The Britney Spears Musical Is Going To Be Wild

After a long time out of the spotlight, Britney Spears has had an interesting year. If you love the idea of a Britney renaissance, you’re certainly not alone, but I don’t think any of us were expecting the new way we’re about to experience the anthems of one of our favorite pop princesses: a Britney Spears musical about princesses.

A Britney musical is a little hard for us to imagine, and when you hear the details, it gets weirder. Once Upon A One More Time is a jukebox musical, meaning that the soundtrack will be made up of our favorite Brit hits (a la ABBA’s music in Mamma Mia!) In the musical comedy, the Disney princesses are part of a women’s book club, and their worlds are turned upside down when a fairy godmother appears and shares with them copies of The Feminine Mystique. (Yes— we’re serious.) Since Cinderella and co. come from very patriarchal worlds, existential crises and hijinks ensue as a result of their new reading material. The show will also follow Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Prince Charming, and others– including the debut of “the eighth dwarf.”

According to The New York Times, the soundtrack will have 23 songs, including some of Britney’s “deep album cuts” and, of course, “Toxic,” “Lucky,” and "Oops!... I Did It Again." We can almost hear the slow, melancholy "Oops!... I Did It Again" reprise that we’re imagining halfway through Act II.

The musical’s book was written by Jon Hartmere, who says that while it takes on some serious topics, “it’s also super fun and funny.” And, while Spears wasn’t directly involved in its making, she’s been excited about the project since it first came to fruition. Back in 2019, she attended an early rehearsal. She said, "I'm so excited to have a musical with my songs – especially one that takes place in such a magical world filled with characters that I grew up on, who I love and adore."

We agree, and while the musical’s concept is surprising, Brit was someone we “grew up” with and we “love and adore,” so something about it just works. The musical was slated for its pre-Broadway shows in Chicago last spring, but as theatre was derailed due to the pandemic, the show’s plans were put on pause. But, since “🎵[we’re] so lucky, 🎵” a run at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC is officially set for this November. Tickets will go on sale later this year, and “🎵[we] must confess, [we] still believe (still believe!!)🎵” Britney and the princesses all deserve a real happy ending, so we’ll be first in line when tickets for Once Upon A One More Time go on sale later this year.

Next Up, Are You Cheugy?