the 13 much-loved shows: We Will Rock You The Musical, Les Miserables, The Royal Shakespeare Company's Matilda The Musical, Shrek the Musical, Wicked, SIX The Musical, Disney's Newsies, Ain't Too Proud: The Life And Times Of The Temptations, The Bodyguard, Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King And I, Aspects Of Love, Hamilton and Mamma Mia!

"Nathania Ong, the current Eponine in Les Miserables in London’s West End, sang On My Own from that legendary musical, and Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton sang I Will Always Love You from The Bodyguard — it’s a big song and the response she got moved her to tears," says Jason.

"I do a lot of my ‘links’ from among the crowd, so I can feel the excitement and the emotion coming from them. As me and the camera crew were walking to our next spot for when Melody finished we had to stop because our footsteps were all you could hear!

"The audience couldn’t stop giving standing ovations! Songs from shows like Les Mis and Wicked will always get that reaction but, what I also loved, was the party atmosphere with songs like I'm A Believer from Shrek, Dancing Queen from Mamma Mia and the medley from SIX; songs which don't elicit the same emotion but bring a real party vibe."

Jason himself has been in West End theatre shows — is he performing too?

He certainly is! The multi-talented host sings From Now On from The Greatest Showman with the students from Flash Musicals, a National Lottery-funded kids theatre in Edgware, North London. 

"I've not sung properly for a while but I wanted to get it right for the kids performing with me," says Jason. "What’s funny is, I recognized one of the boys and asked him: 'How do I know you? Turns out, he’d played my son in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when I was Caractacus Potts! It was lovely to see he’s still performing."

How else does The National Lottery support theatre projects?

Throughout the show, Jason chats to stage stars including Oliver’s Jodie Prenger and Frozen’s Samantha Barks about how National Lottery funding helps local theatre groups…

"The National Lottery supported over 2,000 theatres during the COVID-19 pandemic; without it, lots of these theatres wouldn't be here," explains Jason. "Flash Musicals is in a part of North London where there's not much for kids to do. How do these youngsters discover musical theatre without these projects? That’s why National Lottery funding is so important."

Is Jason appearing in the West End in 2023?

Yes! It was recently announced that Jason will be treading the boards at the London Palladium this summer as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. And he can't wait!

"I'm really excited to be working with Andrew Lloyd Webber and performing at The Palladium," says Jason. "I start rehearsals in May for a month, then we run for 11 weeks. I don't do many impressions but, when I was a kid, I used to make my family laugh by crying like the Cowardly Lion. So it’s like life has come full circle."

Is there a trailer for Big Night of Musicals 2023?

There sure is! Here's a little teaser of the all-singing, all-dancing treats you can expect on the night...

Strictly Come Dancing has reached the quarter finals and musicals week! 

It's one of the most eagerly awaited theme weeks every year.

But this year the viewers have taken to social media to complain about one new addition to the theme.

The extra professional dancers.

Musicals week started in style with Molly Rainford and her partner Carlos Gu, dancing a Charleston to Hot Honey Rag from the musical Chicago.

Their fabulous performance even impressed grumpy judge Craig Revel Horwood - a self-confessed Charleston expert - and won the pair 38 points!

They scooped 10s from Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas, and 9s from Craig, and from Anton Du Beke.

But though the fans were thrilled with Molly's performance, and her impressive scores, they were less happy about the addition of the extra professional dancers.

Extra professional dancers normally only join the show on a few occasions during a series. This year, we last saw them when the series was in Blackpool.

Molly herself said she really enjoyed having the dancers alongside her and Carlos, saying it brought a "new energy".

But the addition of the extra dancers on the floor hasn't impressed viewers tonight.

They took to social media to have a grumble about the extra professionals.

One fan said they hated the extra dancers because they show up the celebrities!

Harsh!

While others said they weren't needed and were just a distraction.

But the celebrity dancers almost all admitted they loved being joined on stage by the additional professionals. 

Do you agree?

Do you think the extra dancers add something to the show or are they surplus to requirements? 

Hocus Pocus 2 sees the The Sanderson Sisters putting a spell on us nearly 30 years on from the original. Back when the original was released, they gave us a whole new Halloween tradition, alongside all those tubs of candy, ghost costumes and glowing pumpkins. Hocus Pocus. It’s been essential All Hallows’ Eve viewing ever since, but now 2022’s spooky season sees those devilish sisters well and truly back in something of a rarity. A sequel that is just as bewitching as the original.

It’s Halloween 2022 in Salem and the annual Scarefest is in full flow but three teenage girls have accidentally repeated the events of 1993. They’ve brought the Sanderson Sisters back for their second visit to the town which executed them for witchcraft and now have to work out how to stop them from wreaking mischief and havoc with their multitude of spells.

Anne Fletcher (Dumplin’, Hot Pursuit) has an uphill task on her hands with Hocus Pocus 2. Taking over the director’s chair from Kenny Ortega is challenging enough, and the pressure is on to bring back everybody’s favorite witches in a way that not only leaves intact those warm memories of the original but also means that new audiences of all ages are just as captivated by the antics of Winifred, Sarah and Mary (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy all reprising their roles). The good news is that she totally understood the assignment. 

Nostalgia and familiarity are there in spades, both in terms of the characters and the narrative, but there’s the bonus of more to learn about the witches themselves and other well-loved faces. And there’s a raft of modern references and new arrivals, all of whom play integral parts in the story. There’s no sense of contrivance: they’re all there for a purpose and, in some instances, leave us wanting more.

Hannah Waddingham, of Ted Lasso fame, is the stand-out example. She has just a single scene, one that’s vital in giving the silly yet spooky sisters the backstory they longed for. We never see her again, but her sparkle is essential to kicking off the action with all the energy and sense of wicked fun that it needs. Another newbie is Gilbert (Sam Richardson) who’s turned the sisters’ cottage into a gift shop, specializing in all things magic — including, of course, candles. He taps into the film’s flamboyance with such gusto that you almost suspect he might have been in the original first time round. And, echoing the three witches are the three friends, Becca (Whitney Peak), Izzy (Belinda Escobedo) and Cassie (Lilia Buckingham), who bring the Sandersons back to Salem and have the unenviable task of trying to send them away again.

The callbacks to the original film, and some truly emotional moments, hit all the right beats, starting with the sisters themselves. They’re as delightfully wicked as ever and hardly appear to have aged a day, let alone nearly 30 years. But that’s magic — and today’s makeup — for you! We learn the truth about Billy Butcherson (Doug Jones), who this time plays a larger role in the story, as well as having quite a bit to say for himself, and even Book has more personality than we could ever have imagined. Fletcher has held on to the original’s musical element as well. 

There aren’t too many songs, and they’re re-workings of classics from the 1970s — complete with pun-tastic new lyrics — but they’re essential to the fun and one showstopper could do for Blondie what Stranger Things has done for Kate Bush. Cat lovers, of course, will wonder if Binx is back as well. He is — and that’s all we’re going to say. 

The combination of homage and freshness is a real winner and, if it’s possible, Hocus Pocus 2 marks the arrival of yet another Halloween tradition, one that will keep the entire family happy and give them that essential tingle down the spine. As it arrives on Disney+, you can almost hear a sigh of relief from the direction of Disney Towers. The much-hyped live-action version of Pinocchio failed to impress just a few weeks ago yet, in that time, the magic seems to have returned. 

All of which shows that there’s life in the old Mouse yet. Because the Sanderson Sisters — and their sequel — are, quite simply, wicked.

Hocus Pocus 2 is released on Disney Plus on Friday, 30 September.

All Star Musicals 2022 sees six new celebrities facing the music on ITV on Sunday, April 3. But who will win the series this year? 

Danny Care, Michaela Strachan, Lisa George, Jacqueline Jossa, Colin Salmon and Alex Beresford are all, after months of training, strutting their stuff on Sunday night

Host John Barrowman, judges Elaine Paige, Samantha Barks and Trevor Dion Nicholas - and a live audience - will all be in attendance, as they battle it out to be crowned this year’s winner.

All Star Musicals 2021 saw Robert Rinder crowned champion, while former Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley won All Star Musicals at Christmas. But who will be joining them on the winner's list this year?

Here’s everything you need to know about All Star Musicals 2022…

All Star Musicals 2022 air date 

All Star Musicals airs on ITV on Sunday, April 3 2022 at 7.30pm. 

All Star Musicals 2022 line-up

Danny Care

The rugby player tackles a track from The Greatest Showman. Will he be pitch-perfect?

Danny says: “Being in a musical has always been a pipe dream. I had to take this opportunity to learn something completely different. But I’d done no singing or dancing before. It was daunting!

“I practiced in the car when I was driving to and from training because I had to keep it secret. My kids (Blake and Koha) were my training partners! A couple of times my son would say, ‘Dad, you cannot do that on the night!’ I’d look back and my daughter would have her hands over her ears. I thought, if I can win them round, the judges will be a piece of cake!

“I loved the whole thing. The back-up singers, the dancers, the costumes - they blew me away. I can't wait to see it. I was so scared when I was going on that it's a blur - I've no idea how it went!”

