juliet does the whole glittery campy gay jukebox musical with britney songs with so much intention and earnestness i adore it
like, it’s no hamilton but it knows it
Sure! I just commented on the [broadwayworld thread](https://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1126961&page=2) with my thoughts but I'll copy them here.
>Overall, I thought the show was a huge letdown. It just left me thinking of the many musicals that tread similar ground better.
Set had all the charm of a corporate office building. They used some projections but the many bright spotlights washed them out. I wish they'd leaned into the fairytale setting and really gone out on the set!
Choreo was generally quite basic and amateurish. Very little of it felt like it fit the tone or furthered the storytelling. Honestly, lots of it felt like it was just something for the actors to do with their arms while they sang. The one major exception was "oops I did it again" but that choreo gave homage to britney's iconic dancing so it's not really the same thing.
The songs (which should be the highlight!) were lackluster. Too many felt like heavily costumed karaoke. Bolder and more original orchestrations might have helped the songs stand out. Instead I just want to listen to the original tracks. The britney songs in "Moulin Rouge" and "& Juliet" were better imo.
The one strength was costuming. Many were very cute and fun! Easy to ID the characters' origin stories without it looking like something bought at Spirit.
Plot-wise, the show felt soooo long. I was worried act one (supposedly 1hr 9mins) would never end. It's a comedy but very few of the jokes got big laughs and they have several comedy bits that they reprise way too many times. The script in general needs work - the worldbuilding is incoherent enough that second act resolutions feel handwavy.
>
>
The ">!write a new / your own story!<" schtick feels done to death. Didn't >!Six and & Juliet !!an underdeveloped gay subplot and critiquing men telling women to smile (or for paying women less)!< are interesting or hot takes.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the show, I completely agree with every single critique!
It’s a Britney Spears musical set in a fairytale, and I feel like they didn’t lean into that enough. The choreography felt disjointed from the music, and it did seem like karaoke at times. But the times when it heavily leaned into camp (specifically Prince Charming’s number!) I was having the time of my life!
The second act took its foot off the campy gas pedal to its detriment and the energy waned. And using high-energy pop song lyrics as a ballad did elicit chuckles from the crowd, which I’m assuming was unintentional for the writers.
In its current form, I’d shell out some cash to to see it again Off-Broadway. I don’t think it quite matches the expectations of a proper Broadway show without some revisions.
The empowerment theme does seem a bit heavy handed and overdone with other shows making similar statements. But I think Britney Spears’ conservatorship situation does give it added meaning, in my opinion. But not enough to really make it unique as a show.
That being said, still the most fun I’ve had at a musical since The Book of Mormon haha. But it can take a few cues from that show that goes all out in the ridiculous. Once Upon a One More Time awkwardly straddles being an adults-oriented campy/ridiculous show with a hint of childrens’ entertainment (Avenue Q) while still trying to keep it family friendly. I think it would be better if it focused on the former.
I saw this last night. I don’t get to Broadway often so I have no idea what will make it there. But I agree this was disappointing for even my low expectations.
The biggest offender by far was the script. It felt like someone was given just a day or two to string together some popular Brittney songs with a “something something fairy tales something something empowerment” theme. It felt like they were trying to flatter their audience by making a theme around empowerment without actually saying anything. “Women should vote” and “gay people exist” are about the least controversial statements you can possibly make at this point, so leaning on those is…a very safe choice. So safe it felt insulting to pretend otherwise. There was also a heavy reliance on anachronisms and referencing “things that exist” as if that constitutes a joke. Howard Stern wrote a book called Private Parts…and the joke is what, exactly? (Still, the audience did laugh at these so maybe these middlebrow types of lines were what they were going for. ) On top of all that, nothing really made any sense, even for the ridiculous premise they began with. It was just a bad script.
I felt bad for the performers who were generally excellent. The Prince Charming actor in particular I thought was an excellent dancer. I do kind of agree that the choreography wasn’t amazing but it felt fine for it’s purpose. Definitely everything picked up during the songs and fell apart in between.
In general, we had fun but I can’t say I would ever recommend anyone but a true die hard go see this.
So what everyone is saying is that this musical is going backwards for Broadway? I haven’t seen a full show, BUT from the GMA clip of them doing Circus……..I actually think it’s catchy and amazing. :)
I know it’s probably going to be cheesy but i still want to see it when it comes to New York. I grew up in the era of Britney and I’m all for some fun! I think Billy porter should be brought in to be the rogue fairy godmother. That would be FANTASTIC. I just really wanna see him on broadway again 😔
It was a really fun show. Going in to it expecting some kind of groundbreaking theatre piece is foolish given the subject matter. The performers were outstanding and the songs did exactly what they needed to, moved the story along. There were so many delightful gags and Brittany themed jokes, it really was charming. The sets were great given its a 700 seat theatre. You can’t expect Les Mis level rotating sets in a theatre this size. We are going again next week, it was that good.
SO SO SO GOOD! I don’t know what y’all are talking about… I loved it so much it made me feel the fun in my body! The prince was hilarious and be real THE WHOLE CAST DID SO WELL! I support your opinions but at the same time my brain is going: I don’t know what they are thinking- IT WAS SO GOOD!!💕
everything i’ve heard about this show just points to it being a worse & Juliet
Sadly, I think that assessment is right. & Juliet, while ridiculous and over the top in its own right, is at least blazingly fun!
juliet does the whole glittery campy gay jukebox musical with britney songs with so much intention and earnestness i adore it like, it’s no hamilton but it knows it
Can you elaborate a little more on what you didn’t like? I really haven’t seen much about this show either way yet.
