TikTok Broadway: Musical theater fandom in the digital age By TrevorBoffone, New York: Oxford University Press. 2024. pp. 232. $34.95 (hbk)

In TikTok Broadway: Musical Theater Fandom in the Digital Age, Trevor Boffone explores how TikTok has revolutionized musical theater fandom by allowing users to participate actively in the promotion, marketing, and even creation of musicals. Through a series of case studies and fan-driven phenomena, the book aims to demonstrate how the platform empowers fans with an unprecedented role in shaping the future of musical theater. The book is organized into four key chapters, with interludes that dive into related subtopics. In the introduction, “The Great Digital Way,” Boffone sets the scene by showing how TikTok became essential for musical theater during the COVID-19 pandemic. With live theater on pause, fans and performers turned to TikTok, creating viral choreography like A Chorus Line's “I Hope I Get It,” which became a shared online experience. This section argues that TikTok has enabled new forms of theater, connecting artists and audiences in ways previously unimagined. Chapter 1, “Marketing Musicals the TikTok Way: The Unexpected Case of Beetlejuice,” examines the surprising resurgence of Beetlejuice on Broadway, primarily driven by fan engagement on TikTok. Boffone explains that after Beetlejuice initially faced lukewarm reviews and struggled commercially, TikTok users began creating viral videos using the show's songs and characters, which led to a newfound popularity. The chapter details how TikTok transformed Beetlejuice from a potential failure into a hit, largely because of the platform's ability to amplify fan-generated content. This case study demonstrates how TikTok has fundamentally changed how musicals are marketed, giving fans unprecedented influence over a show's success. In the first interlude, “All the Way from TikTok?! Damn! Amber Ardolino's Digital Stage Door,” Boffone shifts the focus from shows to performers. He uses Broadway actress Amber Ardolino as an example of how performers engaged directly with fans on TikTok, creating a digital “stage door” experience. This interaction, which was traditionally limited to physical encounters, humanized performers, and allowed for closer relationships with audiences. Chapter 2, “Stealth Musicals: The TikTok Broadway Archive from Heathers to Six,” takes a closer look at how specific shows became viral hits on TikTok, often detached from their original narrative contexts. Boffone introduces the concept of “stealth musicals,” where songs from Heathers and Six gained popularity through viral TikTok challenges, even though the content was often separated from the shows' original dramaturgy. For example, the “Martha Dumptruck in the Flesh” challenge from Heathers became a viral meme on TikTok, propelling the musical into a new realm of fame. Through this analysis, Boffone effectively shows how TikTok has created a digital archive of musical content, curated and repurposed by fans in ways that extend beyond traditional theatrical performance. The second interlude, “TikTok Self-Tapes: The Muny Legally Blonde Dance Call,” highlights how TikTok has influenced the audition process for musical theater. In this section, Boffone describes how fans participated in a viral audition for Legally Blonde, not just to secure a role, but to engage with the process in a playful and performative way. This interlude demonstrates how TikTok provides fans with access to behind-the-scenes aspects of theater. Chapter 3, “DIY Diva Drag: Wicked's Elphaba on the TikTok Stage,” explores how TikTok has fostered a vibrant drag culture around iconic musical theater characters, particularly Elphaba from Wicked. Boffone delves into how queer men on TikTok recreate Wicked's famous “Defying Gravity” scene using makeshift props and everyday household items. This form of “DIY Drag,” as Boffone terms it, showcases TikTok's ability to democratize performance by allowing users to put their own spin on beloved musical moments. The chapter highlights how TikTok has become a platform for creative expression that blends theater, drag, and queer culture, enabling performers to reinterpret traditional roles in new and innovative ways. The third interlude, “Mamma Mia! Here We Cosplay Again,” shifts the focus to the fan practice of cosplay. Here, Boffone explores how Mamma Mia! fans use TikTok for cosplay, comparing it to traditional cosplay conventions like Comic-Con. This section highlights TikTok's ability to blur the line between fan and performer, giving users the tools to engage more deeply with their favorite musicals. Chapter 4, “Anyone Can Cook, Anyone Can Create: Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical,” presents one of the most compelling examples of TikTok's creative potential. Boffone recounts how TikTok users collectively created Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical, a crowdsourced production that culminated in a professional benefit concert. This chapter details how fans on TikTok wrote, composed, and performed various parts of the musical, demonstrating the platform's ability to upend traditional modes of production. Through this case study, Boffone argues that TikTok has allowed fans to become co-creators, further democratizing musical theater by giving them a direct role in the creative process. The final interlude, “We Don't Talk About TikTok: The Cultural Power of Encanto,” focuses on how TikTok amplified Encanto's “We Don't Talk About Bruno,” showing the platform's power to elevate musicals and songs beyond their original contexts. This interlude reflects the book's themes of virality and fan influence in shaping a musical's success. The book presents an engaging and timely analysis of TikTok's impact on the world of musical theater, offering a well-researched and thoughtful exploration of how fans have increasingly taken control of its narratives, marketing, and even production. Boffone not only highlights the positive aspects of this transformation but also raises critical questions about the sustainability of fan-driven content creation. For scholars of popular culture, digital media, and theater studies, the book serves as a valuable resource for understanding how social media is reshaping our engagement with live performance. While a more critical perspective in some areas might have been beneficial, Boffone's work remains essential for those interested in the future of musical theater in the digital age. Lin Wu is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Science and Technology Beijing, China. Her research focuses on literature and cross-culture studies, contemporary Indian English novels.