A Star Wars musical is coming and you don鈥檛 have to be in a galaxy far, far away to see it. The aptly named A Musical About Star Wars 鈥� or Why Star Wars is the Greatest Thing in the Galaxy, Much Much Better than Star Trek lands Off-Broadway on Theatre Row March 20.
Creator and co-writer Tom D'Angora (NEWSical the Musical, The Marvelous Wonderettes) describes it as 鈥�[title of show] meets Shakespeare Abridged about Star Wars.鈥�
The musical comedy follows a show-within-a-show as Star Wars superfans Taylor and Scott, played by co-book writers Taylor Crousore and Scott Richard Foster, respectively, join forces to create a new musical about their longtime infatuation in order to play the stages on the Comic Con circuit. They find themselves in need of a female lead, and, after holding a round of auditions, they meet Emily. A recent AMDA grad鈥攑layed by Emily McNamara鈥擡mily snags the role, but she has an ulterior motive: to shut the show down due to Star Wars鈥� notorious lack of diversity and problematic female tropes in the original films.
鈥淸Taylor and Scott] discover Emily鈥檚 sinister plot and they basically strike a deal with her, saying, 鈥楽tay with us for the night, let us tell you why we believe Star Wars is the greatest thing to ever happen in the history of the galaxy,鈥欌� says D鈥橝ngora. 鈥溾業f we can convince you, you鈥檒l stay with us and we鈥檒l get to Comic Con. If you still feel the way you do, we鈥檒l shut the show down and your protest has worked.鈥� But they go through a journey of all the amazing things that Star Wars has done and answer all of her questions.鈥�
The three characters are based on Crousore, Foster, and D鈥橝ngora鈥檚 different relationships with the Star Wars franchise. 鈥淪cott is old-school, Generation X鈥攚e call him a 鈥楪en X-winger鈥欌攁nd loved the original trilogy,鈥� D鈥橝ngora says. 鈥淭aylor鈥檚 the 鈥楳illennial Falcon鈥� and as a kid, his first exposure was the prequels, and he loves the [1990s and 2000s] prequels!
鈥淚鈥檓 also a kid from the 鈥�80s, but I鈥檓 this gay political activist who was obsessed with the first six films, and then started questioning, 鈥榃ait, I think there might be sexism in these films and I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 representation in the films.鈥欌� Emily鈥檚 character is inspired by D鈥橝ngora鈥檚 concerns, but, the full musical is fueled by his renewed love for the series since the releases of the most recent film in which representation and strong female leads have become a priority.
The musical features an upbeat pop score by composer Billy Recce with numbers such as the title track 鈥淎 Musical About Star Wars,鈥� 鈥淭he Lucas Orgy鈥� (about their hero-worship of Star Wars creator George Lucas), and 鈥淭he X-Wing Effect鈥� (a reflection of how major historic events of the past 40 years can all be traced to Star Wars).
鈥淲e want this to be the fans鈥� show,鈥� D鈥橝ngora says. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to give them an e-mail address. I want to hear what people like, what people don鈥檛 like, what people are upset is missing, and see if we can come as close to the perfect fan experience as we possibly can.鈥�
But don鈥檛 worry, A Musical About Star Wars is not just for Star Wars-lovers. 鈥淎s one of the characters is learning about [the franchise], we鈥檙e hoping you鈥檇 be able to follow it if you haven鈥檛 seen it, leave the theatre, and then go home and binge-watch the entire canon.鈥�
As for whether or not fans will see some familiar characters onstage, D鈥橝ngora teases, 鈥淚t is three NEWSical alumni, so we do have three people who do great impressions.鈥�
As with any spoof, the show mixes Star Wars gibes with a great respect for the films and its fanbase. 鈥淵ou get to see what's so special and meaningful about this incredible franchise through the eyes of two superfans,鈥� D鈥橝ngora says. 鈥漑It鈥檚] how it weaves into their backstory, and why it means so much to them, and how it really can be for everyone even if you don't think it is.鈥�
A Musical About Star Wars starts previews at the Kirk Theatre at Theatre Row March 20, and officially opens, fittingly enough, May 4, which has turned into a social media holiday #maythe4thbewithyou. Visit for more information.
