New Musical Premieres at Colony Theatre in Burbank

Rehearsals are already running at the landmark performing arts space on Magnolia Boulevard, where a new original musical is about to get its world premiere. Millennials Are Killing Musicals, written by Los Angeles-based Nico Juber, begins previews April 30 and May 1, with opening night on May 2.

The premise isn’t subtle. Anyone over 30 has heard some version of the “millennials are killing everything” argument so many times it’s become background noise. Juber takes that tired framing and builds something with actual teeth out of it. The story centers on Brenda, a single mother who’s trying to find her creative footing again while raising a daughter and managing a job. That’s already a full plate. Then her influencer sister arrives, eight months pregnant, buried under 555 followers, content calendars, and filters, and Brenda gets pulled into something bigger than she bargained for. The Filters and The Algo aren’t just thematic decoration here. They function as active forces in the story, reshaping what the characters want, post, and believe about themselves.

The score is pop rock. Fast, propulsive, built to keep things moving. Funny, too, by all accounts from people who’ve seen earlier workshop versions.

Getting to the Colony Theatre in Burbank wasn’t a straight shot. Juber developed the show through a workshop at Out of the Box Theatricals Off-Broadway and a staged reading at LA’s IAMA Theatre Company. From there he spent time talking to artistic directors around the country, looking for a theater that could serve as the launchpad for a full production pointed at New York. The Colony was the right fit.

That’s not random. Producing Artistic Director Heather Provost is a Tony Award-nominated Broadway producer, and she’s shaped the Colony’s identity around a clear programming philosophy: musicals that are engaging, accessible, and genuinely fun to sit through. She’s also pushed that idea out into the community through events like “Tunesday,” an open mic night built on a single principle she’s described as “No Judgment: Just Joy.”

The director is Kristin Hanggi, a Tony Award nominee who took Rock of Ages from Los Angeles all the way to Broadway. She knows the trajectory this production is trying to follow. She’s walked it before.

The cast signals that serious talent is attaching to this show. Emma Hunton, a Broadway actress who has played Elphaba in Wicked, is part of the company. John Krause, who appeared in Hadestown, the Tony winner for Best Musical in 2019, is also on board. Jennifer Leigh Warren, an original cast member from Little Shop of Horrors, rounds out a lineup that doesn’t look like a regional theater gamble. It looks like a show being positioned for something larger.

Nico Juber told MyBurbank that Burbank was always a serious consideration, not an afterthought. “We’re starting here because we believe the Colony and this community can help us build something that travels,” he said.

The Colony holds about 300 seats. It’s an intimate room for a show carrying big ambitions, but that’s often where new musicals find their shape before they go anywhere. The production doesn’t have a transfer deal announced, but the whole structure of how it was built, the workshop at Out of the Box Theatricals, the staged reading, the director, the cast, points toward New York as the goal.

Previews run April 30 and May 1. Opening night is May 2. Tickets and full schedule are available through the Colony Theatre’s website.