NEW YORK, PLEASE LOOK AFTER THIS BEAR.
“★★★★★ IT WILL FILL YOU WITH JOY AND MELT YOUR HEART.” – Guardian
★★★★★
“AN ABSOLUTE TRIUMPH THAT YOU NEED TO SEE.”
– Digital Spy
★★★★
“A FUNNY, FEEL-GOOD SENSATION.”
– The Telegraph
“IRRESISTABLY JOYFUL.”'
– Observer
Paddington Is Packing His Suitcase for Broadway
New York, please look after this bear.
After conquering London with marmalade, impeccable manners and a record-breaking awards haul, PADDINGTON The Musical is heading to Broadway. Sonia Friedman Productions, STUDIOCANAL and Eliza Lumley Productions, on behalf of Universal Music UK, announced that the seven-time Olivier Award-winning Best New Musical will begin performances Tuesday, March 30, 2027, ahead of an official opening Sunday, April 18, at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
Based on Michael Bond’s beloved A Bear Called Paddington and the award-winning Paddington film, by special arrangement with STUDIOCANAL, the stage adaptation features music and lyrics by Olivier Award winner Tom Fletcher, a book by Olivier Award winner Jessica Swale and direction by Olivier Award winner Luke Sheppard.
The bear arrives in New York with a résumé most Broadway hopefuls would envy. PADDINGTON The Musical became the most-awarded new musical in West End history, winning seven 2026 Olivier Awards and tying the record for the most wins by any musical in Olivier history. Its haul included Best New Musical, Best Director for Sheppard, Best Set Design for Tom Pye and Ash J Woodward, and Best Costume Design for Gabriella Slade and Tahra Zafar, who also designed Paddington himself.
The production also earned a record nine WhatsOnStage Awards — the most for any new musical — including Best New Musical, Best Direction, Best Set Design, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Design for Gareth Owen, Best Wigs, Hair and Make-Up Design for Campbell Young Associates, Best Musical Supervision/Direction for Matt Brind and Best Casting Direction for Natalie Gallacher, Pippa Ailion & Natalie Gallacher Casting, Nick Hockaday and Annabelle Davis. It also recently received the Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Musical.
Not bad for a small bear from Peru.
Fletcher called the project “the greatest adventure” of his career, saying he was thrilled to welcome New York audiences into Paddington’s world. Swale, meanwhile, leaned into the transatlantic charm of the moment, noting that Broadway — “a city that breathes theatre, storytelling and imagination” — was the ideal place for Paddington’s next chapter. “Let’s just hope Paddington loves Big Apples as much as he loves oranges,” she said.
Sheppard described Broadway as another fitting adventure for a character defined by curiosity, kindness, and a talent for stumbling into chaos with the best of intentions.
The story, of course, begins with a lost bear arriving in London in search of a home. A chance encounter with the Brown family pulls him into a world of danger, rescue missions, unlikely villains, and the sort of emotional recalibration that makes strangers feel like family. But the musical does not appear to be merely a nostalgia delivery system. Like the films before it, it uses Paddington’s gentle decency as a kind of moral X-ray, exposing cracks beneath the supposedly polished surface of family, city life and good manners.
Wrapped in songs, choreography, visual spectacle and, naturally, marmalade, the musical follows Paddington as he discovers that kindness is not softness. It is an action. It is courage. It is a way of moving through the world that can change the people around him before they quite realize what has happened.
The Broadway creative team includes Matt Brind for musical supervision, orchestrations and arrangements; Ellen Kane for choreography; Tom Pye for scenic design; Gabriella Slade for costume design; Tahra Zafar for Paddington and puppet design; Neil Austin for lighting design; Gareth Owen for sound design; Ash J Woodward for video design and animation; Campbell Young Associates for hair, wig and makeup design; and Jim Carnahan Casting, with Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger. Annabelle Davis serves as Paddington's casting consultant.
The musical’s success has already extended beyond the stage. PADDINGTON The Musical – Original Cast Recording, written by Fletcher and produced by Brind, is out now on Decca Records and became the fastest-selling physical West End original cast recording of the 21st century in the U.K. Released on vinyl, CD, cassette and Yoto, the album topped the Official U.K. Compilation Chart less than six months after the show opened in the West End — the kind of old-school cast-album fervor not seen for a brand-new stage production since the 1990s. Paddington even made his pilgrimage across the Abbey Road Studios crossing, later landing on the cover of Rolling Stone UK.
Michael Bond first introduced Paddington in 1958 with A Bear Called Paddington, the first of 29 books he would write about the character. The books have sold more than 35 million copies worldwide. Since then, Paddington has appeared in television adaptations and three critically and commercially successful films developed and produced by STUDIOCANAL with Heyday Films. A fourth live-action film is in development, with Armando Iannucci attached to write alongside Simon Blackwell, and a new animated feature is also in the works.
For Sonia Friedman and Eliza Lumley, the appeal is simple: Paddington endures because he reminds audiences of “kindness, curiosity, empathy and the belief that everyone deserves to belong.”
Broadway has hosted cats, lions, witches, phantoms, and dancing utensils. Now it gets a bear with a suitcase, a red hat, and a moral compass sharper than most adults in the room.
Hide the marmalade. Or better yet, don’t.
The Standard
“★★★★★ A MARMALADE-FLAVORED MASTERPIECE.” –
The Daily Mail
“★★★★★ A TRIUMPH. A LOVE LETTER TO KINDNESS, INCLUSION AND FAMILY.” –
Daily Express
Follow PADDINGTON The Musical on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok at @PaddingtonOnBway.
For tickets and more information, visit:
https://broadway.
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