[Laughing] “I'm sure when it comes out the offers are going to flood in. I’ll be on the West End in no time!”

Michaela Strachan

The Springwatch presenter on reeling out a toe-tapping number from 42nd Street…

“I love musicals and trained for them 30-odd years ago. I started my career [in 1984] as a bride in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I also had two singles out [H.A.P.P.Y. Radio in 1989 and Take Good Care of my Heart in 1990]. I lived with a saxophonist and we’d have Siouxsie and the Banshees or T’Pau in our kitchen having a cup of tea! 

“I’m delighted with my wildlife TV path, but always wonder, what if? So, when I was asked to do this, I was super-excited. 

“I can’t say which song I did - but I will say that I tap-danced! And the costume is so different to what you’re used to seeing me in - there’s a curly wig.  

“I was the first to perform and was so nervous my leg started shaking. I think my days of hoping for a part in a West End musical have gone!”

Lisa George

The Coronation Street star on finally finding out if life is a Cabaret!

“I wanted to go into musical theatre, but my career took me into different avenues. When this came up I grabbed it with both hands! 

“I won a singing scholarship in drama school, and have been a backing singer for Joe Longthorne, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. But I haven't sung in 10 years. I was rusty!

“It was brilliant to have vocal training again. This was a masterclass with the gods of musical theatre! I was more scared of the choreography because I can’t dance to save my life. 

“I did Cabaret at drama school and wanted to play this part, but didn’t get it. To do it 26 years later is - wow! 

“I was fine until I got on stage and saw everyone. My breath just went. I'm interested to see what it looks like on-screen. I was shocked when it happened. But I’d do it all again in a heartbeat!”

Jacqueline Jossa

The EastEnders actor has won I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Will she melt the judges hearts with a well-known Frozen tune?

“One of my favourite things is watching musicals. To get a chance to be on the other side of that… It’s been a dream my whole life! 

“I'd done a little bit of theatre 20-odd years ago, so it had been a long time! This is the first time I've actually sang a whole song on my own in front of a live audience.

“I loved my costume - I wanted to take it home and wear it every day! But I’d never sung this song before, and everybody knows it. If I mess up even four-year-olds will know! 

“Just before going on stage I started panicking. It was really scary. In EastEnders, if you mess up, you can go again. My daughters [Ella and Mia] will be my harshest critics!

“I took every piece of advice from everyone we worked with. They unlocked a new part of my voice that I didn't even know I had. I’ve locked it all away for the future.”

Colin Salmon

The Bond, Resident Evil and Some Girls star dreams the musical dream with a performance from Les Misérables…

“Growing up I didn’t go to the theatre but I did go to the cinema. The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and Oliver! are massive films from my childhood. 

“I sing jazz, have been in bands, and play the trumpet. But I've never had singing lessons. Breath is everything. It’s really helped my trumpet playing!

“The diction of musicals is extraordinary. I realized every note matters; every word, apostrophe and full stop counts. Once I missed a day and the vocal coach knew, so I really had to do the work. I had the [practice] tapes with me all the time. My children thought they were living with a ruminating cow! 

“I was happy with my performance. You get to a certain age and you're really just competing against yourself. It was just amazing to watch everybody and then get up and do it yourself with a proper big band and ensemble dancers. I’d love to do it again - I’m here and available!”

Alex Beresford

The Good Morning Britain star is hoping to weather his live performance of a smash-hit song from Hamilton.

“I’ve watched All Star Musicals and thought, I’d love to have a go at that. I was nervous but excited, because I’ve only done a little bit of theatre and that was about 20 years ago! 

“Working on Good Morning Britain I’m used to the live element, but just as they were about to announce I was coming on I forgot the words! And my song has a lot of words. The biggest thing for me was getting in control of my nerves. Otherwise, I would have been swallowed up on stage in front of a packed audience.

“Some of us were performing from musicals the judges were in, so that added an extra layer of pressure. Even though it’s a competition, it didn't feel like that. Everyone was supportive backstage. 

“Jacqueline’s song was my favourite and it's actually one of Susanna Reid’s favourites. Maybe we’ll see Susanna in the next series. She can hold a tune for sure!”

All Star Musicals 2022 judges, presenters and training

Before taking to the stage the celebrities have all been mentored by some of musical theatre's finest -  Elaine Paige (Evita, Cats), Samantha Barks (Frozen, Les Misérables) and Trevor Dion Nicholas (Hamilton, Aladdin). 

The stars have also been put through their paces by world-class West End choreographers and vocal coaches. Their journey from rehearsal to the real thing will be revealed during Sunday night’s show.

Meanwhile, John Barrowman reprises his role as presenter of All Star Musicals. He opens the 2022 show with a number from Grease. Soon afterwards Michaela Strachan, Danny Care, Lisa George, Jacqueline Jossa, Colin Salmon and Alex Beresford take to the stage. 

After they tread the boards, and as the in-house audience vote for their favourite, there’s a special performance from the stars of The Phantom of the Opera. 

Who will be declared the winner? Find out when All Star Musicals airs on ITV on Sunday, April 3 2022 at 7.30pm. 

Big Night Of Musicals is a must for all fans of stage musicals. These amazing shows can take us into a magical world of storytelling, song and dance, and BBC1's one-off celebration on January 29 has 14 of the best productions on at the moment giving special performances. 

For one night only and hosted by Jason Manford, The National Lottery is bringing together 14 of the biggest shows in musical theatre currently being shown on London's West End stages, including Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Beauty and the Beast The Musical, Back to the Future and Disney’s The Lion King and FROZEN. Filmed at Manchester’s AO Arena, the mood-lifting spectacular is a thank you to lottery players who helped National Lottery Funding support theatres with £228m for the arts during the pandemic. Performers in Big Night Of Musicals include Beverley Knight, Samantha Barks, Chelsea Halfpenny, Keala Settle, Arinze Kene and Aisha Jawando.

Jason Manford says: "The pandemic hit the industry hard – it’s been a struggle for theatres and those working in them. Lottery money was able to help."

Jason is thrilled to be singing the big night too, especially as he opens the show with his very own jazz hands performance! "It would be silly not to, given there’s a live orchestra!" grins Jason, 40, no stranger to treading the boards himself having appeared in shows such as Sweeney Todd, The Producers, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. "I’ll open with a song and dance — a bit of the old razzle-dazzle — and then let the professionals get on with it!"

So here's our exclusive guide to everything you need to know about Big Night Of Musicals on BBC1...

* How to watch Big Night of Musicals online anywhere in the world

'Big Night Of Musicals' release date

The air date for Big Night Of Musicals is Saturday Jan. 29 at 7pm on BBC1. The show will then become available on streaming service BBCiPlayer shortly afterwards.

Jason reveals what to expect in 'Big Night of Musicals'

A big fan of musical theatre, the comedian, actor and TV presenter Jason says he’s looking forward to catching songs from musicals he’s yet to see, such as Dear Evan Hansen and Waitress.

"We’ve got all the heavy hitters from the West End, touring productions and regional theatres, it’s a great mix,’ says Jason. "It’s a great mix. The perfect night really — you don’t have to watch the whole show, just wait for the bangers!

"Everything is a challenge! Bringing 14 musicals together for one night is absolutely crazy. Can you imagine each cast trying to get off the stage in costume, with the sets and lighting to change? I’m glad that’s not part of my job – I’ve just got to fill the time in between!"

* BritBox musicals — how to stream six big West End shows

Jason Manford on how his love of musical theatre began

Jason says: "Ever since I saw my first production, Sweeney Todd, at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. I was 13, on a school trip and thought musical theatre was amazing. I never dreamed it was something I could do, though. It didn’t seem possible for a working-class lad, but I enjoyed being part of shows at school and college, and set up a theatre society at my university [the University of Salford]. I worked hard, met the right people and suddenly I was in the West End [Jason played Italian barber Pirelli in Sweeney Todd at London’s Adelphi Theatre in 2012, opposite Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton]!  It was the first musical I saw and first one I starred in, so it’ll always be special."

Is there a trailer for 'Big Night Of Musicals'?

Yes! Here's is Jason Manford talking about what we can expect from the Big Night of Musicals show this weekend. "There's banger after banger after banger!" he says. Take a peek below....

The 14 shows in 'Big Night Of Musicals'

Here's every one of the 14 shows performing in Big Night Of Musicals...

* The Lion King
* FROZEN
* Back To The Future
* Waitress
* Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
* Dear Evan Hansen
* Bat Out Of Hell - The Musical
* & Juliet
* The Wiz
* Andrew Lloyd Webber's School of Rock
* Beauty And The Beast The Musical
* The Drifters' Girl
* Dreamgirls
* Get Up Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical

Want to watch Big Night of Musicals online? Here's how you can tune into this showstopping evening.

Big Night of Musicals is a one-off special celebrating everything from stage musicals. Filmed at Manchester's AO Arena and with Jason Manford on hosting duties, Big Night of Musicals is bound to be an unmissable show for theatre fans.

