‘Paddington’ musical sets Broadway cast

For the award-winning show’s NYC transfer, a roster of theatre favorites will join the original pair of actors who played the title bear in London’s West End.

Summary

• The Paddington Broadway cast includes James Hameed, Arti Shah, Tony Hale, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Jessie Mueller, Drew Gehling, Kelvin Dukes, Allison Guinn, J. Quinton Johnson, Zonya Love, Serena Parrish, Karen Ziemba, and Chip Zien
• Hameed and Shah reprise the shared role of Paddington from the musical’s original London production
• Broadway performances start March 30 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre
• The stage show is adapted from the Paddington books and 2014 film

This is beary exciting news: The Paddington Broadway cast has been announced ahead of the show’s NYC premiere at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in the spring. Performances start March 30 ahead of an April 18 opening night.

Olivier Award-winning original West End cast members James Hameed and Arti Shah will reprise the shared role of Paddington. Shah performs in costume as Paddington on stage, while Hameed provides the bear’s voice and remote puppetry, mostly from off stage, and doubles as the Young Man.

New to the Paddington Broadway cast are Kelvin Dukes (America's Got Talent) as Tony, Drew Gehling (Waitress) as Mr. Brown, Allison Guinn (Operation Mincemeat) as Lady Sloane, three-time Emmy Award winner Tony Hale (Arrested Development, Veep) as Mr. Curry, J. Quinton Johnson (Hamilton) as Grant, Tony Award nominee Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (Spamalot, The Fantasticks) as Millicent Clyde, Zonya Love (The Color Purple) as Tanya, Tony winner Jessie Mueller (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Waitress) as Mrs. Brown, Serena Parrish (Don’t Say Good Luck) as Judy Brown, Tony winner Karen Ziemba (Contact) as Mrs. Bird, and Chip Zien (Into the Woods, Falsettos) as Mr. Gruber.

The complete cast will be announced soon.

Producers Sonia Friedman and Eliza Lumley said in a statement, “We’ve been completely blown away by the extraordinary artists we’ve met throughout the casting process, and by the warmth and enthusiasm with which everyone has welcomed Paddington to Broadway. We really do have a dream company. These are some of the most talented performers working today, all choosing to spend their time and considerable gifts on this funny, joyful and deeply life-affirming new musical. We couldn’t feel luckier.

“We’re also enormously proud to be introducing Arti Shah and James Hameed to Broadway audiences. Our exceptional, award-winning duo have spent years, alongside an extraordinary team of artists and technicians, developing and bringing Paddington himself to life. What they have achieved together is quite remarkable.”

Adapted from Michael Bond’s book A Bear Called Paddington and the 2014 Paddington film, the musical follows the title bear from Peru to London, where he finds a new home with the Brown family. But when a vengeful villain starts to hunt Paddington, the Browns must help rescue him.

For its 2025 London premiere, show won seven 2026 Olivier Awards including Best New Musical, making it the most Olivier-winning new musical of all time and tying the record for Oliviers won by any musical in history (including revivals).

Paddington The Musical features music and lyrics by Tom Fletcher, a book by Jessica Swale, and direction by & Juliet’s Luke Sheppard, all of whom won Oliviers for their work following rave reviews.

The creative team also includes musical supervisor, orchestrator, and arranger Matt Brind; choreographer Ellen Kane; scenic designer Tom Pye; costume designer Gabriella Slade; Paddington and puppet designer Tahra Zafar; lighting designer Neil Austin; sound designer Gareth Owen; video designer and animator Ash J Woodward; and hair, wig, and makeup designers Campbell Young Associates. Bear physicality and additional puppetry are by Audrey Brisson and Aubrey Smalls is the access coordinator.

Get Paddington The Musical tickets now.