By Matthew Wexler
We’ve already had one Britney Spears-inspired musical, Broadway’s Once Upon a One More Time. While that jukebox flop failed to corral the Spears songbook into a Grimm Brothers-inspired mega hit, The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse tackles Spears and fellow mid-2000s paparazzi-hungry cohorts Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton head-on with considerably more success.
Creators Michael Breslin, Patrick Foley, and Rory Pelsue took inspiration from a 2006 New York Post photo and article titled, “3 Bimbos of the Apocalypse — No Clue, No Cares, No Underwear: Meet the Party Posse of the Year.” But what if there was a fourth?
Upon closer inspection of the photo, internet sleuth Brainworm (Milly Shapiro) discovers a wannabe photo bomber, but the only visible clue is a well-manicured hand sporting a charm bracelet that reads “Coco.” Who was she, and how’d she end up in the back seat of a car filled with Hollywood B-listers? With the help of Bookworm (Patrick Nathan Falk) and Earworm (Luke Islam), the digerati untangle a mystery that nobody knew needed unraveling.
Breslin and Foley, Pulitzer Prize finalists for their oddball dystopian play Circle Jerk, short-circuit our obsession with celebrity while revealing the isolating effects of growing up online. Packed with 20 years of pop culture references, the musical captivates in its unapologetic nicheness. Does it matter how familiar you are with Spears, Lohan, Hilton, or aughts pop culture? Not really, but it probably helps. When “YOLO” becomes the clue to cracking a cold case, it encapsulates how yesterday’s throwaway slang can become today’s cultural artifact.
Shapiro can’t quite carry the emotional weight of the musical’s central character, but she’s got plenty of support from scene-chewing Keri Reneé Fuller as Coco, Broadway vet Sarah Gettelfinger as MOTHER!, Natalie Walker as Kiki, and her wormy cohorts.
Wrapped in a fake couture fur of Y2K nostalgia, The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse transforms yesterday’s tabloid into an excavation of celebrity obsession and Gen Z social media-fueled social anxiety.
The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse, presented by The New Group, plays at The Pershing Square Signature Center through June 1.
‘The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse’ Takeaway
Where are they now, you might ask? We couldn’t help doing some internet sleuthing of our own to see what the three subjects from the original photo have been up to:
Lindsay Lohan — “Lindsay Lohan’s Upper East blowout is all we can think about,” NewBeauty
Paris Hilton — “Paris Hilton Surprises Fan with a Brand New Car After Her Old Vehicle Caught on Fire,” People
Britney Spears — “Loungefly’s First-Ever Britney Spears Collection Is Filled With Early 2000s Nostalgia,” Billboard
