The Broadway production of Back To The Future – The Musical. Photo © Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Producing musical theatre tends to be a commercial venture, for obvious reasons – musicals are expensive to stage, but they have broad popular appeal. If they are successful, the profits can be vast (as can the losses when they fail).

In recent times, we have seen Australian subsidised opera and theatre companies presenting more musicals, often in co-productions with commercial producers, in the hope of expanding their audience base and boosting their coffers. It also means audiences have the chance to see a show that a commercial producer is unlikely to take a risk on. That’s certainly the case in 2025.

Opera Australia has been presenting musicals on an annual basis for over a decade now – a...