Britney Spears Is Headed To Broadway (Kind Of)
'Once Upon a One More Time' had its premiere at The Shakespeare Theatre in December 2021. It now finally moves to Broadway.
Britney Spears is headed to Broadway — or at least her music is.
The pop superstar’s catalog soundtracks the musical Once Upon a One More Time, and the show announced on Friday, Dec. 2, that it’s finally headed to Broadway after years of speculation.
The musical’s official social media accounts shared the good news, which quickly excited both theater lovers and superfans of the chanteuse.
Once Upon a One More Time is scheduled to begin previews on May 13, 2023, and opening night is slated for June 22.
The show is headed to the Marquis Theatre, which is the current home of Beetlejuice. Tickets are on sale at the musical’s website.
Once Upon a One More Time focuses on a cast of fairytale characters everyone knows, including Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, the Princess and the Pea, and star Cinderella.
The women in the story are introduced to Betty Friedan’s game-changing book The Feminine Mystique, which shows them that while they’ve been waiting for a prince to find them and make their dreams come true, there are other paths to happiness.
The musical makes use of 23 different songs from Spears’ discography, including some of her biggest successes such as “…Baby One More Time” (which opens the show), “Work Bitch,” “Circus,” “Oops!…I Did It Again,” “Toxic,” and a megamix of “Till the World Ends,” which closes the entire program.
The setlist also includes Spears’ collaboration with Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.I.Am, “Scream & Shout,” as well as non-singles “Passenger” and the aptly-named “Cinderella.”
Once Upon a One More Time was initially scheduled to premiere in Chicago in 2019, but it was pushed to spring 2020. Sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic canceled that run entirely. Eventually, when it became safe to attend the theater again, the show premiered in Washington D.C. at The Shakespeare Theatre to positive reviews and solid ticket sales.
While Spears wasn’t involved with the development of Once Upon a One More Time, it’s her name and hit singles that power the production.
The timing seems right for the musical to move to the Great White Way, as the singer has officially entered a new phase of her career.
After being released from a conservatorship that lasted more than a decade, Spears recently returned to music with the Elton John collaboration “Hold Me Closer,” which became an instant top 10 smash on charts all around the world. In the U.S., it debuted and peaked at No. 6, while in John’s home country of the U.K., it fared even better, climbing to No. 3.
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