Powered by the chart-topping hits of the undisputed Princess of Pop, a group of friends goes on a quest to rewrite their stories and redefine “happily ever after.” Once Upon a One More Time weaves 23 of Britney Spears’ smash singles—like “Crazy,” “Oops!…I Did It Again,” “Circus,” “Lucky,” and “Toxic”—into “a big, modern, musical dance party, with Britney’s beating heart at its core” (ABC News). This is more than a musical. This is Broadway’s best night out. “It will leave you breathless. Expect to keep on dancin’ long after it ends!” (Entertainment Weekly)
How do you not get “Baby One More Time” right? That is the first mystery—and the first warning that all may not be well—with Once Upon a One More Time, the musical filled with Britney Spears’ music that opened on Broadway Thursday evening (Marquis Theatre, booking to Nov 19). Truly, if you’re doing this magnificent banger, don’t kick off your big Broadway jukebox musical with it feeling as messy as this musical does. Frankly, this may not matter to the Spears faithful having the time of their lives at this show. Seeing the fans crowd the foyer is one of the most unexpected, life-giving joys of the New York summer. The Marquis has made the musical into a fun night out, complete with themed photo booths, and the audience this critic attended were bubbling with joy just to be there, dressed up in sparkly tops and their Britney finest. But even for them, one sensed—given the audience responses—the musical hit big at some moments, but did not hit big throughout.
I’ll leave it to the theater historians and pundits to debate the ramifications of this turn of events in Broadway musical theater. My job, such as it is, is to report on how well the show’s creators succeed in fulfilling their artistic aspirations. Of course, that’s assuming they have any. Based on the fact that it distributes free glowing bracelets to every audience member to wave in the air for the inevitable megamix during the curtain call, they’re not exactly straining for Sondheim-level depth. Rather, they simply want their target audience to have a good time; not, as the characters in Seinfeld used to sheepishly say, that there’s anything wrong with that. The problem is that this latest revisionist exhumation of fairy tales arrives shortly after such superior examples of the burgeoning genre as the recent revival of Into the Woods and & Juliet (not a fairy tale, I know, but it feels like one) and such far worse examples as Bad Cinderella. It’s beginning to seem as if Broadway is less a destination for the tired businessman than the tired tyke who didn’t get in their nap. Not that they’d be able to sleep through this show if they tried, since the volume is pumped up to the sort of deafening levels you’d expect at, well, a Britney Spears concert.
Digital Lottery:
Price: $47
Where: https://lottery.broadwaydirect.com/show/omt-ny/.
When: Lottery entries for each performance will be accepted starting 9:00 AM the day prior to the performance until 3:00 PM the day prior to the performance. Once the lottery closes, winners will be notified within minutes and will have 60 minutes to claim and pay for tickets.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Seat locations and number of tickets awarded by the lottery are subject to availability, and some lottery seats may be partially obstructed.
| 2021 | Washington, DC (Regional) |
Washington, DC (Regional) |
| 2023 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical | Loren Elstein |
| 2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical | Justin Guarini |
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