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Jukebox musicals come and go, but Britney's music is forever. And surprisingly, the "…Baby One More Time" artist has never had a Broadway musical inspired by her discography.
That's about to change as the Washington D.C.–based Shakespeare Theatre Company produces the Broadway-bound musical Once Upon a One More Time, based on Britney's iconic hits.
Playing from November 30 through January 2 at Sidney Harman Hall, Once Upon a One More Time tells an original story by Jon Hartmere (bare, The Upside) through the music of Grammy Award winner and pop icon Britney Spears. The plot is not quite out of a 1990s music video, but it promises to be engaging.
In the musical, classic fairytale princesses (think Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Rapunzel and the whole tiara-wearing gang) gather for their fortnightly book club, longing for a new story. When a rogue fairy godmother drops second-wave feminist Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique into their corseted laps, a royal revelation ensues: There's more to life than true love's kiss.
Anthems by Princess of Pop herself—including “Oops!… I Did It Again,” “Lucky,” “Stronger,” and “Toxic”—help tell a contemporary fairy tale about smashing the glass slipper and reclaiming your own happily ever after.
The D.C. staging will mark the world premiere of the musical, which is aiming for Broadway in the future.
“Coming out of a pandemic, I realized we needed a party. We needed something glorious and fun and euphoric. And who better to help us do this than Britney Spears?” said Shakespeare Theatre Company artistic director Simon Godwin.
Tickets for the musical are now available online. Proof of Covid-19 vaccination is required to sit in the theater.