Video: Go Inside Opening Night of ONCE UPON A ONE MORE TIME

Hit me baby one more time

Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World. Once Upon a One More Time, the new musical which is powered by the hits of Britney Spears

has come to Broadway's Markey Theatre, and we're here on opening night to celebrate with the company

Come to my circus. Welcome home to Broadway

How does it feel? It feels so amazing to me back. Seven shows later, it still feels like, you know, the opening night feels like amazing, exciting

And the fact that I get to go out eight shows a week and sing iconic music, dance, iconic choreography

I mean, it is awesome. And to do it at the beautiful Marquis Theater, which is one of the biggest theaters on Broadway, is amazing

Yeah. What's made it so special for you? Because you've done so many beautiful shows. This is extra special

This is so special for me, one, because, you know, I've interpreted

interacted with Britney. I have memories just like everyone else does about Britney's music

but then it's been so challenging. This is the hardest choreography I've ever done. I've never

had to sing, act and dance like this. And this show has given me the opportunity. Over the six

years that I've been with it and been able to put my fingerprint on Prince Charming, has given me

the opportunity to do all the things that I love to do all at once in one show. And it just is

like, it is a joy. It's tiring, but it's a joy to do every single

It is opening night. How do you feel tonight? I feel strangely calm. We've had this beautiful

long preview period We worked so hard and it like it is the night to let it fly And I so excited What made this so special for you with working on this musical The cast hands down I mean I have a deep deep love for Britney Spears

so just that foundation is unimaginable to me. I still am in shock sometimes when I realize that we're doing this

But on top of that, the hearts of the people in our cast

and the work ethic and the tenacity with which we sort of attack this material

just such an adventure and I love them very much. The best part for me

is seeing all the Broadway debuts tonight. There's so many excited young people

and it's so heartwarming to see it through their eyes and I'm just so grateful

that they're letting this old lady still play come to the dance

You are so wonderful in this show. You just walk on stage

and you have the audience in the palm of your hands. How does it feel like

what's made this so special for you with working on this show? A lot of things

I love the theme stronger, and that's how I feel right now

What's made this so special for you with working on this? For me, it's another opportunity to represent my chocolate drops on Broadway

and let them know that they matter. They're important. They're beautiful. And I've been working on this for such a long time

It's the first time I'm originating a principal role on Broadway. I've been able to be a standby

step into the principal shoes a few times, but this is mine and it's very special

that I get to leave my stamp on Broadway in this way. Working with this company, what it's meant to you

Oh, I mean, as an Asian American performer to work with the first ever Filipino American directors on Broadway is incredible It has shown me sort of that the sky is the limit and that I can achieve whatever I dream to be

And they've taught me how to dream bigger. And they've taught me how to create a wonderful artistic safe space for folks

who look like me. What's made this so special for you with working on this

I mean, obviously, like a lot of people through the pandemic, we had time where we were not working

And so I started working with this show prior to the pandemic. So to have been in some workshops and to now realize it on Broadway

it's so fantastic to finally be here. Making my Broadway debut in the Britney Spears musical is insane

But it's so fun and it's such a surprise and I enjoy doing it

And the dancing you all get to do. Oh, yeah, we're dancing our lives away over there, yeah

It's also crazy like sharing a playbill with the same name as Britney Spears

So, you know, we've got to come correct, got to leave it all on stage, dance our hearts out

What's made this so special for you with working on this musical? I think all the friends I've made

meeting the book writers become a really good friend of mine, and I've had so many different sisters, which has been amazing

Like, Brian was in it, and now she's out of medical leave, and now I have Amy, which is unbelievable

It's just, and it's Jen Samarters playing my mom, and we've become such a great trio

It's really exciting. It's opening night. How do you feel? I feel amazing

It's very surreal that we're finally here. It's been a lot of stops and starts along the way

since I joined in 2019. But I'm so grateful. This is my Broadway debut at 40 years old

I am thrilled to be here, never give up kids. I'm so happy, yeah

I feel amazing. I been working on the show since 2018 so I feel very lucky No pun intended well every pun intended for Britney I feel very lucky to be here I feel everything

I feel excitement. I feel weepy. I feel nauseous, I feel, but mostly excitement

It's my Broadway debut. And I mean, I shouldn't talk about it because I really do get weepy

It's like, if you told me when I was little that this would happen, I would have skipped through life

It's just, it's an amazing feeling. What's made it so special for you with working on this

The company, honestly. And it starts from the top down. Keone Madrid and Mari Madrid, our director choreographers, are just the loveliest humans

They're so creative. They're so innovative. They're bringing something to Broadway that's never been seen before

And they just create the safest environment in the room and the most lovely environment in the room

What have you enjoyed the most, the two of you with working on this, directing and choreographic

It's just been such a joy to be able to be part of, the development of a show

We don't, you know, we don't have many long-form shows under our belts

So to be able to be here through the last five years working on it

and lovingly crafting it has been an amazing experience. I mean, listen, it's Brittany

Like, we grew up in the 90s, early 2000. That's our era

So we get to relive this come full circle and relive those music video days of Washington TRL

and learning her stuff. So what a dream for us to be able to debut in this way to honor Brittany in this way

And it was so brilliant of John in the way that he wrote things to be able to fuse, as you said, all the songs into it

But really it was just encapsulating her spirit and letting that guide us through every step of the way

And really, Britney, her lyrics, they have a lot of depth to them when you actually peel them apart

So we're just very honored that we get this chance to tell her story as well