Theatre

Beloved musical An Officer and a Gentleman is coming back to Manchester

Its soundtrack is filled with iconic 80s songs. (Contains affiliate links)

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 22nd June 2023

An Officer and a Gentleman The Musical is set to return to Manchester next year, as the production embarks on a UK tour.

The beloved romantic masterpiece, based on the 1982 film of the same name, will be at the Manchester Opera House in 2024.

The award-winning film starred Richard Gere in the lead role of Zack Mayo, a fearless young officer candidate beginning his military training when he meets Paula Pokrifki.

The pair fall madly in love, sparking a passion that transcends boundaries and defies all odds.

Filled with heartfelt ballads, An Officer and A Gentleman’s soundtrack features songs from Madonna, Bon Jovi, Cyndi Lauper, Blondie and many more.

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The musical’s most famous song is the award-winning (Love Lift Us) Up Where We Belong.

Director Nikolai Foster said: “Filled with love and quiet profundity, An Officer and a Gentleman sensitively charts the lives of working class, military folk in America in the early 1980s.

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“We are proud to be working alongside the film’s creator Douglas Day Stewart, producer Jamie Wilson, Sharleen Cooper Cohen and an incredible creative team to present this beautiful and inspiring story.

“We are excited to share some iconic 80s songs and this moving story with audiences across the UK.”

An Officer and a Gentleman The Musical UK tour will have musical supervision and orchestration by George Dyer, set and costume design by Michael Taylor, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Tom Marshall, wig, hair and make up design by Sam Cox and casting by Debbie O’Brien. This Made at Curve production is produced by Jamie Wilson, Jack Maple, Gavin Kalin and Jason Haigh-Ellery in association with Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros Theatre Ventures.

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Tickets will go on general sale here from 10am on Friday 23 June, with early access from 11am on 22 June for TheatreCard members.

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Featured image: Publicity picture

Theatre

The all-new Cirque Wicked Wizard of Oz is coming to the AO Arena in 2025

Danny Jones Danny Jones Cirque Wicked Wizard of Oz Manchester tickets

Something Wicked comes this way but not as you know because a high-flying twist on the Wizard of Oz lands in Manchester next year – only this time, make it Cirque!

That’s right, AO Arena is set to welcome the Cirque Wicked Wizard of Oz: an acrobatic take on the classic children’s story and much-loved 1939 film starring Judy Garland.

With Wicked fever having taken over the global zeitgeist following the release of this year’s feature-length adaption and even more people, theatre fans or not, going along to see the long-hailed theatre production that inspired it, it seems there’s no better time to announce this latest entry into the universe.

Set to embark on its inaugural tour in 2025, the experience is being described as ‘cirque meets panto’ and is set to deliver a magical retelling of the iconic tale like never before.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NOW ON SALE!⚡ CIRQUE WICKED WIZARD OF OZ!<br><br>Panto meets Cirque... Be amazed by a brand-new, breath-taking, Cirque staging… of the Wicked Wizard of Oz, coming to the AO Arena next year on Tuesday 23rd December 2025! 💫✨ <br><br>Buy tickets now: <a href="https://t.co/uQTPa3YJqW">https://t.co/uQTPa3YJqW</a> <a href="https://t.co/kTctGVXZIn">pic.twitter.com/kTctGVXZIn</a></p>&mdash; AO Arena (@AOArena) <a href="https://twitter.com/AOArena/status/1870046804659568980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Turning the Emerald City into the Emerald Circus, World’s Biggest Productions (the same team behind Elf: The Musical, Peter Pan and many other pantomime hits) are bringing this new concept to the masses starting in Autumn 2025, with a Manchester date pencilled in for the following winter.

Featuring a cast of more than 60, including already familiar audience favourites like Jordan Conway, Kelly Banlaki and Kev Orkian in starring roles, anyone who has seen one of their productions before will know how big and bold an affair they are.

Combine that with one of the most well-known stories on the planet and what do you get? Well, what we can only expect to be a supremely energetic, colourful and heartfelt spectacle on a huge scale.

Promising aerial stunts, amazing special effects and the big-budget perks of an arena as legendary as the AO, this is not one you’ll want to miss if you’re a musical theatre fan.

It’s also not the show the theatre company are bringing to the stage next year either, as their hugely successful run of Elf will be returning alongside Scrooge – yes, another circus spin, only this time on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

world biggest productions musicals manchester
Credit: Press Image (via World’s Biggest Productions)

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Most importantly, all of these shows are fundamentally family-friendly, meaning not only can they be enjoyed by people of all ages but they’ll make for a perfect day out come the festive period.

Cirque Wicked Wizard of Oz comes to Manchester for one night only on Tuesday, 23 December 2025 with the fun starting from 7pm.

You can grab your tickets HERE.

In the meantime, if you’re still in need of a musical theatre of fantasy fix, you can read all about what we made of the most recent showings of Wicked at the Palace Theatre down below.

Wicked at the Palace Theatre – the magical musical EVERYONE is talking about arrives in Manchester

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press Image (supplied)

Theatre

Thousands of FREE tickets to The Big Night of Musicals at AO Arena have been released

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

There are thousands of free tickets up for grabs to attend ‘The Big Night of Musicals’ in Manchester next year which features a variety of theatre classics.

The curtain has risen once again as returning favourite, The Big Night of Musicals, is coming to AO Arena for a fourth year.

Hosted once again by the one and only Jason Manford, this event contains segments from some of the world’s greatest theatre productions.

Fronted by The National Lottery, this showcase is a thank you to all players whose money has supported more than 20,000 theatre-related projects totalling £1.3 billion.

These funds have been used on many performing arts resources including restoring theatres and enabling hundreds of musical-related projects to commence.

This isn’t something to be missed out on as the bill is shaping up to be one of the event’s biggest to date featuring stars from the West End and some of the most notorious shows.

Attendees can expect to hear some familiar favourites in the likes of Bat Out of Hell, Here & Now: The Steps Musical, Mean Girls and more.

There’s even an exclusive preview of the upcoming theatre adaptation of a Disney superhero as snippets from ‘Hercules’ will be performed live.

Guests even have a chance to be in the same room as musical theatre legend Carrie Hope Fletcher as she takes on the role of Calamity Jane in the theatre show of the same name.

Dear Evan Hansen is also on the bill and if you aren’t free for the musical ensemble, it’s running at Palace Theatre Manchester from 18-22 February next year and tickets are available right now.

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This event has a super varied lineup too, from throwback pop bangers to Wild West heroines, this night really caters to everyone.

In true musical style, there will be big, bold performances and, of course, lots of excellent surprises all set to make a fantastic night of live music at the AO Arena.

All National Lottery players have the chance to reserve up to four tickets, the only cost is proof they’ve purchased a product from the National Lottery and a £2 booking fee per ticket.

Tickets for the ‘Big Night of Musicals’ on 25 January are already on sale you can try your luck at grabbing some free seats HERE.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — Publicity Picture (Supplied)

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