There appears to be a simple formula for creating a hit Broadway musical these days: Center on a historical figure with a complicated legacy and make a modern-day politician fall in love with it.
But that formula may be broken, because a musical about America's current first family is about to hit New York City. And even though it's premiering just 20 blocks from the nearest Broadway theater, and even though it has Anthony Scaramucci's approval, that's about as close to Broadway as The 1st Annual Trump Family Special will likely get.
Yes, the famously short-tenured White House communications director re-emerged Monday to give a fake press conference and introduce a clan of blonde-wigged actors. The entire Trump clan, save for President Trump himself, is present: Trump's ex-wife Ivana, his sons Eric and Don Jr., and what looks like two interpretations of Ivanka. And they're here in some library to sing every rhyme of "win, win, win" you can imagine.
Subscribe to 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.
The mystery library press conference seems to be Scaramucci's only tie to the musical comedy, which will grace New York's Triad Theater every Thursday night starting Sept. 13. The show stars Broadway alumna Gina Gershon as Melania Trump. She, alongside the rest of the Trump family, have "gathered to perform in a live televised event for the new Trump TV network," the Trump Family Special's breathtaking website says. It's sure to be "reminiscent of vintage TV family specials like The Partridge Family" and "offer comic relief for these frustrating times," per the site.
The idea of reappropriating existing source material is not exactly novel, given Broadway's current inability to sustain an original show. But it remains to be seen how the first family adapts to the stage, given their well-known preference for the small screen.
-
Aimee Betro: the Wisconsin woman who came to Birmingham to killIn the Spotlight US hitwoman wore a niqab in online lover's revenge plot
-
Facial recognition vans and policingThe government is rolling out more live facial recognition technology across England
-
Dive in! The best children's books to spark a love of readingThe Week Recommends These gripping stories will keep kids hooked until the last page
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed 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 proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
