Britney Spears Musical ‘Once Upon A One More Time’ Sets Broadway Closing Notice

On: 2023-08-21

Once Upon a One More Time, the Broadway musical that uses Britney Spears hits to re-tell and revise various fairy tales and opened in June to mixed reviews, has announced an early closing.

In an Instagram post today, the production notes that the final performance will be Sept. 3 at the Marquis Theatre.

“The fairy-tale is coming to an end,” the post says. “Final performance September 3…come party with us one more time!”

Updating such fairy tale characters as Cinderella, Snow White and Rapunzel with a feminist twist, the musical, directed by Keone and Mari Madrid, includes such Spears hits as “Oops I Did It Again,” “Toxic,” “Baby One More Time,” “Lucky,” “I Wanna Go,” “Crazy,” “If I’m Dancing,” “Passenger,” and “Work Bitch.”

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Although Spears has expressed her approval of the musical, she did not have direct participation in it. The large cast includes Briga Heelan, Justin Guarini, Aisha Jackson and Jennifer Simard.

While critics’ reviews of the musical varied widely, the show failed to catch on with audiences or successfully tap into Spears’ still-large fan base to any meaningful extent. The most recent available box office figures – for the week ending August 13 – indicate that attendance at the Marquis was at less than 50% capacity (47.4% of seats were filled, to be exact). The costly production took in $512,008 in box office receipts that week, a meager sum for a musical at a venue as large as the Marquis.

“We could not be prouder of this beautifully joyous and exhilarating show – which is not only a love letter to Britney’s iconic artistry and singular effervescence, but also a brilliant display of the boundless talent of our cast and creative team,” said producers James L. Nederlander and Hunter Arnold said in a statement. “We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to this dream team of collaborators, performers, designers, staff, crew, and investors who continue to share our passion and joy for this project. As plans take shape for the show’s future life around the globe, we’re excited to share more news soon!”

Plans are underway for a national tour as well as international productions, producers said.

The musical began Broadway previews on May 13 and officially opened on June 22.

A post shared by Once Upon a One More Time (@onemoretimebway)