Once upon a time is one of Britney Spears’ first official projects after finishing her 13-year conservatory.
Spearheaded by directors and choreographers Keone and Mari Madrid, with an original story by Jon Hartmere, the musical comedy will premiere June 22 at the Marquis Theater and will feature hits like “Oops I Did It Again,” “Lucky,” “Circus.” ‘ and ‘Toxic’.
Prior to the Broadway run, Once upon a time had several attempts at a pre-Broadway engagement in Chicago from 2019 before making its final world premiere in December 2021 at the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, D.C. – nearly half a year before a Los Angeles judge officially ended the Spears Conservatory.
While the singer reportedly attended for an early reading in 2019, and made a statement Poster calling it “a dream come true for me,” questions remained about the extent of her involvement and consent to the use of her music at a time when she’d said other elements of her life — including her finances and reproductive health choices – were driven by her father, Jamie Spears.
As those questions continue to swirl, it’s becoming clear just how much involvement the pop princess had leading up to the musical’s Broadway run. Before the show’s first preview on Saturday, producers James L. Nederlander and Hunter Arnold confirmed that Once upon a time is fully authorized and licensed by Britney Spears, and that the licensing agreement has been negotiated, agreed upon and signed by the Grammy winner in 2022.
The musical was also based on an idea the pop star suggested and created in collaboration with Spears. The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to a Spears representative for comment.
When the musical’s Broadway run was first announced on the singer’s 41st birthday, it was simply announced that the show was inspired by music performed and recorded by Spears, who was otherwise not known to have been involved. A representative of the musical also spoke THR all musical compositions in the show were licensed through their publishers with the songwriters’ approval. (It was previously unclear who could authorize the use of Spears music under her conservatory.)
And ahead of the musical’s 2021 DC run, Hartmere said he had “accessed all of Spears’ songs,” according to an interview with The Washington After. “All I was told was she likes fairies,” he said of Spears. “And I was like, ‘That’s it, that’s what we should do.'”
The musical isn’t about Spears, but sees the tales of Cinderella, Snow White, and other storybook heroines turned upside down when their book club gets a hold of The feminine mystique thanks to a rogue fairy godmother, and they begin to question the meaning of “happily ever after.”
Briga Heelan stars as Cinderella, Justin Guarini as Prince Charming, Aisha Jackson as Snow White, Jennifer Simard as Stepmother, Adam Godley as The Narrator, Brooke Dillman as The OFG (Original Fairy Godmother), Ryann Redmond as Stepsister Belinda and Tess Soltau as Stepsister Bethany .
Additional cast members include Gabrielle Beckford as Rapunzel, Ashley Chiu as Sleeping Beauty, Nathan Levy as Clumsy, Ryan Steele as Prince Erudite, Morgan Whitley as Princess Pea, Lauren Zakrin as Little Mermaid, Liv Battista as Belle, Pauline Casiño as Esmeralda, Selene Haro as Gretel, Joshua Daniel Johnson as Prince Brawny, Amy Hillner Larsen as Goldilocks, Justice Moore as Red, Kevin Trinio Perdido as Prince Mischievous, Mikey Ruiz as Prince Gregarious, Josh Tolle as Prince Suave starring Matt Allen, Jacob Burns, Salisha Thomas, Diana Vaden, Mila Weiras, Stephen Scott Wormley and Isabella Yeas.
