Happy World Theatre Day! Established in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute, World Theatre Day is a way for artists, theatre organizations, and educational institutions to celebrate the art form and advocate for its importance. To mark the occasion, Playbill is putting a spotlight on international productions that are reimagining Broadway classics, from Into the Woods to Waitress. These shows are currently running (or beginning this year) around the world, so you can snag a ticket if you find yourself in the area or make a special trip. 

Did you know that the purpose-built venue where Starlight Express has been running in Germany for over three decades holds the Guinness World Record for the most visitors to a musical in a single theatre? Or that in the Brazilian production of Wicked, Elphaba flies over the audience on a wire, rather than lifting into the air on a hidden platform? Keep reading to learn about how some of these productions are reimagining Broadway hits around the world.

1. Waitress (Mexico City, Mexico)

The production of Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson's Waitress that is currently running at Teatro San Rafael in Mexico City is a replica of the original Broadway staging. But it is special in that it features the musical's first Spanish translation, by Paula Zelaya Cervantes and Alan Estrada. 

With songs by Grammy winner Bareilles and a book by Nelson, Waitress opened on Broadway in 2016, and in Mexico City in February of this year. The musical follows Jenna, a waitress and expert pie maker who's stuck in a small town and a loveless marriage. When a baking contest in a nearby county offers her a chance at escape, Jenna must weigh her commitments against a rare shot at freedom.

Watch Aitza Terán, who stars as Jenna in the Mexico City production, perform "La Magia de Hornear (What Baking Can Do)" in the video above.

2. Starlight Express (Bochum, Germany)

The Andrew Lloyd Webber-Richard Stilgoe musical Starlight Express, which features a cast of roller-skating actors playing trains, has been running in a specially built venue in Bochum, Germany for over 36 years. That is truly remarkable because on Broadway, it played the Gershwin Theatre for just under two years. With a translation by Sabine Grohmann and Wolfgang Adenberg, Starlight Express has resonated greatly with German audiences, though it has undergone several revisions since its opening. 

With music by Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Stilgoe, Starlight Express debuted in the West End in 1984 and on Broadway in 1987, while the Bochum production began performances in 1988. In the musical journey through a fantasy world of trains, steam engine Rusty enters a cross-country race against the flashier trains Greaseball and Electra, hoping to impress pretty sidecar Pearl. 

Bochum's Starlight Express Theatre was custom built to allow for high-speed skating, with tracks for the actors to weave around the audience. The venue currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most visitors to a musical in a single theatre, a number that reached 19 million this January. 

Get a tour of the theatre in the video above.

3. Wicked (Oslo, Norway and São Paulo, Brazil)

Long-running Broadway (and film) favorite Wicked is currently playing in non-replica productions at the Folketeateret in Oslo, Norway and Teatro Renault in São Paulo, Brazil. Both productions feature Winnie Holzman's book and Stephen Schwartz's score, but they are performed with new staging and designs, and in Norwegian and Portuguese translations, respectively. 

Both productions are relatively new, having each opened in March (though the Brazilian production is largely based on a 2023 run in the country). Wicked opened on Broadway in 2003, and celebrated its 20th anniversary not too long ago. With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, the musical is based on Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the tale of green-faced, misunderstood Elphaba and curly-locked Glinda. Playbill readers may also be familiar with Jon M. Chu's 2024 box office smash-hit film adaptation.

The Brazil production of Wicked includes some interesting changes, particularly when it comes to the iconic Act I finale. When Elphaba takes flight in "Defying Gravity" in Brazil, rather than a billowing cloak hiding a cherry picker that suspends the actor at center stage, she is suspended on a wire that actually allows her to "fly" through the theatre directly over the audience.

The Norwegian production is performed in a new translation by Atle Halstensen, and even includes Schwartz's alternate ending for "Popular" that Ariana Grande performed in the film. See highlights from the Norwegian production in the video above. 

4. Into the Woods (Makati, Philippines)

Two Broadway favorites are set to lead Theatre Group Asia's production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods this summer. Performances begin in August at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Makati, Philippines, with Tony winner Lea Salonga and Arielle Jacobs starring as the Witch and Cinderella, respectively. Salonga and Jacobs previously shared a stage in Broadway's Here Lies Love in 2023, with Jacobs leading the all-Filipino cast as Imelda Marcos and Salonga playing a limited engagement as Aurora Aquino.

Salonga began her theatre career in the Philippines, and received numerous accolades for her performances as a child. She has returned to perform in her home country several times over the years, most recently in a Filipino production of Franz Xaver Kroetz's solo play Wunschkonzert, but it has been six years since she was last seen in a musical on the Philippine stage. Into the Woods will be Jacobs' first performance in a full-length production in the country.

With music and lyrics by the late Sondheim and a book by Lapine, Into the Woods follows Little Red, a Witch, Cinderella, the Baker, and his wife as they invade one another's stories and find themselves tangled in a web of unexpected consequences. The original Broadway production opened in 1987, and two Broadway revivals have been staged since: one in 2002 and another in 2022. 

5. Miss Saigon (U.K. Tour)

Speaking of Lea Salonga, a new production of Miss Saigon, in which Salonga made her West End and Broadway debuts originating the role of Kim, will launch a new U.K. tour in October. Specifics about the changes to the musical for this tour have not yet been released, but producers referenced the first regional non-replica production mounted by Sheffield Theatres in 2023. Notably, the Sheffield production cast Joanna Ampil, who had played Kim in numerous previous productions of Miss Saigon, in the traditionally male role of The Engineer.

"The recent hugely successful Sheffield Crucible production took a contemporary look at this great musical," Cameron Mackintosh, who is presenting the tour along with Michael Harrison, said in an earlier statement. "That inspired producer Michael Harrison and I to also take a fresh look at Miss Saigon and create a modern version that can play many theatres that the original was unable to."

Miss Saigon features music by Claude-Michel Schönberg with lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. and Alain Boublil, and originally opened on Broadway in 1991. Set during the final days of the Vietnam War, the retelling of Madame Butterfly tells the story of Kim, a young Vietnamese woman, and Chris, an American GI. The pair is separated when the country falls, until she returns to his life years later.

Keep the World Theatre Day celebration going with a special one-day-only sale in the Playbill store, with discounts on products including limited-edition Playbills, binders, home décor, and more.