5 Touring Musicals to See in Ohio This Summer

The Cher Show | June 6-9
Spanning the entertainer’s life from childhood to her years as part of Sonny & Cher to her marriage to Gregg Allman to her current status as a reigning pop-music icon, “The Cher Show” covers six decades of stardom. The Tony Award-winning musical, which comes to Toledo’s Stranahan Theater for a three-day run in early June, features more than 35 songs, including classics like “I Got You Babe,” “Gypsies Tramps and Thieves,” “If I Could Turn Back Time,” “Just Like Jesse James” and many more. 

Mamma Mia! | June 11-16
It’s nearly impossible not to sing along to this smash jukebox musical featuring the ear-worm-packed music of Swedish pop supergroup ABBA. Follow the story of Sophie Sheridan as she tries to find her real father before her rapidly approaching wedding day. Laced with humor, tunes you know by heart and plenty of spandex and go-go-boot style, this touring Broadway favorite takes Dayton’s Schuster Center Stage.

The Lion King | June 12-July 7
As the “Circle of Life” continues, Disney's touring Broadway production of “The Lion King” continues to pack in audiences with its musical spectacle that matches Elton John and Tim Rice’s timeless songs with the fascinating costuming and inventive puppetry that brings the lions, giraffes, zebras and gazelles of the African Serengeti to life on stage each night. The story of Simba and his journey of self discovery comes to Columbus’ historic Ohio Theatre for three weeks this summer.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat | June 20-23
Go back in time at Peoples Bank Theatre in Marietta this summer and check out the touring production of this 1968 musical that tells the tale of Joseph, son of Jacob, in the Old Testament of the Bible. The show follows Joseph  (and, of course his coat of many colors) on a journey to Egypt. With a score by the renowned composer Andrew Lloyd Weber, this one has remained a perennial favorite decade after decade and tells a story that everyone in the family will enjoy.

MJ: The Musical | July 16-Aug. 11
There was a time when Michael Jackson was the King of Pop and his reign rightfully gets the Broadway treatment with all the fanfare and grandeur it deserves with MJ: The Musical. The touring production of the show visits the Key Bank State Theatre at Cleveland's Playhouse Square this summer for a multiple-week run. The show focuses on the year 1992, when Jackson was creating and performing his Dangerous Word Tour, and pairs the moves of Tony Award-winning choreographer and director Christopher Wheeldon with Jackson's incredible music.