For one night only, The National Lottery has brought together some of the biggest musicals currently running in London's West End. There are 14 shows taking part in total, and you can expect to see numbers from the cast of shows such as The Lion King, Frozen, Back To The Future, Dear Evan Hansen, Andrew Lloyd Webber's School of Rock, and Waitress, among others.

Here's how to watch Big Night of Musicals online from anywhere in the world!

How to watch 'Big Night of Musicals' online in the UK

Big Night of Musicals will air on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 7 pm on BBC1. Shortly after broadcast, it will be made available to watch online on BBC iPlayer.

How to watch 'Big Night of Musicals' online anywhere in the world

There's an easy way to watch Big Night of Musicals wherever you are in the world, and it's called a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

A VPN lets you get around the usual frustrating digital barriers by changing your IP address, meaning you can watch your favorite TV shows even if you're going to be away from home. 

Our favorite is ExpressVPN, which lets you change your IP address on whichever device you want to watch your new favorite show on.

From laptops to smart TVs, Amazon Fire Sticks, games consoles, and even mobile phones, you can change the address to make your device think it's in a different location to enable you to watch the things you love around the world. 

ExpressVPN is one of the best VPNs out there. Not only because it is straightforward and easy to use, but it also has great security and, best of all, it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

ExpressVPN is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now. You can try it out for a month without paying a penny, and if you sign up for an annual plan you can get 3 months' access absolutely free!

How to watch 'Big Night of Musicals' online in the US

At the time of writing we do not have any US release information for Big Night of Musicals.

All Star Musicals at Christmas is coming to ITV and promises to be a highlight in the Christmas TV schedule.

John Barrowman hosts once again as former This Morning presenter Fern Britton, Bridgerton actor Ben Miller, broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, Countryfile host Anita Rani, former Coronation Street actress Catherine Tyldesley, and sports presenter Radzi Chinyanganya treat us to a night of iconic musical theatre performances.

All our famous faces will be trained in singing and dancing from the returning judging panel, musical theatre powerhouses Elaine Paige OBE, Samantha Barks - currently playing Elsa in Frozen in the West End - and Aladdin star Trevor Dion Nicholas. The celebrities will then be looking to deliver a show-stopping performance to be voted All Star Musicals Champion. 

Fern is no stranger to being on stage, having appeared in the musical adaptation of Calendar Girls in 2019. And Fern, 64, felt nothing but festive joy as she stepped out for All Star Musicals…

What made you want to take part in 'All Star Musicals'?

"How often does an older woman get told: 'You’re going to be taught how to sing and dance'? Then, on top of that, you're accompanied by a troupe of dancers, and an orchestra. You think: 'I'd be a fool to miss that opportunity'. I’m always up for a challenge - and this was a case of accepting I was scared and thinking: 'What am I doing?' then doing it anyway! This show certainly met my expectations and more. I had enormous fun."

Did anything surprise you about the experience?

"Everything! Learning the words to the song, which I wasn’t particularly good at, and learning the dance moves. I’m not very good at learning something and repeating it again and again; as a presenter, I’m always ad-libbing and my whole career has been about making it up as I go along. So this process was just an extraordinary thing." 

What was it like being mentored by the judges?

"I was mentored by Samantha Barks. She was wonderful and gave me lots of notes about performance. She said: ‘Don’t come on stage apologetically; people will want to enjoy watching you, so try and get in your mind that they are already pleased to see you’. That was quite a big thing for me. During one dance rehearsal, I spotted Elaine Paige walk in. She was scary at first… then she was adorable. I was very swept up in the whole show business of it all."

What teasers can you give us for your performance?

"If you can imagine an amazing Seventies’ outfit with lots of sequins - and Donna with her Dynamos is a clue. I wear a very big wig and amazing eyelashes and I had lots of added sparkle - I even had a sparkly microphone. It was just fabulous! What I really like about All Star Musicals is that it’s not a competition, it’s purely an entertainment show; an hour of absolute joy and hilarity."

Did this show give you the bug to do more performing?

"Well, it made me realise that the dream I have of being on a massive silver screen in a movie, singing and dancing, is possibly not going to happen in this lifetime! That said, the flesh might be weak but the spirit is certainly willing…"

Finally, do you have any Christmas traditions?

"My tradition this year is to NOT do any ‘tradition’ at all. I have one daughter at home now and I asked her: ‘What do you really want to eat on Christmas Day?’ And she replied: ‘Spaghetti bolognese’. I fancy a curry. So on Christmas Day we’re going to be cooking spaghetti bolognese and curry… with pigs in blankets and roast potatoes but NO Brussels sprouts! We just plan to have a laugh and spend the day in our pyjamas. And we’ll probably go to church on Christmas morning because I’m too old to stay up till midnight on Christmas Eve!"

All Star Musicals at Christmas airs on Boxing Day at 8pm on ITV.

Movie musicals can be a divisive genre — generally you either love them or hate them — but there are few things as magical as seeing a story play out on screen through mesmerizing dance moves and catchy tunes. 

A great movie musical is some combination of fantastic songs, visually stunning dance numbers and a story that belts out big emotions or sings softly truly touching moments.

But what movie musicals do this the best? Even though it meant whittling out the likes of The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Sweeney Todd, A Star Is Born (1954), Dreamgirls and Fiddler on the Roof, here are What to Watch’s top 10 of the best movie musicals.

10. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

If you think musicals are just pretty couples singing out-of-date songs and dancing in the streets, then you clearly haven’t seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This rock opera features the cross-dressing Dr. Frank-N-Furter (the iconic Tim Curry), an all-time thumper tune in the “Time Warp” and even a special appearance by Meat Loaf. The Rocky Horror Picture Show has become a cult classic and is a popular late night sing-along screening at many theaters.

9. Grease (1978)

As Frankie Valli sang in the movie’s opening credits, Grease is the word. Starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John the Grease soundtrack features so many classic songs — from “Summer Nights” to “Grease Lightning” to “You’re the One That I Want” — that are instantly recognizable. The movie is a fun, energetic story people still love to watch, as evidenced by the live production Fox did of Grease back in 2016. 

8. All That Jazz (1979)

In addition to being a song from the award-winning musical Chicago, All That Jazz is also the title of Bob Fosse’s autobiographical musical. Fosse, fittingly, brought Chicago to Broadway in 1975. He had already mastered the musical genre with 1972’s Cabaret, but All That Jazz is his masterpiece. It breaks the mold from the traditional musical format while still honoring the genre with spectacular sequences  — including a dance number between Fosse stand-in Joe Gideon’s daughter and girlfriend  — and a surreal preview of Gideon’s death (Fosse died just nine years after All That Jazz came out).  

7. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

If nothing else, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes would be iconic for Marilyn Monroe’s performance of “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” — that has inspired films from Moulin Rouge! to Margot Robbie’s Birds of Prey — but Gentlemen Prefer Blondes has so much more to offer. Not only is the film one of Monroe’s best, it also features an incredible performance from Jane Russell and was directed by the legendary Howard Hawks. The 1950s were a hotbed for musicals, with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes one of the era’s best achievements. 

6. Once (2007)

Not all musicals have to feature elaborate dance numbers or see their characters transported to fantastical, dreamlike places where their emotions can only be sung. Sometimes they can be fully centered in the real-world. Such is the case with Once from John Carney. Set in Dublin, Once follows two musicians who connect and write songs that depict their brief but beautiful love story. The performance of “Falling Slowly” is easily one of the best musical movie moments of the 21st century so far. 

5. La La Land (2016)

Unfortunately, La La Land may always be remembered for being the Best Picture winner for all of two minutes, but the film is an incredible throwback to classic musicals that captured audiences all over the world. Right from the opening number, “Another Day of Sun,” to the wonderfully sad ending, director Damien Chazelle, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and composer Justin Hurwitz brought a modern day sensibility to the movie while also infusing it with the magic and grandeur of a 1950s musical. La La Land deserves to be defined by much more than a mistake that it didn’t even make. 

4. West Side Story (1961) 

A reimagining of Romeo & Juliet, the original West Side Story’s tale of Maria and Tony’s love amid the rivalry between the Sharks and the Jets won 10 Oscars (including Best Picture) and is one of the most well choreographed, lavishly produced movie musicals ever. West Side Story is so iconic even one of the greatest directors of all time, Steven Spielberg, was questioned on the wisdom of remaking it. But no matter how good Spielberg’s 2021 West Side Story version is, the original will always be one of the best movie musicals ever made. 

3. Moulin Rouge! (2001)

If musicals divide movie fans into love them or hate them camps, then Moulin Rouge! manages to do that even with people who like movie musicals. That’s thanks to director Baz Luhrman, who crafted Moulin Rouge! as a colorful, whimsical, break-neck speed jukebox musical with the musical elements cranked up to 11. Covering iconic songs from popular bands and musicians, the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack sounds like few other musicals out there, while also adding its own iconic entry into the musical song catalogue with “Come What May.” Divisive as it may be, for originality and sheer inventiveness, Moulin Rouge! belongs in the pantheon of movie musicals. 

2. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

A list of the greatest movie musicals of all time could not be complete without Singin’ in the Rain. Starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor, Singin’ in the Rain is an impeccably-made movie from top to bottom, with scene after show-stopping scene from “Make ‘em Laugh,” “Good Morning” to “You Were Meant for Me.” The titular number “Singin’ in the Rain” has not only become one of the most iconic songs in Hollywood history but it showcases one of the most incredible feats of tap dancing put to film by Kelly — who was said to have a fever between 101-103 degrees, at one point, while filming the scene. 

1. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Perhaps no other movie musical has had the legacy of The Wizard of Oz, one of the most beloved movies of all time of any genre. This marvelous fairy tale proved magical for audiences — from its early use of color (particularly the scene where Dorothy arrives in Oz), to the star-making performance from Judy Garland, to memorable musical numbers like “If I Only Had a Brain” and, of course, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The Wizard of Oz has ingrained itself into popular culture like few films ever have, so it’s nearly impossible to rank anything ahead of it when you’re discussing the best movie musicals of all time. 

All Star Musicals at Christmas will see celebrities “embark on the ultimate musical theatre masterclass” for a night of festive entertainment, as they hope to steal the show and dazzle the judges with help from some of the biggest names in the West End. If they succeed, they will be voted All Star Musicals Champion.

The celebrities will be putting on a spectacular performance in a Christmas TV highlight. And taking the stage are TV presenter Fern Britton, actor Ben Miller, broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, TV presenter Anita Rani, Coronation Street actress Catherine Tyldesley, and sports presenter Radzi Chinyanganya.

Ex Death in Paradise star Ben Miller said of the show: “I have a new respect for musicals! After weeks of training, I am nowhere near ready. In fact, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Here’s everything we know about All Star Musicals at Christmas so far...

'All Star Musicals at Christmas' air date

All Star Musicals at Christmas airs on Boxing Day at 8pm on ITV and from 7am on ITV Hub.

What will happen in 'All Star Musicals at Christmas'?

The celebrities taking part will receive world-class mentoring from the returning panel, legendary musical theatre geniuses, Elaine Paige OBE, Samantha Barks (Frozen, Les Miserables) and Trevor Dion Nicholas (Hamilton, Aladdin). 

Talking of the show, Elaine Paige explained, "The wonderful thing about All Star Musicals is every single one of these celebrities love musical theatre – it’s not about whether they can sing or dance, it’s the journey they take to the performance on the night. And as with the cast of a West End show it’s the camaraderie amongst them all - they are there supporting each other."

As well as their superb tutoring, the stars will also be supported by a full West End ensemble, a live orchestra, and have training from admired and highly regarded West End choreographers and vocal coaches.

Highly popular and iconic musical numbers will be performed, including Cats, Moana and The Rocky Horror Show.

Trevor Dion Nicholas commented: "This time around between these two episodes we have got everything from Rap to Tap so we are going from the full contemporary aspects where Musical Theatre is today and we are also pulling from the roots of where everything began and that massive over the top glitz and glamour and big showy numbers, those things that we associate with the shine of Musical Theatre. 

"So, we are genuinely encompassing everything, I think we have something this time more than any other time before where each special has a little bit of something for everyone in the family."

We’re in for more musical magic as the show will also feature an exceptional performance from one of the West End’s biggest shows. The West End’s very own Elsa, Samantha Barks, will be putting on an exclusive performance Into The Unknown from Frozen 2.

Samantha Barks was ecstatic to be returning to the show, revealing that: "I was so excited when they asked me because I loved filming the first one. I just think it’s really cool that there are all these different people, from different walks of life. Some of them have never ever performed in any way before, so to see them giving it a go- they worked so hard. I just think it’s a brilliant thing to watch. 

"People trying something new, going for it and I think it’s quite inspiring for a lot of people. People are always nervous and think I’m not going to be any good at it so I won’t give it a go but it’s always good to try something new and push yourself because you might surprise yourself which a lot of the celebrities do."

Returning as host is John Barrowman, who will also be joining Elaine, Samantha and Trevor in opening the show with a phenomenal Greatest Showman medley.

John Barrowman said of the show: "This is something we need at the moment! People have been looking to be entertained, they love feel-good shows. We’re so happy to be back – myself, Trevor, Samantha and Elaine. I just think it’s something that’s needed on television at the moment and I’m so glad to be part of the ITV family to be doing it!"

Anita Rani said of her excitement about the show: “What better time to come together to perform some show-stopping musical hits on stage. It’s a festive treat that’s guaranteed to bring some sparkle to everyone’s living rooms this Christmas.”

Is there a trailer?

There’s no trailer out yet, but we’ll update this guide as soon as one has been released!

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Join the Strictly Come Dancing 2021 judges front row for this week’s Musicals Special as we see the remaining couples take to the ballroom once again to dance to the most loved musicals of all time.

Last week saw entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies eliminated from the competition after the judges were left with a difficult decision to save her or Tilly Ramsay.

Sara was crushed about her elimination and fans were left sobbing at her appearance on Strictly: It Takes Two as she broke down.

She revealed on the show that: “I spent yesterday being really gutted and wallowing and feeling sorry for myself and Aljaz kept trying to ring us and I was like no, I'm really not going to talk to you because that's going to make us cry even more."

She continued, "And even my five year old kept saying, 'Mummy why are you crying, grown-ups shouldn’t cry' So I had a word with myself this morning, and this lovely man [Aljaz] took me for lunch and I feel a lot better.”

In this week’s Musicals Special there will be an incredible Cabaret-inspired opening performance from the professional dancers. Afterwards, we’ll see the couples dance live to show tunes from some of the most iconic musicals.

Here are the announced songs and dances each couple will be dancing this week…

'Strictly Come Dancing' songs and dances for Musicals Special

AJ Odudu & Kai Widdrington are doing the Waltz to Edelweiss from The Sound of Music

Rose Ayling-Ellis & Giovanni Pernice will do the Quickstep to Love Is An Open Door from Frozen

Tilly Ramsay & Nikita Kuzman are doing the Couple’s Choice to Revolting Children from Matilda

Dan Walker & Nadiya Bychkova will be doing the Charleston to Good Morning from Singin’ In the Rain

John Whaite & Johannes Radebe will Viennese Waltz to Chim Chim Cher-ee from Mary Poppins

Rhys Stephenson & Nancy Xu will Jive to Footloose from Footloose

Tom Fletcher & Amy Dowden are doing the Couple’s Choice to On My Own from Les Misérables 

It was a tough competition last week, with Rhys Stephenson topping the leader board with 40 points, but in a close second and third was Rose Ayling-Ellis with 39 points and John Whaite with 38 points.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC1 this Saturday at 6:35pm — check out our TV Guide for full TV listings.

Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand and Joel Coen do Shakespeare in The Tragedy of Macbeth, an adaptation of one of the bard’s most famous plays. A24, who is behind the film with Apple TV Plus, has released the first trailer for the film, giving just a whetting of movie fans’ appetites.

The Tragedy of Macbeth is the story of the Scottish Lord Macbeth, who is told by three witches that he will become the next king. Along with his wife, he puts a plan into motion to realize this prophecy.

Joel Coen makes up half of the famed directing duo the Coen Brothers. Initially, Joel Coen was the lone director credit on all of their movies, though that was mostly a technical thing with the Directors Guild. Even though Ethan’s name didn’t appear alongside his brother as director until 2004’s The Ladykillers, they always worked as a duo. The Tragedy of Macbeth, however, marks the first time in their career that Ethan is not involved in any capacity.

But it will still be a family affair in the sense that three-time Oscar-winner Frances McDormand, who is married to Joel Coen, will star in the film in the iconic role of Lady Macbeth. Adding to the excitement is that Denzel Washington will play Macbeth, marking the first time one of the best actors of all-time will work with Joel Coen.

Additional cast members include Brendan Gleason, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling, Ralph Ineson, Stephen Root, Moses Ingram and Bertie Carvel.

The trailer, which you can watch below, is just a tease of what’s to come. It provides a first look at the black-and-white cinematography that Joel Coen opted for, provides our first look at Washington and McDormand in their roles, and with the only line of dialogue being the beginning of the prophecy from the witches, promising that “something wicked this way comes.”

The Tragedy of Macbeth is getting a Christmas Day (Dec. 25) release in movie theaters before it will make its streaming debut on Apple TV Plus three weeks later on Jan. 14, 2022. To stream the movie, you will need a subscription to Apple TV Plus, which costs $4.99 per month, though a seven-day free trial is available for new subscribers and a three-month free trial is available to consumers who purchase a new Apple product. 

This is just one of the major films that will arrive on Apple TV Plus over the next few months, with others including the Tom Hanks’ film Finch and the Mahershala Ali-led Swan Song. 

If you’ve missed your fix of the theatre during the pandemic, then through Britbox musicals you can enjoy six of the best London West End shows all filmed live from the stage, boasting major musical stars such as Elaine Paige, Michael Crawford, Ruthie Henshall, Donny Osmond and even late legends like Sir John Mills and Sir Richard Attenborough. Many of these shows were of course big hits on Broadway too.

