Theatrical licenser Music Theatre International (MTI) has announced that an amateur version of the Britney Spears jukebox musical “Once Upon a Once More Time” is now available for performance by non-college school groups in North America, the U.K. and Australia. The licensed edition, titled “Once Upon a Once More Time (High School Version),” features optional, pre-approved edits intended for schools.
As previously announced, MTI acquired the exclusive, global licensing rights for “Once Upon a One More Time” in July. The musical weaves 23 of Spears’ hit singles into a story framed around well-known fairy tales. In the musical, when a fairy godmother places copies of Betty Friedan’s book “The Feminine Mystique” in the laps of classic heroines, the damsels embark on a quest to rewrite their stories and redefine the meaning of “happily ever after.”
“Seeing this show on Broadway, we immediately realized that there is nothing like the music of Britney Spears to energize both performers and audience members,” said Drew Cohen, MTI’s president and CEO, in a statement. “With 23 hits from Britney’s catalogue and a fun and brilliant book by Jon Hartmere, this is a show that will appeal to high school students and directors everywhere.”
“We know there is a huge demand from teachers and high school performers who can’t wait to bring this show to their stages. Giving schools the first chance to produce the show is our way of saying thank you to the dedicated members of the educational theater market,” added John Prignano, MTI’s chief operations officer and director of development and education.
“I’m thrilled that ‘Once Upon a One More Time (High School Version)’ will add more chapters to the fairy tale under Drew and John’s stewardship and couldn’t be more pleased with MTI’s plans for it,” added Hartmere.
Music Theatre International works to grant theaters the rights to perform musicals from Broadway and beyond. The licenser was founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker. MTI collaborates directly with composers, lyricists and book writers to provide official scripts, musical materials and theatrical resources to more than 100,000 professional, community and school theaters in the U.S. and in over 150 countries worldwide.
“Once Upon a One More Time” began Broadway previews on May 13, 2023, and officially opened on June 22 at the Booth Theatre. The musical played its final Main Stem performance on Sept. 3, 2023 at the Marquis Theatre.
