Toho’s acclaimed stage adaptation of Spirited Away is coming to Los Angeles for a strictly limited run at the Ahmanson Theatre from September 2 through October 24, 2027, marking the production’s first-ever appearance in the United States. The announcement comes as part of a sweeping 2026–2028 world tour that will also send the Japanese-language production to Taipei, a full circuit of Japanese cities, Toronto, and back to London.
The production, directed by Olivier and Tony winner John Caird (Les Misérables) and co-adapted with Maoko Imai, first opened in Tokyo in 2022, where it reportedly sold out its run in four minutes. It made its European premiere at London’s Coliseum in 2024, where it played to more than 300,000 sold-out audience members across 17 weeks, won Best New Play at the 2025 WhatsOnStage Awards, and picked up four Olivier nominations. From there it logged sold-out runs in Shanghai and Seoul before the world tour was confirmed.
Performed entirely in Japanese with English surtitles, the show brings a cast of around 50, a live 11-piece orchestra playing Joe Hisaishi’s original film score, and elaborate puppetry from War Horse designer Toby Olié to the stage. London critics were largely won over, with reviewers praising the production’s faithfulness to Miyazaki’s film and singling out the puppet work on No-Face as a standout. Not every notice was glowing. Variety argued the adaptation leaned too heavily on replicating the film rather than finding its own theatrical voice, and a few outlets felt it didn’t quite match the puppetry showstoppers of the earlier My Neighbour Totoro stage production. The box office numbers and awards haul suggest audiences disagreed.
Los Angeles won’t be the production’s first North American stop. Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre gets the North American premiere from May 6 through August 15, 2027, with the LA engagement following about two weeks later. Before either of those, the tour opens in Taipei in December 2026, then works through a Japan-wide run hitting Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo across the first half of 2027. The tour wraps with a return London engagement at the Coliseum from March through July 2028.
Casting for the overseas legs hasn’t been announced. Japanese stage productions typically use a double cast system for major roles, which would allow the Tokyo company to keep performing at home while a parallel cast travels.
Tickets for the Los Angeles engagement have not yet gone on sale. Fans can sign up for priority booking through the production’s official site at Spirited Away On Stage. For more on Disney and entertainment news, visit Fantasy Land News.