So here’s our exclusive guide to the top live musical theatre shows you can watch on streaming service BritBox right now…

Cats

Forget the bonkers 2019 film version of Cats. Elaine Page and Sir John Mills star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic musical, one of the most famous and popular West End and Broadway shows of all time, and now a massive global phenomenon. This special performance was recorded at London’s Adelphi Theatre in 1997.

Based on TS Eliot’s 1939 poetry collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the musical tells the tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make the ‘Jellicle choice’, deciding which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. 

The musical includes the famous song Memory, sung by Grizabella, which means hearing it belted out by Elaine Paige herself. Musicals legend Elaine actually sang the original song in the musical when it first opened on the London stage in 1981 and had chart success with it, too.

Billy Elliot The Musical Live

Based on the hit 2000 film Billy Elliot starring and Jamie Bell and Julie Walters, this Elton John musical hit London’s West End in 2005 and its catchy number, Electricity, ended up reaching No4 in the charts. Set in a mining town against the backdrop of the miners’ strike of the 1980s, it tells the story of Billy, a motherless 11-year-old lad from County Durham who begins taking ballet lessons, much to his dad’s disgust.

Filmed at the Victoria Palace Theatre, this version stars Elliot Hanna as Billy and Ruthie Henshall as Mrs Wilkinson with the original Billy actor Liam Mower now playing 'Older Billy' at the end of the show.

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Watch Donny Osmond, Sir Richard Attenborough and Joan Collins in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's first and long-running hit musical about the rags-to-riches Biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colours. It was first performed in schools in the late 1960s with extra songs added throughout the years, including the Elvis-style Pharaoh. You can sing along to Close Every Door and, of course, the musical’s biggest toe-tapper Any Dream Will Do in this 1999 version based on the hit 1990s London Palladium revival.

Miss Saigon

The 25th anniversary gala performance of Miss Saigon, filmed live at London’s Prince Edward Theatre in 2016, tells the tragic story of a doomed romance between an American GI, Chris, and a Vietnamese girl, Kim, who’s been forced to work at a Saigon bar and brothel during the Vietnam War. It stars Eva Noblezada as Kim and Alistair Brammer (who was Jack Diamond in BBC medical drama Casualty) as Chris, with Jon Jon Briones (Ratched, American Horror Story) as The Engineer.

The Phantom of the Opera

With hits including The Phantom of the Opera, The Music of the Night and All I Ask of You, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s award-winning musical is the second longest-running West End musical after Les Misérables. Look out for surprise guest stars Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman from the original London cast in this version filmed at London’s Albert Hall in 2011 for the show’s 25th anniversary. Ramin Karimloo plays The Phantom, while Sierra Boggess plays Christine Daaé, the beautiful soprano who becomes the obsession of the mysterious, disfigured musical genius.

Jesus Christ Superstar

Another Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice collaboration, Jesus Christ Superstar was controversial because it was a rock opera about the last week in the life of Jesus, right up to crucifixion, and it was told from the point of view of his betrayer Judas! 

But it became a massive hit in the early 1970s with a long West End run. There was also a hit 1973 movie directed by Norman Jewison. Some of the songs like I Don’t Know How To Love Him, Gethsemane, Heaven On Their Minds, Hosanna and Superstar were massive then and still well known today. This BritBox showing of Jesus Christ Superstar was filmed at London's O2 as part of the show's arena tour in 2012. It had followed the successful search for a musical Jesus on ITV series Superstar, with the eventual winner Ben Forster taking the starring role. With Tim Minchin as Judas Iscariot, Chris Moyles as King Herod and Spice Girl Mel C as Mary Magdalene also among the cast, there were huge crowds for this recording.

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Amid a very unusual Oscar ceremony, Disney/20th Century Studios dropped the very first trailer for the remake of the iconic musical West Side Story. Widely considered to be one of the true masterpieces of American theater, this re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet as a turf war between rival street gangs in 1950s New York City helped to revolutionize the musical medium. Bringing it to the big screen in 2021 is no mean feat, so it makes sense that the man chosen to helm the project was another legend, Steven Spielberg. Multi-award-winning screenwriter Tony Kushner is on script duties, and the cast includes an array of new faces, Broadway stars, and Rita Moreno, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the 1961 adaptation of the musical. Originally scheduled for Christmas 2020, West Side Story is now set to premiere on December 10, 2021, which will coincide with the 60th anniversary of the release of the first movie.

It's tough to overstate the seismic impact that West Side Story had on the entire concept of the musical when it premiered on Broadway in 1957. Critics hailed it as one of the true stage triumphs of the decade and correctly predicted that it would help to reshape the artform for a new generation. West Side Story was also praised for its grittier story, tackling themes of racism, gang warfare, and urban social upheaval, none of which were necessarily seen as musical-friendly topics. Four years later, the show came to life in a lavishly faithful film adaptation directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, the latter of whom helmed the show on-stage. It became the highest-grossing movie of 1961, won ten Oscars out of eleven nominations, and was celebrated once more by critics as a masterpiece.

That means that Spielberg is following in some mighty footsteps. You can be the most famous director of your generation, a multi-Oscar winner with billions of dollars’ worth of grosses to your name and taking on West Side Story can still be one of the biggest risks of your career. Spielberg has never made a musical before, although films like 1941 and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom have musical moments. It’s kind of a surprise it’s taken him this long to make the plunge given how well-suited his style is for extensive song and dance numbers. Yet West Side Story is not just a musical: it’s a precarious balance of tone and subject matter that many a stage production has failed to nail (including the most recent Broadway revival.) This is a show about racism with multiple murders that features songs like “I Feel Pretty”. It’s an exuberant narrative that nonetheless takes some incredibly dark turns, the likes of which were considered decidedly un-musical-esque in the 1950s. Even the 1961 film, which sticks very closely to the source material, doesn’t entirely pull it off. Can Spielberg?

Remakes of Oscar-winning classics are usually considered sacrilegious but there are many good reasons to redo West Side Story. For one, this is a musical with a heavily Latinx ensemble whose film adaptation featured mostly white actors in brownface. Even Rita Moreno, the only Puerto Rican in the cast, was forced to darken her skin to play the role of Anita. This may have been commonplace in Hollywood at the time but there’s an obvious issue with making a movie about racism while utilising one of the most racist tools in entertainment history. Spielberg's cast includes newcomer Rachel Zegler as Maria, So You Think You Can Dance alum Ariana DeBose as Anita, and David Alvarez as Bernard, to name but three additions to its vast ensemble. This is a good chance to right a cinematic wrong that’s always left a very good movie with an asterisk next to its name.

Moreover, this is a good opportunity to bring back the old-school book musical with epic choreography and a true commitment to the uniqueness of the medium. The modern movie musical has been a mixed bag over the past decade thanks to overtly serious efforts like Les Misérables, Into the Woods, and Cats, all of which seemed embarrassed that they even had to be musicals. They downplayed the specifically theatrical aspects of the material, and they weren’t even particularly cinematic. Getting that balance between movie and stage has caused a lot of great directors to stumble, but if there’s anyone who can navigate that space, it’s Spielberg. The king of the modern blockbuster knows his way around ambitious set-pieces and the dynamic movement of large casts. The moments in the new trailer that sparkle are those shots of the iconic warring dance in the gym, and even in those brief glimpses, Spielberg seems at home.

Still, the trailer doesn’t necessarily seem keen to play up its musical nature. Granted, that may simply be because West Side Story is so well-known that one couldn’t be ignorant of its genre status, but there is a bigger focus on the warring gangs rather than the singing. The December release date means that the film will inevitably be considered an Oscar player, so this may be lining West Side Story up for those prestigious narratives, like its 1961 predecessor. Compare it to the trailer for another upcoming movie musical, Jon M. Chu’s In the Heights, which is a vibrant celebration of its grand choreography. One musical seems to be aiming for seriousness while the other is just here for a good time. Will audiences gravitate towards both?

The Unholy is currently only available to watch in theaters. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we recommend checking it out at your local drive-in. If one isn’t available, please be sure to check out state and CDC guidelines before watching in an enclosed space.

A lot gets said about PG-13 horrors like The Unholy because of their “tameness,” but no MPAA rating has ever ruined a movie—that’s up to the storytellers, performers, and filmmakers. Evan Spiliotopoulos’ theological revenge piece about shrines, false prophets, and divine intervention works within the confines of genre blueprints without profuse cursing or sloppy gore. Where it fails has nothing to do with lacking nudity, crudeness, or throat-slasher violence. As blasphemy becomes the narrative’s weapon of choice, shoddy computerized graphics and short-burst scare tactics never care to sustain terror. Spiliotopoulos lays a foundation that’ll attract religious fright-seeking flocks, yet his gospel is of a more formulaic supernatural thriller that ultimately doesn’t convert through execution.

