Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Musical

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Musical is a stage musical, co-conceived by Jeff Kinney and directed by Mark Haley, with songs by various artists and a book by Kyle Jarrow. It is based on the successful book series of the same name and made it’s world premiere in April 2017 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Several days after the original book’s release. The Musical made it’s broadway debut at the Palace Theatre in October 2018.

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid premiered to critical acclaim. At the 73rd Tony Awards, it was nominated for six awards, including Best Musical, And winning two: Best Costume Design in a Musical and Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for Tom Turnley.

The Show Closed at Palace Theater on August 23, 2019. At the time of It’s closing, it had played 21 previews and 308 regular performances. A North American Tour opened on February 1, at Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, New York. A production at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa was Televised by Nickelodeon under the name “Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Live and Destined for Greatness.” None of the productions are associated with the musical by the Children’s Theatre Company.

Pre-Show
After an orchestral warmup, in which a medley of tracks from the first DOAWK film are played, Greg Heffley appears onstage and states that his book is a journal, and not a diary. He then explains that he came all the way to whatever city the show is being performed in from the tiny town of Plainview. He then starts bragging about how the musical depicts his greatness, but is bum rushed by Rowley, who showers the audience with packs of M&Ms. The situation escalates, and several characters from the show join the fight before a stage manager (Jeff Kinney in Vancouver) tells them to go backstage and get ready. He then apologizes for “Whatever that was”.

Act One
Greg prepares for his first day of at Westmore Middle School, while reflecting on his life leading up to that moment (“That’s My Life”). When he gets to school, he meets up with his Best Friend Rowley and meets local weirdo Fregley. Shortly afterwards comes gym (“Hellhole Of A Class”). Halfway through the song, Fregley interrupts asking everyone if they want to see his secret freckle; Greg angrily yells at him to “Go to Carson and punch Ibrahimovic in the corn nuts”.

During lunch, Rowley asks Greg why he’s becoming more of a jerk, while Greg angrily denies every accusation. When Rowley asks him what he sees in his life, Greg begins to sing the praises of himself in a Busby Berkeley-esque number (“Destined for Greatness”). After discovering the disgusting conditions of the boys’ bathrooms, he screams that middle school is even more awful in real life, and imagines what it would be like if he and other students banded together and destroyed the school (“Demolition”). After school, TBA