The songs of one Britney Jean Spears have been inescapable since the turn of the millennium. Is it any surprise they’d wind up on Broadway?
\tIn June, the world’s splashiest theater district debuted “Once Upon a One More Time,” a musical based on the hits many of us baby-drawled and schoolgirl-shimmied to, whether we liked it or not. Written by Jon Hartmere and green-lit by Spears herself, the musical follows a girl squad of fairytale princesses transformed by a feminist awakening. In a storybook realm that functions exactly like a Hollywood studio, the princesses are fated to reenact their archaic tales whenever they are read; an eternity of damsels driven to distress, liberated only by a prince. That is, until a woeful Cinderella wonders, through a rendition of “Lucky,” what might be missing in her life.
\tThe answer: “The Feminine Mystique,” a hardbound copy of which Cinderella is gifted by her spunky godmother. From there, the musical manages to connect a few feminist dots across Spears’s discography. A quick succession of Britney bangers whisks Cin from serving her stepsisters and the patriarchy (“Work Bitch”), to leading her fellow princesses away from a narrator’s (read: society’s) expectations (“Stronger”).
\tAs slight as the storyline is, “Once Upon” more than makes up for it with pyrotechnic performances. From the evil stepmother’s venomous version of “Toxic,” as if born in a smoky jazz lounge, to Snow White wringing the soul out of “From The Bottom of My Broken Heart,” a dive into Spears’s catalog goes deeper than mere camp.
\tWhile Spears may have been mocked for her lyrical limitations, dance was always her most effective mode of expression. With award-winning dance duo Keone and Mari Madrid both choreographing and directing “Once Upon,” whatever substance its story might lack is articulated, at least, through movement.
‘103’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:a4526688-959c-44dd-b8cb-0707891aff81
\tHaving choreographed music videos for the likes of Justin Bieber and BTS, the Madrids are no strangers to creating the most memorable steps for the catchiest songs. For Bieber’s “Love Yourself,” now boasting 1.7 billion views on YouTube, they’re the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers of breakup bops. With just a tandem routine shot in their living room, their bodies can let a whole universe of dialogue unfold between them to depict a relationship in tatters.
\t“Once Upon” exhibits a mastery of Spears’s dance breaks, its ensemble throbbing in unison with rapid-fire forearm flourishes. But most apparent is the Madrids’ signature, where even the most minute gesture — say, the curl of a dancer’s pinky finger — can drive the story. This detail obsessiveness further contours the characters, be it through a queer dwarf’s balletic yearning or the menacing swagger of a cheating prince (Justin Guarini is such a standout as Prince Charming, you wonder why the world denied him fame after “American Idol”).
\tOverall, the dance sequences are such a spectacle, they’re even more transportive than the set design. As the show’s concluding Spears medley lets all of storyland loose into the audience like a crashing wave of twirls and hip thrusts, you can’t help but rise from your seat and body roll like a pop princess who’s just won her estate back. Considering glow bracelets are handed out, it’s even encouraged.
\tCalling from their San Diego home, Keone and Mari Madrid talk to CNN Philippines Life about being the first Filipinos to direct and choreograph a Broadway musical. Following the success of their off-Broadway dance concert, “Beyond Babel,” and with their “Karate Kid” musical on the horizon, the couple talk about keeping the stage drama out of their marriage and returning to their roots, “Oops” choreo included.
How did choreographing and directing “Once Upon a One More Time” come about?
Mari Madrid: We were first contacted to be choreographers for the show in 2018. We’re not really in the musical theater world so we were a little bit, like, “Why are they asking us? Are you sure you want us?” (Laughs) But we went in and were just so delighted to see how writer Jon Hartmere so cleverly used all of Britney Spears’s songs in a way that really crafted a story, and was also hilarious and witty and self-aware at the same time. We loved it and we were onboard from there. I don’t remember when we got promoted to directors. I can’t remember what year that was.
