Emojiland is a pop

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

written by Keith Harrison Dworkin and Laura Schein. It premiered

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

on January 19, 2020, at

the Duke on 42nd Street The New 42nd Street is a not-for-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York City. In 1990, the New 42nd Street was formed to oversee the redevelopment of seven neglected and historic theatres on 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Aven ...

. It centers around a group of

emoji An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis; , ) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram, or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of modern emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from type ...

s living in the world of a

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

on the eve of a software update.

Background

"Emojiland is an electric ensemble piece about a diverse community of archetypes who take one another at face value: a smiling face dealing with depression; a princess who doesn’t want a prince; a skull dying for deletion; a nerd face too smart for his own good; a face with sunglasses who can’t see past his own reflection; and a police officer and construction worker who just want to work together. When a software update threatens to destroy life as they know it, Emojiland faces the most fundamental questions a society – and a heart – can face: Who are we? And who matters?"

Productions

''Emojiland'' was first performed live in concert in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. ''Emojiland'' was first presented in New York City on July 22, 2018, as part of the

New York Musical Theatre Festival The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) was an annual event held each summer from 2004 to 2019 in New York City's midtown theater district. It mounted more than 30 new musicals each year, more than half selected through an open-submission, double- ...

. It was staged at the Acorn Theater at Theater Row.

Off-Broadway

After its success as part of the ''New York Musical Theatre Festival'', the show premiered Off-Broadway on January 19, 2020, at

The Duke on 42nd Street The New 42nd Street is a not-for-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York City. In 1990, the New 42nd Street was formed to oversee the redevelopment of seven neglected and historic theatres on 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Aven ...

. It starred

Lesli Margherita Lesli Margherita is an American stage and screen actress. She is best known for originating the roles of Inez in the musical ''Zorro,'' for which she won a Laurence Olivier Award (for Best Supporting Role in a Musical), and Mrs. Wormwood in the B ...

as Princess, Josh Lamon as Prince,

George Abud George Abud (born October 30, 1990) is a Lebanese-American actor, playwright, and musician. He is known for playing Filippo Marinetti in the Broadway musical '' Lempicka'', as well as Camal in the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of ''The B ...

as Nerd Face, Laura Schein as Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes aka Smize, Lucas Steele as Skull, and

Ann Harada Ann Harada is an American actress and singer known for originating the role of Christmas Eve in '' Avenue Q''. Early life Harada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She attended the Punahou School and was active in theatre in high school. ...

as Pile of Poo. The production was directed by Thomas Caruso and choreographed by Kenny Ingram, with musical direction by Lena Gabrielle. It featured scenic design by David Goldstein, costume and make-up design by Vanessa Leuck, lighting design by Jamie Roderick, sound design by Ken Goodwin, hair and wig design by Bobbie Zlotnik, and projection design by Lisa Renkel and Possible Productions. The musical was a Critic's Pick from

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and played a total of 11 Previews and 59 Performances before the COVID-19 shutdown. In May 2022, the show announced a non-union national tour beginning in June 2022, but was subsequently cancelled after its first stop in Columbus, Ohio. Though it ended early, the tour production was captured live in Columbus with plans for it to be released, though no more news has been heard as of August 2024.

West End Concert

In October 2022 a one-off concert version of the show was held at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ...

in heart of London’s West End. It featured a star-studded British cast including Olly Dobson as Skull,

Louise Dearman Louise Dearman (born 13 March 1979) is a British actress and singer, perhaps best known for playing Glinda and Elphaba in the West End production of the musical '' Wicked.'' Notably, she is the only actress to have played both witches in any pr ...

as Princess,

Hannah Lowther Hannah Louise Lowther (born 11 September 1997) is an English actress and social media personality. She began a musical theatre career as a child, appearing in various productions including ''The Sound of Music'', ''Oliver!'' and ''Chitty Chitty ...

as Kissyface and Natalie Paris as Construction Worker.

3Below Theaters Production

In October 2024, a new condensed version of the show will run from October 17th - November 24th, 2024 at the 3Below Theater in San Jose. The condensed version cut the two ensemble roles of People Dancing, introduced one new role ("Angry Face") and doubled characters to trim the cast from fourteen to eight people.

Musical numbers

; Act 1 * "Overture" – Orchestra * "It’s Just So Great To Be Alive" – Company * "Sad On The Inside" – Smize * "Princess Is a Bitch" – Princess * "The Progress Bar" – Company * "Zeros & Ones" – Nerd Face, Smize * "Cross My Bones" - Skull, Nerd Face * "New Crown In Town" – Prince * "Work Together" – Police Officer, Construction Worker * "Stand For" – Construction Worker * "Thank Me Now" – Skull ; Act 2 * "Entr’acte" – Orchestra * "Firewall Ball" – Prince, Princess, Sunny, Company * "Pile Of Poo" – Pile of Poo * "Virus" – Company * "A Thousand More Words" – Police Officer * "Anyway" – Smize, Nerd Face * "Start Again" – Nerd Face, Skull * "It’s Just So Great To Be Alive (Reprise)" – Company

Characters and original casts

*The role was originally "Man In Business Suit Levitating," but was changed to "Person In Business Suit Levitating" in the US Tour and onward. °Person Dancing #1 and #2 both were named Woman Dancing and Man Dancing, respectively, prior to the US Tour.

Awards and honors

Original Off-Broadway production

References

{{authority control Off-Broadway musicals Emoji 2020 musicals