It’s been a turbulent time for musical theatre in Australia, with several shows biting the dust, leaving theatres dark for months. At the end of June, producer John Frost for Crossroads Live announced that Waitress, starring Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Rob Mills, had cancelled its Sydney season and would conclude its run in Melbourne where the tour began.

Waitress. Photo © Jeff Busby

The news came just a week after the Michael Cassel Group and Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures cut short the Brisbane season of Beetlejuice The Musical and cancelled the Perth, Adelaide and Sydney seasons altogether. Featuring music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect, Beetlejuice opened to excellent reviews in Melbourne in May 2025. It was to have toured to Singapore, prior to the Australian tour, but that season was also cancelled due to slow ticket sales.

Producers for both shows cited factors including rising production costs, the huge costs of touring, cost-of-living pressures, rising interest rates and the on-off war in Iran, which are affecting consumer confidence and ticket buying.

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