Disgraced journalist Gerry Fenn (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) stumbles upon the headline of a lifetime in the rural Massachusetts community of Banfield. A deaf teenager (Alice, played by Cricket Brown) experiences Mary's touch, is cured of her hearing loss and begins performing miracles through the virgin mother’s orders. Father Hagan (William Sadler) wants to protect Alice—his niece—from prayer-thirsty hordes, while Gerry shops exclusive interviews around as a means of professional reclamation. Bishop Gyles (Cary Elwes) and Monsignor Delgarde (Diogo Morgado) arrive to assess if Alice’s actions are indefinitely miracles. While this should excite Gerry, he starts to question the merciful voice behind Alice’s words as something not from above, but below.

On surface glances, The Unholy establishes damnation of faith that stings with Catholic commentary. Alice’s innocence at first plays in contrast to Gerry’s ego-driven selfishness, while Father Hagan questions the sanctity of shrines where worshippers flood like those in Brazil or elsewhere. Bishop Gyles becomes the resident shady padre who suggests God’s servants aren’t all worthy shepherds, and Alice resembles an alluring purity as she parrots an invisible saint’s words. Spiliotopoulos summons a puppetmaster via satanic attributes like needle-whittled fingers or scorched flesh. Plus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan handily oozes numbskull ignorance of local folklore as Gerry unwittingly smashes a kern baby to “beef up” his story’s header photograph—everything is in place for a righteous rumble between priests, reporters, and a medical professional who infallibly translates Latin (Katie Aselton as Dr. Natalie Gates).

In practice, The Unholy squanders Craig Wrobleski’s sharper cinematography around crooked prophetic trees or the latter-tented shrine enclosure with rather unappealing computer-generated jolts. Spiliotopoulos’ navigation of horror elements replicates the understanding of someone who’s only watched horror trailers, never a full feature. Mary’s backstory recalls an 1845 mob murder where executioners nail a mask to her face, burn her alive, then a finale hanging—although scriptures speak of drowning as well—leaving a mangled form that, while ghoulish, is wasted on these blink-and-miss lunges towards the screen. Worse off, magnificent set pieces like Gerry’s black-and-white dreamworld with a blood river where Mary ascends from are visually unattractive down to unsightly digital flames. The unassuming, isolated town of Banfield provides a charming quaintness that somehow is lost within all the garish CGI and character choices, none of which match thematic promises.

Spiliotopoulos’ adapted screenplay from James Herbert’s novel Shrine becomes more trope-riddled and cartoonish on screen. Cary Elwes’ Massachusetts accent smashes Boston and Brooklyn into something extra, while Diogo Morgado exhibits the situational reaction speeds of a subdued sloth. I enjoy Cricket Brown’s portrayal of a churchgoer overwhelmed by spiritual empowerment—her eyes gazing into nothingness while preaching salvation—and yet other characters feel like afterthoughts, such as Katie Aselton’s randomly generated “I speak Latin” moment being her only of heft. Morgan plays an alcoholic writer selling conspiracy blog posts for $150 a pop as we know he can, but it’s not enough to endure the otherwise lifelessness of this chosen narrative structure. It’s vaguely terrifying but unacceptably repetitive in jerky-jolt jumps and dulls in its third-act triumphs where emotional brevity never becomes as gripping as creators might wish.

The Unholy could be passing entertainment for horror fans who only required those yelp-for-a-second scares you might find in prank internet videos. Something wicked this way comes but said wickedness is nothing fans of tested beliefs and scornful soul-sellers haven’t beheld prior. I wish the scares felt more earned and that Evan Spiliotopoulos mined his Massachusetts farming town for more than fleeting paranormal engagement. Bloody altar statue tears and forgettable hooded villains only get you so far when we’re left begging for more tension, less repetitious hauntings, and sensations beyond just another generic profession of Hell’s manipulation against Heaven’s almighty farce.

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All Star Musicals 2021 is almost here, and ITV is welcoming a new line up of celebrity guests to the stage. The series transforms famous faces into musical stars with the help of a vocal coach and dance lessons, so they can perform to the best of their abilities in front of judges. 

In a similar vein to Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing on Ice, each performance will be scored and critiqued by a panel of judges.

Katie Rawcliffe, ITV’s Head of Entertainment Commissioning said "All Star Musicals returns to our screens at a time when we’ve been missing those powerful and thrilling live performances in the theatre.  This one-off special will be a real celebration of musicals and I can’t wait to see the performances our celebrities deliver on stage.” 

Here's everything we know so far...

All Star Musicals 2021 release date

We don't have a confirmed release date, but we do know that All Star Musicals 2021 will be filmed and aired 'later this month' [March]. Watch this space!

What is All Star Musicals about?

All Star Musicals is a one-off special which sees six celebrities trying their hands at musical theatre. A must watch for fans of musicals, our novice celebrities will be trained in song and dance hoping to put on a great show for the audience and judges. All celebrities will be mentored by musical theatre star Elaine Paige and a West End chorus line, and will also work with expert choreographers and vocal coaches.

Elaine Paige says: "All Star Musicals is a joy to be a part of, I'm so pleased to be back heading up the critics panel and mentoring our new celebrities.  We've got the most wonderful evening of musical theatre and entertainment lined up for viewers and some very exciting surprises."

Who is hosting All Star Musicals?

Doctor Who favourite John Barrowman returns as All Star Musicals host, revealing: "Now more than ever we're all in need of some fabulous musical entertainment and I can't wait to be reunited with Elaine on stage for All Star Musicals.  We've got the most amazing show lined up with something for everyone and lots and lots of surprises!"

As well as hosting, John Barrowman, Elaine Paige, Samantha Barks and Trevor Dion Nicholas will open the show with a performance of Can’t Stop the Beat from Hairspray.

What celebs are in All Star Musicals 2021?

All Star Musicals welcomes six famous faces to the programme. This time around we'll see actress Jessica Hynes, barrister and broadcaster Robert Rinder, actor Barney Walsh, political journalist Robert Peston, doctor and presenter Dr Ranj Singh, and actress Luisa Bradshaw-White hoping to impress the judges and virtual audience.

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How can The Devil Below, an Appalachian creature-feature about abandoned, always-aflame mining systems, be so unremarkable? Based on intentional The Descent vibes, Bradley Parker's intersection of scientific data and unexplainable folklore should amount to more than scraps left behind by better woodland monster-thrillers. Barren passageways symbolize the emptiness in Stefan Jaworski and Eric Scherbarth's screenplay, which fails to imbue survivalists, mountain ranges, and narrative motivations with significance. Enjoy the same cutaway tactics before altercations and stumble-by-numbers doldrums that horror fans endure too frequently, which is quite the disappointment given how Parker's setup teases something that should be the apex of claustrophobic, fangs-out fearsomeness.

During the 1960s or 1970s, a Kentucky mining community known as Shookum Hills vanished from existence. Expeditioner Arianne (Alicia Sanz) is contracted to lead a geological investigation party towards the isolated, off-the-map location in hopes of discovering a purified resource that's supposedly been burning for years since an incident at the Shookum Hills mining site. Darren (Adan Canto) and his crew are seekers of reason, but what they discover locked within tunnel systems, kept underground by electrical grate rigs, has no logical conclusion. Not even the mine's still-living overseer Schuttmann (Will Patton) can provide answers once the troublesome trespassers stumble upon a camp of protectors, all with a united cause: ensure whatever's underground doesn't breach the surface.

What opens on a very Jurassic Park introduction, tragically between father (Schuttmann) and son, pegs The Devil Below maybe twenty-ish years into the future, although there's no definitive consensus? Neither is there a strive to develop characters beyond "The Bodyguard" (Zach Avery), "The Techie" (Jonathan Sadowski), or "The Philosopher" (Chinaza Uche). Attention to worldbuilding beyond roll-over credits sequences burning holes through CGI newspapers is superficially interested in the film's damnation story, or at least that's the sensation scenes maintain. Overall pacing, while speedy, is also wonkily bounce-about given how friend-and-foe motivations are more off the charts than seismic readings before an earthquake. We're never given a reason to care beyond generic dummies-meddle-with-unknowns milestones.

Parker struggles to make audiences feel the weight of stakes within The Devil Below. Arianne's adventurers discover a sinkhole entrance, immediately fall under supernatural attack, even more rapidly encounter Schuttmann's outpost, then are herded into the mines for a finale standoff that's less standoff and more running around cavern systems with jostle-about camera steadiness. Mutant humanoid creature suits aren't crafted for combat, given how performers are typically glimpsed in background shots flailing around as sound design clicks echolocation. It's rarely compelling, where action restricts to off-screen bursts or chases blur within shaky-frantic cinematography that rarely crystalizes an otherwise jumbled picture—even when we meet some Alien Resurrection-slash-Starship Troopers "Queen" that's supposedly a representation of Hell on Earth.

