Point your toes, and correct that sickle foot because Dance Moms parody musical The Pyramid has officially set a world premiere concert performance for February 28 at NYC cabaret venue The Green Room 42. The concert will also stream live.
In development since 2023, the musical went viral on TikTok after releasing studio demos of several tracks, with even the real-life dance moms themselves taking notice.
The work features music and lyrics by James Stryska and Isabel Grace and a book by Erica Molfetto and Molly Russo. Based on the iconic reality show, The Pyramid follows a group of talented young dancers, their passionate but headstrong mothers, and their self-absorbed and slightly Machiavellian dance teacher. The original reality show regularly made headlines, not only for its on-screen fireworks, but off-screen drama as well. Dance teacher Abby Lee Miller was convicted of bankruptcy and customs fraud in 2016, served an almost year-long prison sentence, and, shortly thereafter, was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, and has been confined to a power wheelchair ever since.
In the years since the show has left the airwaves (the final season wrapped up in 2019, though a re-boot with a completely new cast streamed in 2024), discourse around the series has turned to the often problematic ways it depicts women, which is primarily screaming at each other and jockeying for power. Miller, often the center of criticism for her sharp tongue and harsh standards, was forced to publicly apologize in 2020 after a former cast member publicly detailed racist behavior during the series' filming, on and off the screen.
But co-songwriter Grace told Playbill in 2023 that their musical version will address the series' more problematic aspects head on. "Because we're doing a parody musical, we have lots of free range," Grace told Playbill. "We are referencing these characters, but we also get to have commentary on top of that. [Addressing questions like] how was what happened not okay, and how can we use comedy and our voice to highlight that?"
Stream songs from The Pyramid here. In-person tickets for the February 28 concert are here, with streaming tickets also available.
