Justin Bieber is going to be portrayed as a “prophetic angel-figure” in an upcoming musical, Bieber Bathos Elegy by artist Felix Bernstein at The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York on January 15. The production draws inspiration from the tribulations of Justin Bieber to tell a queer story that’s part opera, part cabaret and part tragedy. (Gasp. This sounds completely fascinating.) The performance will feature cabaret drag, the Justin Bieber character, and a gay youth chorus performing the song “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie led by Shelley Hirsch.
*Cue the Justin Bieber with angel wings gif*
On why Bernstein chose J Biebs as the icon, he tells the Huffington Post:
In his new album, he’s trying to reach his ex, Selena Gomez, but failing to. That’s typical of a pop album, but what got me was this interesting aesthetic maturity that comes when he realizes it’s not all about reaching her, or saying you are sorry, or being in pain. There is also a formal complexity, a craft, that’s for himself, not just for his fans, and not just for revenge.
I started making videos in high school and there is a lot of awkwardness about that now, as people either like me for that stuff, or dislike me for that stuff, or see me as childish, or not a serious artist, or a brat. But either way, it’s an image of myself that I can’t control, that I feel split off from, and yet I can’t cut off, like Bieber’s pressure to mature and to divorce himself from prior images, but also his addiction to the “hotness” of his self-image.
I totally get it. Justin Bieber is my muse too, so naturally if ever I wished I was in New York, this is the time!
Check out the Whitney Museum’s page for more information on the musical.