Dylan MarcAurele’s POP OFF, MICHELANGELO! Will Have a Limited Run at Underbelly Boulevard Soho

Dylan MarcAurele’s Pop Off, Michelangelo! has announced its transfer to Underbelly Boulevard Soho for a limited 5 week run, following its successful season at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 and concert performances at The Other Palace. 

Returning to London in a revitalised production, Dylan MarcAurele’s Pop Off, Michelangelo!, directed by Joe McNeice, opens on 23 May, with previews from 17 May, and runs until 22 June. Full cast and creative team to be announced shortly.

A smash hit at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe where it received a Popcorn Award Special Mention, MarcAurele and McNeice reunite to take you on a wild ride through Renaissance Italy. Pop off, Michelangelo! is a high-camp musical comedy telling the (somewhat edited) history of two of Italy’s greatest artists, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, as they both race to create the most legendary religious masterpieces.

Dylan MarcAurele said, “I am so excited to be bringing Pop Off, Michelangelo! to London audiences, especially in such a vibrant and dynamic venue that is Underbelly Boulevard Soho. 

With the vision of director Joe McNeice and the brilliant Blair Russell at the helm, this camp artistic rivalry promises over-the-top drama and uplifting singable anthems. It’s a love letter to artistic ambition, queer identity, and a wildly inaccurate version of history. Expect electropop bangers, and a whole lot of divine intervention (or lack thereof). It’s ridiculous and heartfelt, and most importantly, a whole lot of fun.”

Director Joe McNeice said, “I’m delighted to be directing Dylan MarcAurele’s fabulous and hilarious Pop Off, Michelangelo! and to bring this absolute celebration of a show to the heart of Soho, right where it belongs!"

POP OFF, MICHELANGELO! tells the story of best-pals-turned-bitter-rivals Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. A bloodthirsty friar is on the hunt for homosexuals in Renaissance Italy at the exact moment when childhood friends Mike and Leo realise they both like boys. Terrified, they devise a foolproof plan to gain God's forgiveness: they simply need to become the greatest religious artists of all time. Can Michelangelo gaslight, gatekeep, and girlboss his way to the Vatican? Will Leonardo ever shut up about his helicopter? Featuring an original electropop score as infectious as the bubonic plague, POP OFF, MICHELANGELO! is an unhinged adventure that you won't want to miss.

Dylan MarcAurele is a New York-based writer and recent winner of the Jonathan Larson Grant and the Richard Rodgers Award. His other credits for Book, Music, and Lyrics include MEG4N (2024 US Tour starring Rosé of RuPaul’s Drag Race), and The Real Housewives of NYC: The Musical (featured on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live). As a composer, his work includes Lewis Loves Clark (2024 NAMT Festival; 2020-21 Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship), Tea with G (reading directed by Scott Schwartz), and The Land of Forgotten Toys (Broadway Licensing). In playwriting, his piece God Gives Ryan a Very Important Job premiered at the 2023 Samuel French OOB Festival. MarcAurele has also written music and lyrics for Miley Chase: The Science Ace (Broadway Licensing) and the song “Say Bravo!” (sung by Andy Cohen with the cast of Vanderpump Rules at the Paris Theater, Las Vegas). 

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