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The Musical

Play trailer 2:08 Poster for The Musical Now Playing 1h 24m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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64% Tomatometer 47 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Doug, a frustrated playwright and middle school theater teacher, learns his ex is dating his nemesis, the school principal. To get revenge and cost him a Blue Ribbon Award, Doug secretly stages the most inappropriate play imaginable.
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The Musical

Critics Reviews

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Thelma Adams AARP Movies for Grownups 3 days ago
3/5
While The Musical’s comic reach may a bit limited -- like a theater set model -- it still has charm aplenty. Keep an eye on its young cast; there’s a lot of talent in those wings. Go to Full Review
Juan Barquin RogerEbert.com Sep 18, 2026
1/4
Giselle Bonilla’s feature debut simply doesn’t have anything worth saying. It is neither funny nor provocative, so what, if anything, is left? Go to Full Review
Natalia Winkelman New York Times Sep 17, 2026
We find some welcome respite from this role in the young actors playing Doug’s theater students, who are genuinely funny as competitive overachievers. Go to Full Review
Tara McNamara Common Sense Media 3 days ago
3/5
Giselle Bonilla's feature directorial debut is an outrageous dark comedy that's likely to leave viewers both aghast and gasping for air from laughing so hard. Go to Full Review
Joseph Tomastik Loud and Clear Reviews 6 days ago
3/5
The collar-tugging discomfort doesn’t come as much from the titular musical as just watching Leibowitz be the smallest, pettiest, most sniveling little weasel you’ll ever see. Go to Full Review
Joel Copling Spectrum Culture Sep 22, 2026
The Musical is a lot of unfunny nonsense leading to a mildly funny bit of nonsense that comes far too late to save the film. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Christopher 4 days ago Absolutely loved it! See more Olga 6 days ago Hilarious black humor comedy. Reminded me of "Serial Mom" at times, especially the very last scene. Oh, and it gets +100 points for using Enigma's "The Return to Innocence" for soundtrack in the culmination scene. Plus duration 1 hr 20 min - why don't we have movies under 1.5 hr duration anymore? :) See more Christopher 6 days ago Clever script, some spot on commentary about public schools and the administration going out of its way to be painfully, uncomfortably politically correct. Lead characters weren't likable IMO. The kids were good. This could have been so much better than it was if they had added more depth to the lead characters who were very one-dimensional. See more Maria Sep 20, 2026 Such an original and incredibly funny movie. Will Brill's comedy chops were amazing and the kids were brilliant and if course Rib Lowe was so dynamic. It's a MUST SEE!!! See more Nikki Sep 20, 2026 This movie is hilarious! Like, laugh out loud. Mikey is the GOAT. See more Don Sep 19, 2026 Fantastic Indie feature! Raw, rebellious,outrageous and hilarious dark humor! Rob Lowe amazing what you did here with this wonderful young Director Giselle Bonilla! See more Read all reviews
The Musical

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Movie Info

Synopsis Doug, a frustrated playwright and middle school theater teacher, learns his ex is dating his nemesis, the school principal. To get revenge and cost him a Blue Ribbon Award, Doug secretly stages the most inappropriate play imaginable.
Director
Giselle Bonilla
Producer
Rob Lowe, Greg Lauritano, Alexander Heller, Findlay Brown, Jordan Backhus
Screenwriter
Alexander Heller
Distributor
Blue Harbor Entertainment
Production Co
Unapologetic Film, Megamix
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 18, 2026, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA)
$136.3K
Runtime
1h 24m
Aspect Ratio
Digital 2.39:1
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