'Full House! The Musical' Is Questionable

If you're ready for some more Full House news, then you got it, dude. A musical parody of the popular '90s sitcom is coming to an off-Broadway stage near you. Billboard reports that the same team behind Saved By the Bell! The Musical! is now planning to release Full House! The Musical! in September. Sadly, however — per Broadway World's synopsis of the musical — it will be a major departure from the original's story lines in a seemingly questionable manner.

(Update: In response to the concerns over the subject matter of the show, Full House! The Musical! creator Tobly McSmith told Bustle in a statement:

The eating disorder episode of Full House (Season 4, Episode 8 "Shape Up") is one of our very favorites because it's one of the most f**ked up episodes of the show. Let me be clear, we are not making fun of eating disorders, we are making fun of how the show handles actual issues like eating disorders. D.J spins out of control and quickly sees the error of her ways when she faints on a stair-stepper after days of eating only ice cubes. She is cured (!) in 22 minutes (!) and everything returns to normal, never to be discussed again. For us as parody writers we like to step back and poke fun at how the shows deal with the problems, not the actual problems. [...]

The "Kind of a Slut" song is actually the 11th hour torch song of empowerment for D.J. after her struggles with acceptance from her family and the boys she dates throughout the show. It's a hard rocking song that shows D.J. for the totally badass that she is. We know that "slut" is a hot button word now but we give the character ownership of what the show portrayed her as (she had many boyfriends through the 8 seasons) and let's her live in that truth.

Additionally, McSmith added that the show is "sensitive" to Candace Cameron-Bure's real life struggle with an eating disorder.)

The synopsis sounds fine and rather humorous to start with: "Follow Danny's wacky and hilarious descent into madness as he slowly turns from wholesome Danny Tanner to foul-mouthed and dark Bob Saget. Will he get his Dad Speech power back in time to save his family? Probably not!"

Then, unfortunately, it devolves quick when you get a look at the rest of it:

Full House! The Musical! will answer all your burning questions:

Will D.J Tanner develop an eating disorder?!Can Uncle Joey get on Star Search even though he's not funny at all?!Who will have mercy on Uncle Jessie?!Will Kimmy Gibbler be murdered?How many catchphrases can one family have?!What the hell is a Mary-Kate and Ashley?!

And then, it only gets worse when you see that one of the featured songs is "I'm Kind of a Slut (But Just Enough for Network TV)" set to be performed by D.J. Tanner. While the show hasn't premiered yet — so we have no idea of knowing what the song will include — the fact that the song title seems to be calling D.J. a "slut" is concerning for multiple reasons: namely, because calling anyone a "slut" is wrong, and also because D.J. was really a child during the run of the original show.

Now, I'm all for poking fun at the occasional after-school special-esque plots of Full House (they're a huge part of why the show's so endearing), other aspects of the Full House! The Musical! parody seem questionable as well. For example, promising to answer a question like "Can Uncle Joey get on Star Search even though he's not funny at all?!" as the show does in its synopsis is funny, but then to jump to something like "Will D.J Tanner develop an eating disorder?!" sounds wrong, because this show is meant to be a parody. Again, as the show has yet to debut, this is just based off the synopsis — but it's still a bit worrisome. I can think of a million and one things to make fun of about D.J., from her severely spritzed bangs to her aerobic-chic attire, but if the show is going to eating disorders, that would be triggering and offensive. When Full House broached the topic of eating disorders, they did it seriously, which is how the subject should be approached — it's not a subject to be made fun of, ever.

At first glance, Full House! The Musical! sounds like a ton of fun, but if the show plans to make fun of sensitive topics as the synopsis seems to suggest, it seems like it may be a far cry from the show that fans originally came to love so dearly.

Image: Warner Bros. Television