Monday March 24th, the streets of Broadway lit up with a new show as Panic! The Musical made its debut. The rough-edged new musical based on the songs of the American rock band Panic! At The Disco.
The synopsis from the musical’s website read:
Oliver Murphy, a confident musician, is recovering from the reckless behavior he developed after prematurely being thrown into the touring scene. His fortitude is suddenly uplifted after meeting the pristine Andi Witko, who is slowly but surely straying away from her faith after a recent tragedy lead her to question its validity.
Panic! the Musical explores the journey of two young souls colliding their world’s, and forming an unconventional bond that proves to be a mixed blessing. The musical features songs from all four studio albums, including hits such as: “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies,” “Lying is the Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off,” “Ready to Go,” “This Is Gospel,” along with others.
If this seems in any way familiar to the Broadway production of Green Day’s American Idiot musical, you are correct. Although there are several key differences between the two shows, aside from the storyline.
Panic! The Musical is in no way associated with the Panic! At The Disco themselves. This means the band do not endorse or support the musical and, by law, they can shut whole production shut down if they deem necessary. The key difference between the band-based musicals is permission.
Green Day’s American Idiot musical was a different development process. Director Michael Mayer listened to the album and approached the band for permission to do a theatrical adaptation. According to the musical’s Facebook page, there have been many positive reviews to the show.
