The Musical

Doug Leibowitz is pushing forty, still hoping to make it as a playwright in New York, and stuck directing the school musical every year. At the start of a new term he finds out that Abigail, the art teacher he's been seeing, has dumped him for the school's principal, Brady, a smarmy type who's desperate to win an award for academic excellence.

This year's show is supposed to be 'West Side Story', but Doug has other ideas. With the help of his students, who'll do just about anything to get on stage, he secretly rehearses something very different, designed to sink his rival on opening night. "Everybody talks about the power of love," he tells one of them, "but nobody talks about the power of spite."

'The Musical' is the first feature from Giselle Bonilla, who expanded it from a short she made at the AFI Conservatory, with a script by Alexander Heller. Tony winner Will Brill ('Stereophonic') plays Doug, Gillian Jacobs is Abigail and Rob Lowe, who also produced, is the principal, with newcomer Melanie Herrera as Lata, the student who's set on playing Maria. More than one critic has compared it to Alexander Payne's 'Election'.

It premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at Sundance on 25 January 2026 and Blue Harbor Entertainment opened it in US cinemas on 18 September. Critics are split, and its average across the 10 outlets collected on Movienco is 6.1 out of 10.

• Comedy