Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear Cancel London Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Concert Following Legal Action From Netflix | Playbill

Cabaret & Concert News Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear Cancel London Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Concert Following Legal Action From Netflix

The viral musical was set to perform at Royal Albert Hall September 20.

Barlow and Bear The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Barlow and Bear

Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear have cancelled the London concert of their Unofficial Bridgerton Musical, previously set for September 20 at Royal Albert Hall. The move follows Netflix's legal action seeking to stop future performances and recover profits derived from the unauthorized musical adaptation of the streaming series and books on which the series is based.

The cancelation was listed on Royal Albert Hall's website, stating, "Sadly Barlow and Bear have canceled their performance of The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical, Live in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall." Ticketholders should contact their point of purchase to confirm refunds.

The musical was originally designed as a social media stunt, ultimately earning more than 36 million likes on TikTok and spawning a 15-track album that went on to win the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album. Netflix reportedly allowed the album to move forward, filing suit only after a starry and for-profit concert presentation of the work at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center featuring Kelli O'Hara, Ephraim Sykes, Denée Benton, and more, as well as the The National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Steven Reineke. Netflix also alleges that the suit follows a rejected attempt to officially license the story and characters to Barlow and Bear.

"There is so much joy in seeing audiences fall in love with Bridgerton and watching the creative ways they express their fandom," said series Executive Producer Shonda Rhimes in an earlier statement. "What started as a fun celebration by Barlow & Bear on social media has turned into the blatant taking of intellectual property solely for Barlow & Bear’s financial benefit. This property was created by Julia Quinn and brought to life on screen through the hard work of countless individuals. Just as Barlow & Bear would not allow others to appropriate their IP for profit, Netflix cannot stand by and allow Barlow & Bear to do the same with Bridgerton."

 
Today’s Most Popular News:
 X

Blocking belongs
on the stage,
not on websites.

Our website is made possible by
displaying online advertisements to our visitors.

Please consider supporting us by
whitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.
Thank you!