How better to portray the story of Jesus Christ than by using ... the music of Britney Spears? That was, apparently, the brilliant idea that led to SPEARS: The Gospel According to Britney, a musical that will be performed at New York City's Foxwoods Theatre on Thursday, Fox News reports. Patrick Blute, a 23-year-old Columbia University grad, developed the opera and debuted it at the college (where it sold out) last year, Radio.com reports. He's hoping to get funders at this week's show, so if you can't make it to NYC on such short notice, fear not: A longer run is possible.
"Is it the greatest story ever told to the greatest music ever written?" the official website muses. From there, it gets slightly less easy to comprehend: "These are Britney’s lyrics. These are Jesus Christ’s images. The Britney Spears you see is not Britney Spears. Remember that. The Jesus Christ you read is not Jesus Christ. These are manifestations. Accounts through the media, through the words of followers, of friends, of foes, of villains, of heroes, of liars, of biases." Um, OK. All you really need to know is that "...Baby One More Time" will be utilized. (More Britney Spears stories.)