Once Upon A One More Time, the jukebox musical soundtracked to Britney Spears’ biggest hits, is now closing after just three months on Broadway.
The play will have its last performance at the Marquis Theatre on September 3 – just two months after it officially opened on June 22, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Preview performances for the show began in mid-May.
Once Upon A One More Time was approved by Spears, and the musical’s early themes were even suggested by her, according to THR.
She inked an underlying rights agreement with the show in what was one of the first deals she signed since her conservatorship ended after 13 years.
Once Upon A One More Time had been struggling to fill seats as of late, with capacity resting in the 50% range within the last seven weeks, according to THR.
Oh no! Once Upon A One More Time, the jukebox musical soundtracked to Britney Spears’ biggest hits, is now closing after just three months on Broadway
For the eight-performance week ending August 13, it grossed just $512,008 – its lowest figure since opening.
While Broadway didn’t last, plans now exist to bring the show around the world.
The producers of the show, James. L Nederlander and Hunter Arnold, revealed they are working on a national tour and international productions of the musical.
‘We could not be prouder of this beautifully joyous and exhilarating show – which is not only a love letter to Britney’s iconic artistry and singular effervescence, but also a brilliant display of the boundless talent of our cast and creative team,’ they said in a statement.
‘We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to this dream team of collaborators, performers, designers, staff, crew, and investors who continue to share our passion and joy for this project. As plans take shape for the show’s future life around the globe, we’re excited to share more news soon!’
The musical includes 23 of Britney’s hit singles including Toxic, Crazy, and Oops!… I Did It Again, and it’s website features a glowing review from Spears herself.
‘I’ve seen the show and it is so funny, smart and brilliant!’ Spears is quoted as saying.
The show is about a book club of iconic fairy princesses who wind up reading Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique.
Britney approved! Once Upon A One More Time was approved by Spears, and the musical’s early themes were even suggested by her, according to THR
When the 1963 book arrives via fairy godmother, it interrupts the ladies usual habit of rereading the Grimm stories that make up their whole library.
Once Upon A One More Time’s princesses include Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty – coincidentally, all characters who were also sent up in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s hit 1987 Broadway musical Into The Woods.
The project was initially announced in 2019, when Britney was still in the grip of her father’s controversial conservatorship, which she was freed from in 2021.
Early in 2019 Jon Hartmere told the New York Times that Britney had been to a table read of the show, which was then scheduled for a run in Chicago.
A string of her famous numbers and what Jon called ‘a couple of deep album cuts’ made up the Britney songs featured in the stage show.
‘It is so funny!’ The musical includes 23 of Britney’s hit singles including Toxic, Crazy, and Oops!… I Did It Again, and it’s website features a glowing review from Spears herself
The Chicago opening was bumped to early 2020 and then canceled altogether when the coronavirus lockdowns swept the country.
At long last the show opened a year ago for a limited engagement at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC.
Keone and Mari Madrid, who competed on the reality show World Of Dance co-judged by Jennifer Lopez, have directed and choreographed the musical.
In 2019 Jon described the plot: ‘Cinderella is having an existential crisis, 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.’
He explained: ‘These women have been in this hermetically sealed world, and then they start to get deeper into modern ideas – second and third-wave feminism – and also explore how stories are passed down to us, and where we get our norms from. But it’s also superfun and funny.’
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