The Devil Below toys with ideas about what lies below versus our up-top normalities but lacks enthusiasm across technical aspects. The overall color palette mutes unless focus descends into the subterranean labyrinth, as orange light filters flicker synthetic suggestions of fires elsewhere. Performances are rarely engaging, especially from an Alicia Sanz who seems uncomfortable as the badass action-hero arc with a female bend. Tension escalates and deflates without control, while the experience of monsters with poison dagger-arms and bulbous noggins becomes the equivalent of dead air. A genuine disappointment because there are so many instances where I wanted my adrenaline to peak or payoffs to sway the tides, yet there's no relief. What exists on paper as this apocalyptic mineshaft disaster-piece becomes another creature-forward walkthrough that doesn't even instill the suspense or heart-racing thrills of a haunted Halloween attraction.

There's are some grave miscalculations throughout The Devil Below, and the summation is a moodless cycle through monster-flee moments that should drip granite entrapment like a waterfall. Instead, cinematography trades the intimacy of inches-wide cavern passages for widened openings that never, ever capitalize on the dread that should be like an onyx noose. Atmosphere lacks from animated ghoul faces to lacking environmental accents, presentation is drab, and performances are uninspired in this naturalistic ode to cryptid underlings that never savors a single sulfuric second of the murderous mysteries that lurk under Earth's crust. They may be ugly and toothy entities up-close, but once the shot pans backward, it's back to blandness as costumed actors do their best wiggly-arm-running impressions.

The Devil Below will be available on VOD on March 5th, 2021.

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Practice your vocal warm-ups, get your glad rags on and enjoy a night out in London’s West End — without leaving your living room. This Sunday [February 7] BBC1 invites viewers to tune in, singalong, and celebrate the joys of musical theatre in Musicals: The Greatest Show. We caught up with musical maestro, Michael Ball — who’s starred in Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Hairspray — for inside info on this special show...

Musicals: The Greatest Show is presented by Sheridan Smith

Hosted by actor Sheridan Smith — who has tread the London West End boards herself in smash-hits including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Legally Blonde — the 75-minute spectacular, Musicals: The Greatest Show airs Sunday February 7 at 7.40pm on BBC1. 

"I’ve known Sheridan Smith for a while and am a huge admirer," says Michael. "She’s an extraordinary talent. We’ve been in concerts together, but never actually sung together so we need to put that right!"

Big names on the bill

The star-spangled bill features special performances from Sheridan Smith, Amanda Holden, Michael Ball, and Cats star Nicole Scherzinger joins in the fun via video. (See below for detailed billing list)

"Amanda, I’ve known forever and a day. She’s properly funny!" reveals Michael. "She’s also earned her place on the musical theatre stage with performances in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Shrek."

Musicals: The Greatest Show was filmed in a secure environment

Musicals The Greatest Show was filmed adhering strictly to current COVID-19 safety protocols when it was recorded at the world-famous London Palladium.

"It was all in and out, like a conveyor belt, because we had to do it quickly and safely. But there was an exciting atmosphere. Everyone was thrilled to be there but we couldn’t overlap too much," explains Michael, who adds: "I was happy I got to have a chat with Sheridan. 

"Walking on the stage and joining the socially distanced orchestra, with the ensemble singers doing backing vocals in the auditorium… It was a wonderful feeling singing right in the centre of that amazing sound for the first time in ages. I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve missed it."

Micheal reprises his role of Edna Turnblad from Hairspray

"I sing You Can’t Stop the Beat from Hairspray. I call it, ‘You Can’t Stop to Breathe’, because it’s full on!" laughs Michael. "Not having done a whole lot of exercise throughout this lockdown, I realised how unfit I am — and I wasn’t even doing the full dances or had the heels on!"

There’s something for every musical lover

"Because there are so many kinds of musicals, you get glitz, glamour and fun, but also something a little more heartrending and soul searching," says Michael. 

"Expect classic songs everyone knows and loves, and also new things people may not have seen yet from shows like Hamilton and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, plus a brand-new song from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s upcoming Cinderella." 

Musicals: The Greatest Show aims to lift spirits

"There’s nothing like a musical! It’s such an important art form, and tailor-made for how we’re feeling at the moment – isolated, lonely and in need of stimuli. 

"Musicals take us out of our own lives for a couple of hours and that’s a really healthy thing. There’s also a sense of community, both for the people on stage and the audience. It happens live in front of you and will never happen exactly like this ever again."

Missing a good day out? You’re not alone…

"There’s an appetite from the audience to come back to the theatre. I think even more so than before. You don’t realise how much you miss something until it’s not there anymore," says Michael about recent conversations with musical theatre fans. 

"British musical theatre is world class, but it’s sort of been forgotten. If you walk around the West End of London, it’s a ghost town. All the hotels, restaurants and shops that rely on people taking in a show, that’s gone for them. And it’s even more bleak regionally. It’s awful. 

"Acting for Others is great – it combines theatre charities to help people and their families who are having such a hard time."

Michael is making plans for Hairspray

"Last year we did one day of rehearsal for Hairspray and then went into lockdown.

"It’s scheduled to reopen in April [at the London Coliseum] but that’s looking less likely," confides Michael. "We had a big Zoom call — all the cast and producers — and the determination is: ‘We’re going to do it as soon as we can!’ 

"I think Hairspray will happen. It might happen a bit later but it will definitely happen!"

Yes, Michael Ball does have a favourite musical!

"Les Miserables is an extraordinary work, it really is. But, for sheer joy, I love Hairspray.

"It’s the characters, the clothes, the moving and funny story, and the important social message that’s dressed up in this wonderful confectionary. 

"When my mum came to see it, she said it was like watching gran on stage and, actually, I based a lot of the character on her. I even smell like her. Every character I play has to have their own smell and she smells of Madame Rochas!"

Musicals: The Greatest Show is available on catch-up

BBC1 Musicals: The Greatest Show will be available to watch for up to a year on BBC iPlayer.

Other stars and highlights from BBC1’s Musicals: The Greatest Show

• Host Sheridan teams up with BGT judge Amanda Holden for a rendition of the iconic song I Know Him So Well from Chess. Fact fans: It was originally performed by Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson, reached No.1 in 1985 and remains the best-selling song by a female duo.
• Musical fans awaiting Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new show Cinderella are in for a treat with an exclusive first performance by star Ivano Turco of Only You, Lonely You.
• Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger will be hitting the high notes as she performs Never Enough from The Greatest Showman, recorded in LA.
• Acclaimed West End and Broadway actor Ramin Karimloo (Holby City’s Kian Madani) gives a heartstopping performance of The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera.
• In a musical coup, the queen of musicals, Elaine Paige, will be interviewed by Broadway favourite (and the voice of Frozen’s Elsa) Idina Menzel.
• Aisha Jawando (The Tina Turner Musical), Nicole Raquel Dennis (Dreamgirls), and cast members from Six the Musical, Mamma Mia, and Dear Evan Hansen all turn up to perform the nation’s favourite show tunes!
• For the grand finale viewers, who’ve submitted their own renditions, sing Wicked’s Defying Gravity with Kerry Ellis and Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat with Jac Yarrow

Musicals: The Greatest Show is a new BBC1 celebration of the stage, as we can't go and see performances in person right now. 

Hosted by Sheridan Smith, the pre-recorded special will feature performances from international superstars that are sure to delight all theatre fans.

From London's West End to Broadway and the nation's favourite musical numbers, here's everything you need to know about the upcoming programme...

When is Musicals: The Greatest Show on TV?

Musicals: The Greatest Show airs Sunday 7th February at 7.40pm on BBC1.  However the show is already available to listen to on BBC Sounds, if you just can't wait and you'd rather listen to it instead.

Who is hosting Musicals: The Greatest Show?

Sheridan Smith will host Musicals: The Greatest Show, as she is no stranger to the stage. In fact, she won a Laurence Olivier Award for starring in Legally Blonde in the West End and has also starred in Funny Girl, Hedda Gabler and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Aside from that, Sheridan has had a successful TV career appearing in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Gavin & Stacey and Inside No 9. Most recently she presented dog grooming competition Pooch Perfect.

Who is performing on the show?

Amanda Holden and Sheridan Smith will perform I Know Him So Well from Chess, which reached Number 1 in the UK Pop Charts in 1985. Sheridan will also perform Don’t Rain On My Parade from Funny Girl.

In addition, Nicole Scherzinger sings Never Enough from The Greatest Showman, Gavin Spokes, from the West End production of Hamilton, performs You’ll Be Back, Michael Ball performs You Can’t Stop The Beat from Hairspray.

Finally, the three West End lead actors of MAMMA MIA! — Mazz Murray, Kate Graham and Jo Napthine — perform Dancing Queen; Aisha Jawando of the West End production of TINA, The Tina Turner Musical performs The Best; Layton Williams performs The Wall In My Head from Everybody's Talking About Jamie; members of the West End Cast of Dear Evan Hansen perform You Will Be Found; Nicole Raquel Dennis performs a powerhouse performance of And I Am Telling You from Dreamgirls.

So there's plenty of great performances to enjoy!

Can we watch this on demand?

Yes, the programme will be available on BBC iPlayer for a year after its TV broadcast.

Musicals: The Greatest Show airs on BBC1 on Sunday 7th February at 7.40pm.

