What To Expect From The 'Once Upon A Time' Musical

The return of Once Upon a Time Season 6 on Mar. 5 will finally answer so many of fans' burning questions about what's happening in the Wish Realm, how Emma and Regina are going to escape from the Enchanted Forest, and who this new version of Robin Hood is, and whether or not his love of Regina can stop the Evil Queen. But as the season continues, one of the biggest moments in the remainder of OUAT Season 6 will definitely be the Once Upon a Time musical episode, which is planned for later this year. Fans have suspected that this was going to happen for a while now, but the musical episode was outright confirmed by creators Adam Horowitz and Jason Kitsis in an interview with Entertainment Tonight just a few days before the Season 6B premiere.

The musical episode is a tradition that only a few brave series have attempted, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Scrubs. But OUAT is a natural fit, considering that it's based on a bunch of Disney properties that all have beloved musical adaptions. And from what the Once producers have revealed so far, this musical episode will easily stand up to the other outstanding entries in the genre.

There Won't Be Any Classic Disney Songs

Unfortunately, the famous OUAT characters will not be belting out their signature songs from the movies, which is slightly disappointing — there will be no renditions of "Let It Go." But it makes sense, considering that the series' original characters have no iconic tunes, so there needs to be at least some original music.

The Original Songs Were Written By Alan Zachary & Michael Weiner

And when you hear that original music, I think Oncers will be very impressed. According to an announcement on Twitter, the original music will be written by songwriters and screenwriters Alan Zachary & Michael Weiner, who already have experience with Disney, having already written Twice Charmed, a Cinderella musical that's run for a decade on Disney Cruise Line. The show's usual composer, Mark Ishram, will also get some music in the episode, according to Horowitz.

Here Are The Cast Members Who Will Get A Tune

So far, the producers have confirmed to ET that out of the seven songs in the episode, Jennifer Morrison will have a solo and that Colin O'Donoghue will also be singing, which makes sense because he already sings regularly in his band, The Enemies.

And There May Be More

In a cryptic interview with Entertainment Weekly, the topic of an Emma/Hook duet was brought up — Horowitz chose to demur by saying he "can't say" whether or not the two characters will share a duet (I suppose their two songs could be kept separate). Same goes for a Belle/Rumple song... no confirmation, but also, no denial.

It Will Be A Part Of The Season's Continuity

While a lot of shows might struggle to incorporate an all-music episode, OUAT will be making sure that its musical won't be a self-contained episode. "What we've also worked really hard to do is make this musical a part of the show, so it's not just like a one-off episode or it's not just like a stand-alone," Horowitz explains to ET.

It's The Penultimate Episode Of The Season

According to Horowitz and Kitsis' ET comments, the musical episode will also hold an important position in the season: It will be the second to last episode of the year. "We want to see it part of the main story, which meant we had to really plan out this season with some great detail," Horowitz says, and Kitsis adds, "the musical actually kicks us off into the finale."

So the Once Upon a Time musical episode will be far more than just an entertaining diversion. Either through magic, a curse, perhaps another trip to the Wish Realm, the characters will be moved to sing, and once they are, it will be a very important piece of the story and actually help conclude Season 6.