The Musical — Sundance Review

Imagine Hamlet 2 (2008) in the style of an I Think You Should Leave sketch, and that’s essentially Giselle Bonilla’s new film, The Musical. Much like Hamlet 2, The Musical follows a failed artist-turned-teacher as he stages a politically incorrect musical. However,  in Bonilla’s film, the protagonist is a playwright instead of an actor, he teaches middle school instead of high school, and most important of all, the musical he’s staging isn’t a sequel to a Shakespeare play. There are hints scattered throughout the film as to what the musical is about, so it doesn’t come as a complete shock. But as the characters proclaim, “The super power of the theatre is the element of surprise,” so it’s better to walk into the film without knowing that aspect of the plot ahead of time.