Hamburg - Musical Metropolis

Musicals

It's a musical revolution, the most coveted theater ticket in New York and London for years, and the record holder of more than 50 awards and theater prizes: HAMILTON! Stage Entertainment brings the blockbuster musical to Germany. Premiere at the end of September 2022 at Hamburg's Stage Operettenhaus.

Disneys THE ICE QUEEN

In Disney's THE ICE QUEEN, the audience can expect the fantastic musical adventure about the two sisters Anna and Elsa in a fascinating winter world, with magical effects to multi-award-winning music such as the famous hit "Let It Go".

MAMMA MIA!

22 superhits tell an atmospheric and rousing story about love, family and friendship: If you like ABBA, you'll love MAMMA MIA!

Disney's THE LION KING

The sensitive music of Elton John in combination with the breathtaking world of Africa already thrilled 13 million spectators in " Disneys' The Lion King" - until today almost every performance is sold out. The sunny yellow theater building is an integral part of the harbor skyline.

Heiße Ecke

The musical "Heiße Ecke" (Hot Corner) at Schmidts Tivoli has been a hit since its premiere in 2003. All of St. Pauli meets at the counter of the "Heiße Ecke" snack bar and shows the normal madness on the Reeperbahn. Every evening, the actors slip into over 50 roles and take you on a fast-paced show about 24 hours at the "Heiße Ecke" snack bar.

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL PARAMOUR

Breathtaking artistry meets musical spectacle: This dream finally becomes reality with the first musical of the world-famous Canadian circus! You can expect a successful combination of breathtaking artistry, classically rousing musical elements and a big pinch of Hollywood.

World-famous as well as locally produced musicals with first-class entertainment, gripping stories and rousing songs attract two million visitors to Hamburg every year. Nevertheless, there is no end in sight to the boom in the world's third largest musical city after New York and London. Carefree entertainment, perfect choreography and wonderful melodies can be found in the city's five large musical theaters. Hamburg is undisputedly the German-speaking musical metropolis.

For over 20 years now, Disney's cult musical THE KING OF THE LIONS has been enchanting visitors young and old from all over the world with breathtaking voices, choreography and fabulous animal costumes. From the port of Hamburg, a small ferry takes you directly across the Elbe to the entrance of the musical.

Right next door, Anna and Elsa have been capturing the hearts of visitors at the Stage Theater an der Elbe for several years now: the musical adaptation of Disney's DIE EISKÖNIGIN, one of the most successful animated films of all time. DIE EISKÖNIGIN can still be seen in Hamburg until the end of 2024, followed by the legendary change in December 2024, when the successful MJ - The Michael Jackson Musical will have its German premiere.

Vampires are currently up to mischief at the Stage Operettenhaus, where the cult musical "Dance of the Vampires" is currently providing gruesomely beautiful entertainment. The famous musical star Thomas Borchert is coming to Hamburg for selected dates to slip into the role of Count von Krolock. In October 2024, the cult musical will be replaced by the German premiere of "& JULIA - Das neue Hit-Musical". True to the motto: "What would happen if Juliet were given a second chance at life and love after Romeo's death?", the famous love story will be reimagined and set to great pop hits from recent years.

As a special highlight, the Oscar-nominated music from the Disney film of the same name will be performed for the very first time on the big musical stage with the Greek hero Hercules. After the world premiere of Disney's "HERCULES" on March 24, the hero will embark on an epic adventure at the Neue Flora musical theater.

From revue to musical

The people of Hamburg cultivated a penchant for entertaining music on their world-famous Reeperbahn entertainment mile early on. As early as the end of the 19th century, many private theaters and operetta houses were established on St. Pauli - where whimsical operettas, musical comedies, revues and early musicals such as Freddy Quinn's "The Boy from St. Pauli" were performed. The popular Schmidts Tivoli, now located right next to the St. Pauli Theater on Spielbudenplatz, continues this tradition with the locally produced neighborhood musical Heiße Ecke.

On the other side of Spielbudenplatz is the Operettenhaus, from which the musical boom in Hamburg began in 1986 with the premiere of the hit musical "Cats" - and from there a revival of the Reeperbahn entertainment mile. This was followed in 1990 by the construction of the Neue Flora theater with the musical "Phantom of the Opera" - more and more visitors from all over Germany came to see the big musicals in Hamburg. When the curtain fell on "Cats" for the last time in 2001, a total of 6.2 million spectators had seen it - and Hamburg had become the musical capital of Germany.

Melodies for millions

A good time for the Dutch company Stage Entertainment to set up its headquarters in Hamburg. Since then, the most important provider of musicals in Germany has been based in an old brick building in the historic Speicherstadt warehouse district. Stage founder Joop Van den Ende, who was awarded the Gustav Gründgens Prize in Hamburg in 2012, took over the Theater im Hafen opposite the Landungsbrücken in 2001 and brought what is probably Hamburg's most successful musical to date: Disney's THE LION KING. The melodies of Elton John in combination with Disney's African fantasy world have already attracted 15 million spectators - to this day, almost every performance is sold out.

A short time later, Stage Entertainment also took over the Operettenhaus and the Neue Flora and built the Theater an der Elbe in 2014. Since then, Stage has brought four world premieres, "Das Wunder von Bern", "Ich war noch niemals in New York", "Rocky" and, from March 2024, Disney's "HERCULES", to Hamburg, as well as many German premieres, including box office hits such as "Sister Act", "Dirty Dancing" and "Mamma Mia".