TikTok’s newest musical adaptation “Bridgerton: The Musical” is viral and for valid reasons.

22-year-old singer-songwriter Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, 19-year-old pianist and composer, are the creators behind the musical. Their love for Bridgerton is what brought their inspiration for the musical. 

Bridgerton is a Netflix original series based off of historical romance author Julia Quinn’s novels and is based in the Regency era of London, according to a Dec. 25, 2020 post on Netflix’s website. 

The show itself is not a musical, but there are plenty of moments from the show that are filled with emotion and drama that makes it an ideal candidate for a piece of musical theatre. 

The show’s official soundtrack features songs such as “Girls Like You” by pop band Maroon 5 and “Wildest Dreams” by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. While having some more recent pop hits, a portion of the soundtrack was done by the Vitamin String Quartet to give it an authentic 19th-century feel.

The Vitamin String Quartet is a musical group from Los Angeles and one of the most popular contemporary string ensembles in the world. They blur the lines between classical and contemporary music. 

Being a theatre kid myself and growing up watching countless musicals from Annie to The Sound of Music, I have become pretty good at identifying showtunes. 

What makes this musical distinctive from others is not just the music but the human connection which goes behind it. 

Every song in a musical is meant to convey an experience one of the characters is going through and Bridgerton: The Musical does an excellent job of conveying an array of emotions. 

The show, set during the Regency era in England, follows two families in London who are trying to find suitors for their daughters during the social season. The show is narrated by Lady Whistledown, the anonymous gossip writer who exposes all the secrets and scandals of the town. 

Daphne Bridgerton and the Duke of Hastings, also known as Simon, pretend to court each other so Daphne may attract more suitors and Simon is seen as unavailable. This plan works until Daphne and Simon start to fall for each other, turning it into a love story. 

The soundtrack, which was released on Spotify and Apple Music on Sept. 10, has 15 one-of-a-kind songs that range in perspective from Daphne and Simon to other supporting characters including Penelope Featherington.

Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear took actual lines from the show and turned them into amazing songs and some are even focused on a particular scene from the show. 

For example, the song “Ocean Away,” also known as “Daphne’s song,” was inspired by the line, “You have no idea what it’s like to be in a room with someone you can’t live without and feel like they’re oceans away from you.” The song describes Daphne’s sentiment when she begins to fall for Simon. 

My personal favorites from the soundtrack are “Burn for You,” “Friend Turned Foe” and the opening song “Tis the Season.”

“Burn for You” tells the story of the moment Simon tells Daphne on their honeymoon that he burns for her. The song is a passionate duet between the newlyweds. 

The song starts off with Daphne being frustrated that Simon hasn’t been talking to her in the days leading up to their wedding.  

“If this is what you call a honeymoon / Pacing round our separate rooms / Running from our elaborate ruse / We’re doomed,” Barlow sings as Daphne.

The beginning of the song is catchy, fast and grabs your attention; then it starts to slow down as Simon reveals his true feelings, leaving listeners with a burning passion for more.

“Friend Turned Foe” is another great song because it captures one of the most dramatic scenes in the series. 

Based on the duel between Daphne’s brother, Anthony Bridgerton, and Simon, Daphne runs to her other brother Colin trying to stop it. To everyone’s dismay, she only makes the situation worse. 

“Tell me where they went, brother / The ending could be tragic / My life hangs in the balance / Tell me where they went,” Barlow sings as Daphne trying to convince Colin to tell her where the duel is taking place.

You can feel the desperation in Daphne’s voice as she tries to make her brother understand the seriousness of the situation. 

“Tis the Season” is a great opener to the soundtrack because it features the Vitamin String Quartet and immediately you hear Lady Whistledown narrating the story as she does in the series. 

Bear said in an Jan. 22 interview with Playbill that the pair wanted to take the 1800s period piece and infuse it with modern elements.

Playbill is a monthly magazine based in the U.S. for theater lovers, according to its website. 

That is exactly what they did. While the songs are about 19th century England, the music sounds like a modern musical. 

Bridgerton: The Musical has received more than 165 million views and gained an international audience, according to an April 13 Deadline article. 

Netflix also praised the musical, stating on its website, “Absolutely blown away by the Bridgerton musical playing out on TikTok.” 

From all the hype it’s getting, I wouldn’t be surprised if this turned into the next Hamilton. 

Barlow and Bear told Variety in a Jan. 19 interview that none of this would have been possible without TikTok and its unique quality of championing creativity. 

From musicals about movies to popular TV series, TikTok has given artists a platform to be creative and share their work with other creative minds.

If TikTok can provide a platform for masterpieces such as Bridgerton: The Musical, I can’t wait to see what else is in store.