A Britney Spears jukebox musical is headed to Broadway


It's Britney ... on Broadway.
Once Upon a One More Time, a jukebox musical inspired by the music of Britney Spears, is headed to Broadway. The show announced Friday it will begin previews at the Marquis Theatre in May 2023 before opening on June 22.
With a book by Jon Hartmere, Once Upon a One More Time combines Spears' music with iconic fairy tale characters, including Cinderella, Snow White, and the Little Mermaid, whose "stories get a rewrite when a fairy godmother gives them Friedan's landmark 1963 feminist tome The Feminine Mystique," Playbill.com explains. The songs featured include "Baby One More Time," "Oops! … I Did It Again," "I'm a Slave 4 U," and "Toxic."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Once Upon a One More Time has been in the works for years and was scheduled to open in Chicago in 2019 before being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But it premiered in 2021 at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., receiving mixed reviews. "This frustratingly rushed sensation is emblematic of a production that packs in too many competing conceits and devices," The Washington Post said, while DC Theater Arts called it a "full-fledged, grade A, gold star success."
Spears previously expressed approval of the musical, saying in 2019, "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. This is a dream come true for me!"
The cast for the Broadway show hasn't been announced. Members of Spears' fan club can buy tickets now before they officially go on sale on Dec. 5.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play