Keone Madrid: It was right before we had our daughter, so 2019. I remember we had done a workshop with the director at the time, [but] that didn’t work out so production was looking for a director. I remember meeting with the producers and asking, “Who’s gonna be our director?” And just in small talk, just talking about what we want to do in the future, I had mentioned, “Oh, we’d love to get into directing. That’s sort of what we want to do next.” We’ve always gravitated toward story and we’ve been wanting to dabble more in long-form and we know that directing is sort of the next step. I told them five to 10 years from now. And a couple of weeks later, the producer called and was like, “I know you said five to 10 years from now but maybe in five to 10 weeks, you can become director for this show.” I remember telling Mari about that and it was literally a week before our daughter was born. I was afraid to tell her because I was afraid that she would go into labor right then and there.
‘ ‘104’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:0d17b810-0cdc-4f20-8879-dafd5fd05db8’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘Aisha Jackson as The O.F.G. (Original Fairy Godmother) in “Once
Did the producers ever explain why you’d be a great fit for a Britney-themed musical?
Keone Madrid: I think a lot of it had to do with our natural pop sensibility. We’ve worked with pop artists in the past and were grateful for a permission slip from Britney’s team and the production that “Hey, whatever you think of Broadway, throw it out the door and just be yourselves. We want something different movement-wise and visually.” This is about honoring Britney’s music but also telling a story, and we’ve always told stories in our movement, throwing in a lot of wit and comedy. I think that’s why they wanted us.
I came of age when Britney entered the zeitgeist. Before this Broadway feat, how personal was Britney’s music to you?
Mari Madrid: I mean, we’re both millennials so we grew up in the “TRL” days. It was the early 2000s with all the pop princesses and the boy bands. There was so much dance just in music videos and live performances. That was the time I started dancing. So she’s kind of just been there as I evolved as a dancer. Her music is just meant to be moved to.
Keone Madrid: I literally remember learning the “Oops!” choreo when I was a teenager and standing next to the TV. Back then, we didn’t have YouTube and a fast-forward-rewind button, so you had to wait for those five minutes that it came on and try to learn it then. So as Mari said, she’s very much a part of our journey as dancers but also that nostalgia of that era of pop and how much it exploded. She’s embedded in our DNA whether we like it or not (Laughs).
‘ ‘105’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:f7ea9332-e222-482d-a2bb-e7e4ad7039ee’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘Briga Heelan as Cinderella in “Once Upon A One More Time.
In your off-Broadway dance concert, “Beyond Babel,” you also worked with a big group of dancers, albeit with minimal props. Did that prepare you at all for a Broadway production?
Mari Madrid: Yeah, I think it’s just on a bigger scale. In “Beyond Babel,” we’re picking up boxes and moving them around with our own hands. Here, you’ve got a big set that has automation and more people, and quick changes, and wigs. The capabilities are so much bigger and there are more decisions you have to make, more collaborators, more voices.
Keone Madrid: Funny enough, we went back to our instincts of how to lead a group. We’ve been doing that a long time. As we went along, it was more about gaining the confidence and realizing, yeah, we do know what it takes, and hearing that feedback from the actors. I think that’s probably the newest thing for us is working with actors — that many actors and collaborating with them. With dancers, they’re really, really good soldiers. You tell them what to do, where to go, and they’ll do exactly what you need. With actors, it’s like, you have to have them finish the sentence. There’s a lot of give and take. We discovered that together.
How different is that kind of collaboration from your work in, say, choreographing a large K-Pop group like BTS?
Keone Madrid: A lot of what I’ve been able to do in the K-Pop industry translated over to this. The songs are structured very similarly — verse, pre-hook, hook, and so forth. The only difference is making sure that everything makes sense to the story and the character and what their motivation is. Whereas a pop singer just has to look cool and be sexy, or flashy. Someone like Justin [Guarini] in “Circus,” he essentially got to be a pop artist in that Britney number. But in something like “Toxic,” we had to allow the stepmother and narrator tell a story inside of this pop-oriented number.
Were there characters in the musical that you had a little more fun choreographing?
