‘What an adventure Broadway will be!’ Paddington musical packs suitcase for New York

Marmalade bagels at the ready: London’s Paddington Bear musical is to open on Broadway next spring. The phenomenally successful show, which won seven prizes at the Olivier awards, will begin performances on 30 March at the Al Hirschfeld theatre in New York, currently home to Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

Luke Sheppard, the director of Paddington: The Musical, said that the well-mannered ursine hero “approaches life with curiosity, kindness and an unwavering sense of adventure – and what an adventure Broadway will be”.

It’s a long way from 32 Windsor Gardens, where the clumsy but lovable bear from Peru is taken in by the Brown family and (eventually) wins over the whole neighbourhood. The show, based on Michael Bond’s 1958 book A Bear Called Paddington and the 2014 film adaptation, opened in London at the end of last year to many five-star reviews, including in the Guardian. The production received nine WhatsOnStage awards and won the Critics’ Circle award for best new musical.

Paddington: The Musical has a book by Jessica Swale and music and lyrics by McFly’s Tom Fletcher. “The response from West End audiences of all ages has been unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” said Fletcher. “It’s a great privilege to welcome New York audiences into Paddington’s world of curiosity.” Producers Sonia Friedman and Eliza Lumley said: “As the home of so many of the world’s great musicals, there is no more exciting place to produce new work than New York, and we cannot wait to share Paddington’s world with Broadway audiences.”

Casting for the Broadway run has not yet been announced. In London, the bear is played by a duo: James Hameed provides the voice and is the remote puppeteer, while Arti Shah performs wearing the furry costume. Together they won the Olivier award for best actor in a musical, while Tom Edden (as the local busybody Mr Curry) and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (as the dastardly Millicent Clyde) also won Oliviers for their performances.