In 2024, Melbourne’s arts scene has never felt more exciting. From world premieres of award-winning musicals and blockbuster exhibitions to indie operations involving wildly talented individuals, our city is alive with awe-inspiring cultural offerings.
All year round, Time Out’s dedicated critics are busy catching musicals, plays and exhibitions around Melbourne to give readers the juicy coverage they want: independent critical reviews. What better way to shine a spotlight on the talented artists and performers we love to write about than by launching the very first Time Out Arts & Culture Awards, celebrating the best of the arts in our city from May 2023 to May 2024.
For the Best Musical Category, we looked for outstanding musical productions that impressed across key criteria including originality, pacing, direction, design, the actors’ performances and wow factor. To put things simply, we were looking for a show that left you telling everyone you know that they just have to see it.
And the winner is…
Groundhog Day the Musical has dug its way into the record books, winning the Critics' Choice Award for Best Musical of 2024 in Time Out Melbourne’s inaugural Arts & Culture Awards. This musical definitely had that ‘must-see’ quality in spades. The production, which is based on the 1993 film, made its Australian debut this year with an exclusive Melbourne season.
Despite being based entirely on repetition, Groundhog Day was constantly surprising. The “Matilda for grown-ups” comparisons were true: this masterpiece burrowed deep down into the depths of despair and climbed triumphantly back out again, all within two snappy acts.
A musical adaptation of a film about becoming a better person runs the risk of feeling twee. However, Tim Minchin’s zingingly clever lyrics and Danny Rubin’s gutsy book took the essence of the film and extracted considerably more depth and grit to give the musical its own more mature personality. Add in universally excellent performances, inventive stagecraft and a heavy dose of wit, and you’ve got yourself an unforgettable show.