A stage musical about woke princesses that uses hit songs by Britney Spears will land on Broadway this summer.
“Once Upon a One More Time,” featuring Spears’ tunes, including “Oops!… I Did It Again,” “Lucky,” “Stronger” and “Toxic,” will start performances in May at the Marquis Theatre.
The musical has an original story written by Jon Hartmere about classic fairy tale princesses — Cinderella, Snow White and Little Mermaid, among them — who are transformed after reading “The Feminine Mystique,” a landmark feminist text.
“Once Upon a One More Time” first played at The Shakespeare Theatre Company, known for it’s more stately offerings. It will be directed and choreographed by Keone and Mari Madrid. The cast will be announced at a later date.
The temptation to use already proven, popular songs to fuel a musical is an old one, and on Broadway has lately led to shows with music from The Temptations, Bob Dylan, The Go Go’s, Tina Turner and Alanis Morissette.
Broadway fans may be forgiven for responding with “Oops!… I Did It Again” since many of Spears’ hits are in “&Juliet” — a jukebox musical now on Broadway that celebrates one of her writing partners and producers, Max Martin — including her “... Baby One More Time” and “Stronger.”
The musical’s progression is another step in the independence of Spears after her conservatorship case garnered national attention amid her attempts to regain control over her finances and livelihood.