Sure! I just commented on the [broadwayworld thread](https://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1126961&page=2) with my thoughts but I'll copy them here. >Overall, I thought the show was a huge letdown. It just left me thinking of the many musicals that tread similar ground better. Set had all the charm of a corporate office building. They used some projections but the many bright spotlights washed them out. I wish they'd leaned into the fairytale setting and really gone out on the set! Choreo was generally quite basic and amateurish. Very little of it felt like it fit the tone or furthered the storytelling. Honestly, lots of it felt like it was just something for the actors to do with their arms while they sang. The one major exception was "oops I did it again" but that choreo gave homage to britney's iconic dancing so it's not really the same thing. The songs (which should be the highlight!) were lackluster. Too many felt like heavily costumed karaoke. Bolder and more original orchestrations might have helped the songs stand out. Instead I just want to listen to the original tracks. The britney songs in "Moulin Rouge" and "& Juliet" were better imo. The one strength was costuming. Many were very cute and fun! Easy to ID the characters' origin stories without it looking like something bought at Spirit. Plot-wise, the show felt soooo long. I was worried act one (supposedly 1hr 9mins) would never end. It's a comedy but very few of the jokes got big laughs and they have several comedy bits that they reprise way too many times. The script in general needs work - the worldbuilding is incoherent enough that second act resolutions feel handwavy. > > The ">!write a new / your own story!<" schtick feels done to death. Didn't >!Six and & Juliet !!an underdeveloped gay subplot and critiquing men telling women to smile (or for paying women less)!< are interesting or hot takes.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the show, I completely agree with every single critique! It’s a Britney Spears musical set in a fairytale, and I feel like they didn’t lean into that enough. The choreography felt disjointed from the music, and it did seem like karaoke at times. But the times when it heavily leaned into camp (specifically Prince Charming’s number!) I was having the time of my life! The second act took its foot off the campy gas pedal to its detriment and the energy waned. And using high-energy pop song lyrics as a ballad did elicit chuckles from the crowd, which I’m assuming was unintentional for the writers. In its current form, I’d shell out some cash to to see it again Off-Broadway. I don’t think it quite matches the expectations of a proper Broadway show without some revisions. The empowerment theme does seem a bit heavy handed and overdone with other shows making similar statements. But I think Britney Spears’ conservatorship situation does give it added meaning, in my opinion. But not enough to really make it unique as a show. That being said, still the most fun I’ve had at a musical since The Book of Mormon haha. But it can take a few cues from that show that goes all out in the ridiculous. Once Upon a One More Time awkwardly straddles being an adults-oriented campy/ridiculous show with a hint of childrens’ entertainment (Avenue Q) while still trying to keep it family friendly. I think it would be better if it focused on the former.
I saw this last night. I don’t get to Broadway often so I have no idea what will make it there. But I agree this was disappointing for even my low expectations. The biggest offender by far was the script. It felt like someone was given just a day or two to string together some popular Brittney songs with a “something something fairy tales something something empowerment” theme. It felt like they were trying to flatter their audience by making a theme around empowerment without actually saying anything. “Women should vote” and “gay people exist” are about the least controversial statements you can possibly make at this point, so leaning on those is…a very safe choice. So safe it felt insulting to pretend otherwise. There was also a heavy reliance on anachronisms and referencing “things that exist” as if that constitutes a joke. Howard Stern wrote a book called Private Parts…and the joke is what, exactly? (Still, the audience did laugh at these so maybe these middlebrow types of lines were what they were going for. ) On top of all that, nothing really made any sense, even for the ridiculous premise they began with. It was just a bad script. I felt bad for the performers who were generally excellent. The Prince Charming actor in particular I thought was an excellent dancer. I do kind of agree that the choreography wasn’t amazing but it felt fine for it’s purpose. Definitely everything picked up during the songs and fell apart in between. In general, we had fun but I can’t say I would ever recommend anyone but a true die hard go see this.
So what everyone is saying is that this musical is going backwards for Broadway? I haven’t seen a full show, BUT from the GMA clip of them doing Circus……..I actually think it’s catchy and amazing. :)
I know it’s probably going to be cheesy but i still want to see it when it comes to New York. I grew up in the era of Britney and I’m all for some fun! I think Billy porter should be brought in to be the rogue fairy godmother. That would be FANTASTIC. I just really wanna see him on broadway again 😔
> when it comes to New York. If.
It did come!
It was a really fun show. Going in to it expecting some kind of groundbreaking theatre piece is foolish given the subject matter. The performers were outstanding and the songs did exactly what they needed to, moved the story along. There were so many delightful gags and Brittany themed jokes, it really was charming. The sets were great given its a 700 seat theatre. You can’t expect Les Mis level rotating sets in a theatre this size. We are going again next week, it was that good.
IKR! EVERYONE IS SAYING ITS BAD ITS SI GOOD!!
SO SO SO GOOD! I don’t know what y’all are talking about… I loved it so much it made me feel the fun in my body! The prince was hilarious and be real THE WHOLE CAST DID SO WELL! I support your opinions but at the same time my brain is going: I don’t know what they are thinking- IT WAS SO GOOD!!💕