Jessica Ryan
@jessicaryan
Piratical pioneer of experiences live on the Internet (circa 2013) // CEO Broadway Unlocked, your friendly theatre on the internet // Indefatigable advocate for arts
Jessica Ryan
watch.broadwayunlocked.com
Unified Video Strategy and Ad Revenue analytics
Last year, Barlow had watched the first season of Netflix’s saucy period drama about the elite marriage market of Regency England, along with millions of others searching for escapist entertainment during the pandemic. A 22-year-old aspiring pop singer with a sizable TikTok following, she posted a song that she wrote with a simple but, she thought,... See more
Julia Jacobs • TikTok to the Grammys: How a ‘Bridgerton’ Musical Beat Broadway (Published 2022)
And there were a lot of those people, weighing in from every corner of the theater-loving internet. Barlow and Bear would livestream their songwriting sessions from Los Angeles, inviting fans to weigh in. Followers shared ideas for staging and choreography, Playbill designs, viral videos of them singing half of a duet and even a pitch to be the... See more
Julia Jacobs • TikTok to the Grammys: How a ‘Bridgerton’ Musical Beat Broadway (Published 2022)
The pair started building what would ultimately amount to a 15-song album that includes an amorous duet between the show’s leading couple, a comedic solo for the show’s nonconformist tomboy and an opening number that they wrote with a lavishly dressed Broadway ensemble flitting around the stage in their heads.
Julia Jacobs • TikTok to the Grammys: How a ‘Bridgerton’ Musical Beat Broadway (Published 2022)
And you did “Bridgerton” without a record label?BARLOW In the beginning when it first started to blow up we had a few conversations with labels, but none of it felt right. We knew that we wanted to capitalize on the moment, and we knew that the faster we released it the better.BEAR We would have gotten an orchestra and a cast, and that would have... See more
Julia Jacobs • TikTok to the Grammys: How a ‘Bridgerton’ Musical Beat Broadway (Published 2022)
Hollywood used to be run by folks that understood that a successful film, or character, or auteur is more than first weekend box office revenue — it is the most valuable asset ever, that is built over time and lasts for decades. Bob Evans was driven by taste and instinct, and used capital to back people, repeatedly — Coppola, Polanski, Friedkin — not just “big IP”. He understood that cultural value compounds around unique voices in ways financial models can’t predict.
When the lyricist-composer duo behind “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” stepped onstage Sunday to accept their Grammy for best musical theater album, the list of people they wanted to thank did not start with a record label or producer, but with their social media followers.
Julia Jacobs • TikTok to the Grammys: How a ‘Bridgerton’ Musical Beat Broadway (Published 2022)
