Sutton Foster’s “Gilmore Girls” role brings Broadway to Stars Hollow

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life has reunited so many people. From Lauren Graham and her Parenthood costars, Hep Alien, and now creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and her Bunheads star, Sutton Foster.

You know the drill, spoilers ahead.

Now, it wouldn’t be Stars Hollow without some drama, real and fictional. It seems that, as alluded to in the “Spring” episode, our favorite small town in Connecticut is suffering from a tourism decline. Luckily, Taylor Doose knows the best way to attract visitors: create a musical about Stars Hollow.

Thus, Stars Hollow: The Musical, book and lyrics by Taylor Doose, was born.

Musicals come with musical talent, which means real-life Broadway icons Sutton Foster and Christian Borle bring their voices to Stars Hollow! Foster plays chain-smoking lead, Violet, who clashes with Lorelai over creative directions within the show. Borle plays Carl, the male lead, and together the duo recreate Stars Hollow’s history. And BOY is it a trip.

In typical Stars Hollow fashion, the announcement comes via a town hall meeting and an advisory committee is formed to oversee the musical (aka praise Taylor for his masterpiece).

The musical opens with a bizarre domestic abuse situation before our two leads, Violet and Carl, are thrust back into the pilgrim beginnings of Stars Hollow and move through time. We journey through song and time and learn a little too much about the mind of one Taylor Doose. His colonial Stars Hollow star-crossed lovers are actually siblings but as they sing, it’s not a crime – not yet. Then, Taylor’s Industrial Revolution couple are interrupted by one of their factory workers in a VERY Hamilton inspired number.

Please watch so you can hear Taylor Doose say “Busta Rhymes.”

The musical ends in the present day but is interrupted by an ABBA dance break, because who doesn’t love an ABBA dance break? Obviously, the advisory committee is LOVING this, except for Lorelai, who seems to be the only person who is actually hearing any of the words being sung.

After sharing her concerns with the committee and being shot down, along with her ongoing issue with her mother, her fight with Rory, and continuing to mourn her father, Lorelai is not in a good place.

Gilmore Girls never had a musical episode, unlike many other TV shows on during its era, so this part of the episode feels like ASP’s ode to mid-2000s TV musical episodes.

It was amazing seeing a Stars Hollow musical with the perfect Stars Hollow crowd. The Foster and Borle appearances will definitely go down as a revival highlight!