Music Theatre International (MTI) has announced the exclusive, global licensing rights for “Once Upon a One More Time.” High schools will be the first organizations allowed to produce the musical.
Set to a soundscape of Britney Spears hits, “Once Upon a One More Time” reimagines a slew of fairytale endings. In Jon Hartmere’s book for the musical, Cinderella encourages several princesses to take control of their storybook narratives after receiving a copy of Betty Friedan’s “Feminine Mystique.” The musical opened on June 22, 2023 at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre, and closed on Sept. 3.
“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 MTI president and CEO Drew Cohen in a statement. “With 23 hits from Britney’s catalog, and a fun and brilliant book by Jon Hartmere, this is a show that will appeal to groups and audiences of all ages.”
In addition to the full-length version, which will contain approved edits for school groups, MTI is developing a 60-minute Broadway Junior version.
“We are excited to try something a little different when it comes to ‘Once Upon a One More Time,’” said John Prignano, MTI’s chief operations officer and director of development and education. “We know there is a huge demand from teachers and young performers who can’t wait to bring this show to their stages. Giving schools and youth organizations the first chance to produce the show is our way of saying thank you to the dedicated members of the educational theater market.”
“I’m thrilled that ‘Once Upon a One More Time’ 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,” Hartmere added.
“Once Upon a One More Time” was produced on Broadway by James L. Nederlander and Hunter Arnold.
Correction: An earlier version of this headline misspelled the title of the musical. This has been corrected.
