Britney Spears has already conquered Las Vegas, so it’s only right that her next stop is Broadway. The singer’s world-famous catalog of songs is set to be turned into a musical titled Once Upon a One More Time, reports The New York Times.
Broadway producer and theater owner James L. Nederlander announced the news this week. The musical, which will premiere in Chicago this fall, offers up a new spin to some classic stories. It won’t be about Britney’s life; instead, it’s a feminist retcon of some old fables. Previews will start on Oct. 29, and the show will officially open on Nov. 13. Then producers plan to take it to Broadway after its initial Chicago run.
The show stars well-known characters like Snow White, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, who are members of a royal book club. Granted, Grimm’s Fairy Tales is the only book available, but that all changes when a fairy godmother brings them the feminist tome, The Feminist Mystique.
“Cinderella is having an existential crisis,” bookwriter Jon Hartmere (Bare: A Pop Opera) told the Times, “and she has a posse of famous princesses, and her stepmother is the main antagonist, and there’s also Prince Charming and a dwarf we’ve never met—the eighth dwarf—and a narrator who is unhappy his system is being dismantled before his eyes.”
This isn’t the first time a Spears song added a plot twist to old stories. She added some new context to “Cinderella” back in 2001 with these lyrics:
So try to forgive me
I don’t believe in fairytales
Here we are with nothing but honesty
I’ve had enough
Kristin Hanggi (Rock of Ages) is set to direct the musical, while married duo Keone and Mari Madrid (who’ve worked with BTS and Justin Bieber) will choreograph. So far, the show includes 23 of the pop star’s songs, ranging from her biggest hits to some deep cuts.
“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,” Spears said, according to The Guardian. “This is a dream come true for me!”
Until then, catch up on all the lyrics to Britney Spears’s biggest hits on Genius now.
