'Great Performances' To Air London Production of 'Next to Normal'

Long-time public television fans will probably have picked up by now that, no matter what happens in a given year, there is always one guaranteed Shakespeare production that airs on Great Performances in May as the TV season draws close. Most years, it comes via a broadcast of whatever show is given the legendary "Shakespeare in Central Park" treatment, which is performed for free in the Delacorte Theater in the center of the park all summer. However, things have been upended slightly for the 2024-2025 TV season, resulting in viewers getting multiple taped theatrical performances in May 2025, including the West End productions of Next to Normal and Kiss Me Kate.

For the first time since returning to Great Performances five years ago, Shakespeare in the Park will not be shown this season due to the Delacorte Theater being closed for much-needed renovations for a good chunk of 2024. The yearly event is set to return in the summer of 2025 with Twelfth Night, starring Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave), and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (The Good Fight), which is expected to be broadcast on Great Performances in May 2026. Instead, the BS anthology series will bring multiple taped theatrical performances to fill the gap, including the recently closed critically acclaimed Broadway show Yellow Face, the current West End revival of Next to Normal, and the recent West End staging of Kiss Me Kate.

Hardcore Shakespeare fans may already have seen this production of Kiss Me Kate, which is the same filmed production that played in limited release in the U.S. via National Theater Live. However, the filmed staging of Next to Normal (done over multiple shows in September 2024) is brand new, as is the 2025 revival of Yellow Face.