(Both laugh)
Mari Madrid: We’re not allowed to choose! Personally, I loved making choreography for the stepsisters ‘cause I was channeling my early 2000s pop days. We labeled them as “The TikTok Twins,” where “It’s like our mom signed us up for one dance class and when we did one, we thought we were really good so we quit.” (Laughs)
Keone Madrid: There are so many, it’s hard to pick but obviously Justin. Early on, he recognized that we were giving him simpler choreography ‘cause some artists prefer simpler choreography ‘cause they want to look good…
‘ ‘106’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:9187a59f-dcb7-4e89-8ecd-d4cadc976b97’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘Tess Soltau and Ryann Redmond as Stepsisters Belinda and Betany
Mari Madrid: They have to sing too. They have to be able to sing while they’re doing this stuff…
Keone Madrid: Yeah, but Justin early on pulled up one of our Instagram pages, scrolled down, and then was like, “Hey, this — give me that!” I remember saying, “Are you sure?” “I will work day and night at it.” Then, I remember he said, “I don’t know what I got myself into” but he really, once he got a taste of it, he couldn’t stop asking for more.
When working together, is there something that you frequently butt heads over?
(Both laugh)
Keone Madrid: Everything! Uh, no — yeah, we’re still married so far so I think we’re doing okay. No, really, we’re so used to collaborating together.
Mari Madrid: On everything —
Keone Madrid: This time around, there’s so many more collaborators and voices in the room that even if the two of us didn’t agree on something, there were other people that weighed in. “Well, you know, if more people feel that way, then let’s roll with it.” Or “if you feel strongly about this idea, let’s try it and see if it works.” Or there are times when you just try and compromise and you build on each other’s instincts. That’s how our entire careers have been. People think that we step into a studio and we choreograph and it’s all butterflies and it all just works.
Well, you make it seem that way!
Keone Madrid: (Laughs) I’m glad we do because it’s not always that way.
Mari Madrid: It’s there, eventually (Laughs).
Keone Madrid: We’re two artists, we’re two individuals, but we’ve gotten better.
You’re both seen as inseparable. How did you meet in the first place?
Mari Madrid: Well, through dance is the short answer.
Keone Madrid: Yeah, we were both teaching at a workshop and we had known of each other in the [dance] community. I think I was teaching class after her. She finished her class and there were lots of people lining up to take a picture with her and stuff. I was just sort of waiting for her to wrap up but I also wanted to introduce myself ‘cause I’d seen her work and I was into her. But a month prior, both of us were up for this job and I ended up being the one that got the job.
Mari Madrid: ‘Cause he answered first!
Keone Madrid: Not for any other reason but because I answered first. So with that context, I’m waiting in line and I’m going up to say hi. I shake her hand and I just feel the coldest stare at me. And I’m like, well, she hates me and that was that.
Mari Madrid: And then I took his class.
Keone Madrid: And then she took my class. And I was like, well, she took my class so there’s hope.
Do you remember the first time you saw each other dance?
Mari Madrid: I think the first time I saw you dance in person was at your class.
Keone Madrid: The first time I saw you dance was on YouTube. This was like the early, early days of YouTube when it was like, “Charlie bit my finger!” But yeah, it was your video called “Go Ahead.”
Mari Madrid: Yeah, and yours was — an Usher song. “Love in this Club” (Laughs)
On YouTube, you two were OGs in getting dance videos to go viral, long before all the dance trends on TikTok. What do you see happening in dance, online or otherwise, that’s excited you lately?
Keone Madrid: Dancing in general has just exploded on TikTok. It used to be an event to get a piece of choreography from a new choreographer. Today, I don’t mean this in a negative way, it is harder to find inspiration on the internet because there’s so much of it now. Inside of that over-saturation, there’s still high-quality dancers. There’s a dancer that we’re so proud of and we’ve worked with her before, her name’s Logan Edra. She’s going to be representing the US in the Olympics coming up in 2024 with dance coming in, and we’re all rooting her on. There’s dancers that we meet internationally like Kevin Paradox, who are really incredible. But we just hope to continue pushing dance — our community of dance — into new spaces. To introduce it to new people. ‘Cause I know there were people who had never seen dance like this on a Broadway stage.
“The fact that we were able to direct a Broadway show… we always just saw actors move into a directing space and we feel like dancers deserve the same. We’re as much storytellers as they are.”
Mari Madrid: Sometimes, it’s easy to just think that okay, [your work] can only exist for eight seconds on the internet when there’s so many more places where it can and should live.
Keone Madrid: That’s the goal — to keep trying to push and represent for dancers. The fact that we were able to direct a Broadway show… we always just saw actors move into a directing space and we feel like dancers deserve the same. We’re as much storytellers as they are.
