After a multi-year development journey spanning both coasts, Millennials Are Killing Musicals has found its home here at Burbank’s The Colony Theatre!
Rehearsals began last week where the new original musical by Nico Juber will begin previews April 30 and May 1, ahead of a May 2 opening.
The hilarious, tuneful new original musical takes the familiar cultural lament — “Millennials are killing everything” — and turns it into a fierce, funny musical about identity, ambition, and the pressure to keep up in a world driven by visibility.
At its center is Brenda, a single mother trying to reclaim her creative voice while balancing work and raising her daughter. When her influencer sister arrives — eight months pregnant and fully immersed in a world of followers, filters, and constant content — Brenda is pulled into a system that begins to reshape how she sees herself.
In Millennials Are Killing Musicals, social media is alive. The Filters and The Algo (the algorithm) don’t just influence behavior — they drive it, guiding what the characters want, post, and believe.
The musical builds from that premise into a fast-moving pop rock score filled with humor, recognition, and momentum, tracking Brenda’s attempt to reconnect with her voice while everything around her pushes her toward something more polished—and more profitable.
The production’s path reflects how new musicals are finding their way forward.
After a development workshop at Off-Broadway’s Out of the Box Theatricals and a staged reading at LA’s IAMA Theatre Company, Juber, a Los Angeles-based writer, was ready to work with a theatre on starting the production that could carry the show to New York. After working with artistic directors around the country, The Colony became the best fit.
At Burbank’s The Colony Theatre, Producing Artistic Director Heather Provost–– a Tony Award-nominated Broadway producer herself––has focused on programming that welcomes audiences in — musicals that are engaging, accessible, and rooted in enjoyment. That philosophy extends beyond the stage, with community programs like “Tunesday,” an open mic night built around the idea: “No Judgment: Just Joy.”
The result is a production grounded in its local creative community while moving forward with a broader trajectory in mind.
Directed by Tony Award-Nominee Kristin Hanggi (who shepherded Rock of Ages from Los Angeles all the way to Broadway), the production brings together a cast from across the industry, including Broadway actress and Wicked’s Elphaba – Emma Hunton, Hadestown’s John Krause, original Little Shop of Horrors cast member Jennifer Leigh Warren, TV’s Aynsley Bubbico and Michael Thomas Grant, and award-winner and Little Mermaid Diana Huey, among other LA and The Colony favorites.
For a show built around feeds, trends, and algorithms, the question at its core is straightforward: Where is the line between living life and performing for followers?
Millennials Are Killing Musicals runs at The Colony Theatre in Burbank April 30 – May 17. For more information and tickets visit www.ColonyTheatre.org.
