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The source material might not be quite as rich as the life of Alexander Hamilton, but Gwyneth Paltrow's fateful ski trip to Park City, Utah that led to a collision and then a lawsuit is apparently also worthy of getting its own musical.
The Pleasance Theatre in London announced that a satiric musical entitled Gwyneth Goes Skiing will run from December 13 to December 23, inspired by the actress/lifestyle influencer's 2016 collision on the ski slopes with a retired optometrist and their ensuing 2023 courtroom drama, with the jury eventually ruling in Paltrow's favor.
The official show description on the theater's website makes it sound pretty wonderful: “She’s the Goop-founding, Door-Sliding, Shakespeare-In-Loving, consciously-uncoupling Hollywood superstar. He’s a retired Optometrist from Utah. In 2016, they went skiing. On the slopes of Deer Valley, their worlds collided, and so did they – literally. Ouch. Seven years later in 2023, they went to court. Double ouch. This is their story. Kind of. Not really. But also, it’s at Christmas.”
The musical seems to promise some sort of interactive element as well, with the audience getting to help rule in the case against Paltrow: “A story of love, betrayal, skiing, and (somehow) Christmas – where you are the jury!”
Awkward Productions is behind the show. Their previous works were Diana: The Untold & Untrue Story and How to Live a Jellicle Life. The role of Gwyneth Paltrow is being played by Linus Karp, while Joseph Martin plays optometrist plaintiff Terry Sanderson. The play's original music is composed by Leland (who also did the music for RuPaul’s Drag Race, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Cher’s Christmas, and Troye Sivan’s Something To Give Each Other).
Tickets for the show start at just $19, and audiences are warned, “Prepare to be gooped. BYOJE (bring your own jade eggs).”
The Gwyneth Paltrow/Terry Sanderson case was one of the more ridiculous celebrity court cases of 2023. Sanderson accused Paltrow of slamming into him while skiing on a beginner's slope at the Deer Valley Resort in Utah, causing significant injuries, and then quickly fleeing the scene with her ski instructor. The jury ruled Paltrow to be “100 percent” not at fault in the crash, and posited that Sanderson was actually the one at fault. He then owed Paltrow the amount she requested in her countersuit — $1.
All in all, if you're in the London area around Christmas, Gwyneth Goes Skiing sounds like a feel-good musical for the holiday season. Assuming you're on Team Paltrow.
