Photos: WISHING TO GROW UP BRIGHTLY Makes World Premiere

The world premiere of Wishing to Grow Up Brightly opened November 5 at Theatre Horizon, and runs through November 23.

The new musical has a book by Amanda Morton, Matthew Decker and Brenson Thomas, music by Josh Totora, and lyrics by Amanda Morton (Broadway: Gutenberg! The Musical, KPOP) and Josh Totora. It is directed by Matthew Decker (upcoming La La Land on Broadway).

After the death of her father, Amanda Newton—a Korean-American adoptee—returns to her childhood home to help her mother pack up. There, she discovers a trove of his preserved memories, created by a tech company called reMemorex, and is pulled into a surreal and intimate journey through loss, identity, and the questions that have quietly shaped her life. As Amanda searches for connection in the fragments he left behind, she begins to confront a deeper longing: how do you create a sense of home when it was taken from you before you even knew what it was?

This genre-defying new show mashes up all sorts of musical styles with Black Mirror weirdness and 90s sitcom antics to tell a story that is simultaneously as humorous as it is touching, and as joyful as it is provocative.

Check out photos from the world premiere:

Philadelphia Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. CATS (Shawnee Playhouse)

17.3% of votes

2. INTO THE WOODS (The Milford Theater)

6.1% of votes

3. NEWSIES (Viviana Theatre)

3.9% of votes

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