Why the World Needs a Beyoncé Musical—and 18 Other Pop Stars Who Should Get One Too
The jukebox musical is a bonafide Broadway staple. Everyone from ABBA to Elvis and Billy Joel to The Beach Boys has been given the Great White Way treatment, and shows with Alanis Morissette’s and Michael Jackson’s hits are on their way. The big question on our minds is, What current artists’ songs might we hear on Broadway in the future?
Listen up producers: We think these pop stars’ songs have full-house potential.
Taylor Swift
Proposed title:
Never Ever Getting Back Together
Why:
Her exes definitely deserve (to be blasted with) the Broadway treatment. Just picture the montage possibilities.
Potential twist:
A combined T. Swift and Kanye West musical called Imma Let You Finish
Fall Out Boy
Proposed title:
Thnks fr th Mmrs
Why:
If Green Day could do it with American Idiot, we think Fall Out Boy could make a musical too. Plus, teenage angst à la Be More Chill is selling well on Broadway these days.
Lady Gaga
Proposed title:
The Monster Ball
Why:
Can you imagine the costumes? We need an ensemble of Little Monsters (aka dancers) in raw meat dresses.
Katy Perry
Proposed title:
Last Friday Night
Why:
The world needs an expanded version of the narrative from Perry’s “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” video, starring her alter ego: nerdy teenager Kathy Beth Terry. Bonus points if Kenny G reprises his cameo from the video.
Eminem
Proposed title:
8 Mile the Musical
Why:
Movies turned musicals are often a lucrative formula, and an Eminem show could ride on the coattails of Hamilton‘s success with rap on Broadway.
Metallica
Proposed title:
Enter Sandman the Musical
Why:
It’s about time we put more heavy metal on the Great White Way. Metallica’s discography is perfectly suited for a Brothers Grimm–style narrative. We’re picturing a dark cautionary tale, helmed by the Sandman himself.
Barbra Streisand
Proposed title:
Babs the Musical
Why:
She’s already a certified Broadway and film star, so why not immortalize the Funny Girl’s life onstage?
Beyoncé
Proposed title:
Who Run the World?
Why:
Why not?! From Destiny’s Child to her solo megastardom to her life with Jay-Z, there’s so much ground to cover. And there’d be lots of dancing.
Maggie Rogers
Proposed title:
Heard It in a Past Life
Why:
Though Rogers is just beginning her career, we have a feeling she’ll leave an indelible mark on music. Her style lends itself to the quirky contemporary dance we’d like to see more of in musicals. Since Emma Portner already choreographed her “Fallingwater” video, it’s not a shot in the dark.
P!nk
Proposed title:
Get the Party Started
Why:
This one’s got grit and spunk written all over it. And we’d love to see P!nk’s acrobatic concert work incorporated into a stage show.
Stevie Wonder
Proposed title:
Living for the City
Why:
His 1973 song “Living for the City,” about a young black man faced with unjust incarceration, is just as relevant today. Sure, Wonder’s songs are catchy, but this musical would go beyond the surface.
Fleetwood Mac
Proposed title:
Go Your Own Way
Why:
Simply put, it would be our guilty-pleasure-dream-come-true to hear songs like “The Chain,” “Rhiannon” and “Dreams” on Broadway. In a 2013 interview with NPR, Mick Fleetwood even hinted that a play might be in the works.
Garth Brooks
Proposed title:
Friends in Low Places
Why:
As the best-selling solo albums artist in the U.S., Brooks has enough hits to generate multiple musicals. The synopsis of this one? A hodge-podge group of retired friends meets at their local watering hole to share their struggles and recount their glory days.
Adele
Proposed title:
Hello, It’s Adele
Why:
Who doesn’t need a cleansing cry? We envision minimal dancing but maximum soulful belting. Be prepared to break out the tissues.
James Brown
Proposed title:
Funkified
Why:
No one makes you wanna get up and dance more than James Brown, and his signature slide-split move is stage-ready. Could this be a job for Sergio Trujillo?
Whitney Houston
Proposed title:
Every Woman, the Whitney Houston Story
Why:
Houston’s complex life and long list of hits provide more than enough fodder for a musical that’s more substantive than fluff.
Shania Twain
Proposed titles:
Still the One
or Man, I Feel Like a Woman
Why:
The singalong potential is oh-so-strong. So is the line dancing. Any Man of Miiiine…
Dolly Parton
Proposed titles:
I Will Always Love You or Jolene
Why:
Big hair. Sequins. Southern twang. The show could walk us through Parton’s life or be a fictional narrative based on the song “Jolene.”
Madonna
Proposed title:
Material Girl
Why:
A show about this multi-decade star could go in so many directions, but an ’80s throwback would be en vogue.
Whose music do you want to see in a Broadway show? Let us know in the comments.
