Tik Tok: The Musical

Broadway attracts audiences in droves, with musicals enrapturing spectators for decades. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the nearly 2 full years of quarantine, Broadway had to close its doors for the first time in years. In order for theater fans to get their regular fix, they needed to get a little creative. So, where would fans turn to but the number one social media app on the market right now? 

At the height of the pandemic, TikTok users shared cooking videos accompanied by "Le Festin," a song from the Disney/Pixar film Ratatouille (2007). Eventually TikTok users created parodies and memes, including videos of botched cooking accompanied by a parody of "Le Festin" with fake French words.

This “Le Festin” remix eventually went viral after popular TikTok user and famous internet personality, Brittany Broski, reused the music in one of her videos. Then, in August 2020, Emily Jacobsen, an elementary school teacher, recorded an ode to Remy, the film's main character. Thus, the first internet musical was born. 

In October 2020, another user, Daniel Mertzlufft, who had previously achieved fame for his "grocery store musical" composition, adapted and arranged the short song as a Disney musical finale. He composed the orchestration using software instruments he associated with Disney musicals—particularly the finale of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). His video received over a million views and spawned thousands of subsequent TikTok videos in a collaboration between theater students and professionals, who expanded on the possibility of a Disney musical based on the Ratatouille film.

Eventually, there was a plethora of users working together to create choreography, costumes, and dialogue, even sharing their opinions on which actors they believed should play certain characters. Before long, the internet meme became a complete sensation, gaining the attention of Seaview Productions, who decided to actually put on the musical in order to host a fundraiser for the prominent charity organization, The Actors Fund of America. The charity supports performers and behind-the-scenes workers, helping more than 17,000 people directly each year. The performance was a hit, raising over ​​$2 million for The Actors Fund and featuring a grand total of 350,000 total viewers. 

What started as a joke ended up being a complete success! Unfortunately, after a while the hype died out, and (as all internet memes tend to do) the Ratatouille musical became a thing of the past. However, it left a lasting impression, inspiring users who sought their 15 minutes of fame to create another TikTok musical. The theme this time? The Netflix original series, Bridgerton (2020). 

Based on the popular book series of the same name, Bridgerton tells the story of eight close-knit siblings of the powerful Bridgerton family living together during the Regency era in England as they all attempt to find love. The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical is the joint creation of two musicians, Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear. 

“As shown in the viral success of their original songs for Bridgerton the Musical, they use their prolific gifts in multiple music styles to create ear-worm, contagious melodies with a broad appeal,” Barlow and Bear inform readers on their website. “They broke the glass ceiling on the standard way that a Broadway show is brought to life by involving the audience every step of the way throughout the creation of the musical via social media and TikTok live.”

The duo ended up creating and recording 15 songs in 6 weeks, starting with the teaser of their immediate hit “Burn for You”! Keeping their audience informed and keeping their suggestions in mind helped them to earn more than 260 million views and receive 48 million likes on their published works. 

What started as a passion project became an internet sensation, with their album hitting #1 on iTunes U.S. Pop Albums within two hours of its release. The album also charted at Top 10 worldwide, going as far as getting nominated for a Grammy Award. 

When we were locked in quarantine, we all tended to cope in different ways. From bingeing our favorite television shows to making bread from scratch, society desperately searched for ways to stay sane. For lovers of musical theater, though, there was only so much one could do. Bootleg recordings and official cast recordings can only do so much to replace the feeling of a real experience of a stage performance. Thankfully, with advancing technology and a little bit of inspiration, we can work together to recreate that same magic off-stage.

March 2022