Yesterday, Deadline revealed that Jon M. Chu, director of Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights will direct the upcoming adaptation of Broadway smash-hit musical, Wicked. 

Chu responded to the news on Twitter. He tweeted some choice lyrics from ‘Defying Gravity’, one of the most iconic songs from Wicked. 

Attached to the tweet was a screenshot of the Deadline article alongside a personal note which explained how excited he was to be directing the Wicked movie. He concluded by asking his followers who he should cast in the lead roles.

Jon M. Chu's full statement reads:

'Most of my life I have felt out of place, weird and different. I hid behind my camera because people liked to be filmed and I could disappear. I used my short films to wow people so I could feel valued. I felt GREEN in all the ways.

But when I saw Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s WICKED over 15 years ago as it was being workshopped in San Francisco I couldn’t unsee it. So to think that I have been invited to bring this timeless story to the biggest screens all around the world for people to experience with their family, best friends and total strangers… of all walks of life, ages, shapes and colors is like I’ve been invited to Oz by the Wizard himself.

Thank you Mark Platt, Stephen, Winnie and Universal Pictures for trusting in me to translate this incredible story for all the fans and future fans of Elphaba and Glinda. I will protect this vigorously and hopefully bring a few new surprises along the way.

So… who wants to be Elphaba and Glinda’.

The previous director, Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) departed the project back in October 2020. Daldry reportedly left due to Universal wanting to move too quickly on the production.

Several other directors had previously been considered for the role, including Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns), Ryan Murphy (The Prom), and J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker).

Wicked is a musical theatre success story. Based on Gregory Maguire’s series of books, it takes a fresh look at the relationship between the soon-to-be Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.

The smash-hit show is now in its 17th year on Broadway, and the original production received 10 Tony Award nominations back in 2004. It grossed more than $56 million in its first year alone.

Elsewhere, Jon M. Chu is also at the helm of the movie adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights, which is slated for release on HBO Max and in cinemas on June 18, 2021.

Musicals Week is here...

Strictly Come Dancing fans are in for a treat this Saturday, because it is Musicals Week - one of the highlights of the series each year.

While every episode of Strictly is packed with glitter and sparkle, there is something special about a themed week.

Halloween Week might have been cancelled this year due to the later starting date of the series, and Blackpool Week took place in London instead of at the famous Tower Ballroom, but Movie Week and Musicals Week have thankfully still been part of of the schedule.

More: Strictly: The Christmas Countdown - everything you need to know about the festive episode 

The Strictly competition is getting tougher as the weeks go by, with Clara and Aljaz being the most recent couple to be voted off last weekend.

Songs and dances for Musicals Week 

This week sees the remaining couples hitting the dance floor with their musical numbers... and we can already tell it's going to be a great show.

Maise and Gorka will be doing a Jive to Little Shop of Horrors, hoping to repeat their great scores from last week.

Jamie and Karen will also be jiving, but their musical of choice is Everybody's Talking About Jamie.

Ranvir and Giovanni will be performing the Viennese Waltz to She Used To Be Mine from The Waitress.

Bill and Oti will be showing off their Argentine Tango to Phantom of the Opera, and JJ and Amy will be performing the energetic Charleston to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Last week saw HRVY and Janette made Strictly history by getting a perfect score in week six, scoring a 10 from all the judges for their Couple's Choice dance.

They will be trying to get to the top of the leader board once again on Saturday with an American Smooth to the song One from A Chorus Line.

Strictly Come Dancing 2019 airs on Saturday nights at 7.15pm and Sunday nights at 7.25pm on BBC One.

Bryan Bertino returns to The Strangers form in The Dark And The Wicked, a movie that purifies, quadruple-distills, and bottles true evil. It's what Webster's dictionary definition of "horror" would cite as an example. Bertino explores grief and death with chilly clutches that grasp, strangle, and offer no floating lifesaver of hope. "Wow, that sure sounds bleak!" You're everloving right because sometimes the world is a nasty place, and monsters lying in wait will strike without reason or mercy. Don't expect an artistic depiction of rotten heritage like Relic. Bertino doesn't care to provide contextual padding in the form of spiritual relief.

Demons gonna demon, y'all. Sometimes there's no "reason," which intensifies the infection that oozes from untreatable wounds. Physical or mental.

Marin Ireland stars as Louise, who returns home due to her father's diminishing health. Alongside brother Michael (Michael Abbott Jr.), Louise attempts to lessen her visibly exhausted mother's burden (Julie Oliver-Touchstone). It's a situation children often acknowledge too late, except Louise and Michael discover something worse than wasted time. Their mother mutters about a figure looming over pa's bed, where he's non-responsive, slowly killing the once able man. That's when the visions start, as Louise and Michael must question whether their father's impending demise is a natural condition or something supernatural caused from beyond.

For horror fans, Bertino's rural quietness is familiar. An isolated plot of land with open fields, a rustic essence, and livestock roaming free. The ailing father, lying motionless under bedsheets with a tube feeding oxygen through his nostrils. Louise and Michael are forced to process their beloved parent's condition, now withered. It's the final ritual of our mortal existence that we often hide from consciousness, as dialogue between the siblings hints at neglectful ignorance when they should have been more involved. Nothing is pretty about this picture, and that's what Bertino strives to exploit by introducing something even worse.

The Dark And The Wicked is fiercely determined to value death in its least forgiving stages. Furthermore, it punishes bystanders. Maybe it's mama's cutting board "accident" while chopping vegetables, or Louise's unsettling encounters with her father's imaginary figure, standing tall, or Michael's equally disturbing interactions with his own nightly visitor. Always confronted by milky white eyes, congealed veins, and greyish corpse skin tints. 

Finality is an infection that plagues all who are present for its finishing touches. It spreads through thoughts, and self-hatred, and fearful escapist decisions, and the inevitable cannot be halted, for whom the bell tolls. Such is the message of Bertino's looming presence through tortures and tricks aimed at those who are already experiencing immense psychological torments. A vile entity that wants everyone, or anyone to suffer, which you can imagine it's watching with the toothiest cheek-to-cheek grin.

As a cynical, self-destructive flesh sack of emotions, boy do I connect with horror cinema that reminds its viewers that sometimes nothing is alright, but that's reality. Sure, Bertino's methods are unconscionably cruel. So is life. As a horror story about an inexplicable deviant that collects souls for funsies, The Dark And The Wicked understands its tone may be off-putting, yet never flinches. Graphic images only instill so much terror, be it unsightly stew ingredients or bodies swaying in the breeze or goats for the slaughter. 

Bertino's screenplay beckons the Grim Reaper and stares him in the face, eyeballing every ugly detail. Characters try to ward off what's coming with ornamental bone totems and sacrificial offerings, but the devil doth persist. Louise and Michael can only survey the damage and take stock of the shapeshifting force that drinks in despair like its thirst is unquenchable. Happy endings only exist in movies, after all.

Bryan Bertino returns to the home invasion subgenre in The Dark An The Wicked, but there are no defensive stances this time around. It's a brick-heavy, barbed pill to swallow, which is an exquisite unification of funeral paranoias and demonic intervention. That's what makes a horror film like this one so special. Without sacrificing ghostly white-knuckle tension, Bertino taps into humanity's most conventionally devastating recurrent thoughts. A film that sends shivers throughout your body but also burrows deep into your locked-away subconscious reaches as to deny any trace of sympathy. Evil is as evil does, I'm afraid - what a harrowingly ruinous ode to existence Bertino creates.

The Dark An The Wicked is part of our Fantasia Fest 2020 coverage.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals are coming to the comfort of your living room amid coronavirus.

Due to the lockdown, we're unable to venture out to cinemas and theatres for entertainment. But thanks to Andrew Lloyd Webber there's an alternative.

If you're a fan of musicals, you definitely won't want to miss The Shows Must Go On.

In a Twitter update, Andrew Lloyd Webber explained that there'd be a new musical every Friday to watch for free.

He confirmed that this would continue "for a few weeks", and they'd be starting with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

The musicals will stream live, but if you're unable to tune in they'll be available for 48 hours following their premiere.

WHAT IS ON TONIGHT? Check out our NEW and improved TV Guide

Jesus Christ Superstar is the next musical to stream, and this will be available to watch at 7pm on Friday 10th April.

So if you're looking for something to entertain you this Good Friday, why not bring the West End to your living room?

The YouTube description reads, "Welcome to The Shows Must Go On, the channel bringing you showtunes, backstage access and full performances from some of the best loved musicals in history!

"Featuring melodic moments, show-stopping solos and high notes for the history books."

Andrew Lloyd Webber is no stranger to the small screen, as he's appeared on plenty of BBC programmes in search for the next musical talent.

In 2006, BBC1 aired How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? where they were on the hunt for the next Sound of Music star.

The following year, Any Dream Will Do invited actors to audition to play Joseph.

It's not known how long these streams will continue for, but we're sure they'll help to spread joy.

Elsewhere, the BBC launched Bitesize Daily to help frazzled parents with homeschooling.

Not as fun as musicals, but definitely essential!