TikTok is great for so many things: makeup tutorials, ASMR videos, giant mashups using the duet feature. But one of TikTok’s true secret weapons is its musicals. Over the last few years, TikTok’s graced us with several musicals featuring very talented people just bursting with creativity. Ratatouille the Musical and Avatar: The Last Airbender Musical remain favorites. But now yet another TikTok musical will soon emerge, tacking a very important moment in recent cultural history. Mexican Pizza: The Musical will follow the triumphant journey to bring the iconic Taco Bell snack back. And this Taco Bell musical will star Dolly Parton. The recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee teased the upcoming musical on Instagram.
This may all sound like a wild and elaborate internet prank but it is real. And it is perfect.
In late 2020, Taco Bell discontinued Mexican Pizza. Doja Cat, who worked with Taco Bell for their 2022 Super Bowl commercial, is a massive fan of the late snack. In March, she dropped a chaotic song about Mexican Pizza on TikTok. This, in turn, inspired TikTokker Victor Kunda’s own viral video imagining what a rehearsal for Doja’s Mexican Pizza musical would look like. Obviously, the rapper couldn’t get enough of this perfect reimagining of her song.
Cut to two months later not only is Mexican Pizza heading back to menus—on May 19—but the musical is happening for real. According to Broadway World, Dolly Parton, Doja Cat, and Victor Kunda are among just three of the participants in the upcoming Taco Bell musical. Hannah Friedman wrote the book, with Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, who recently won a Grammy for their Unofficial Bridgerton Musical album, are behind the music. Produced by Live Más Productions, the musical debuts on TikTok on May 26 at 8pm ET. In the coming weeks, Taco Bell fans on TikTok can participate in fun challenges with the Mexican Pizza: The Musical stars. As far as marketing campaigns go, this is certainly one of the more creative.
I, for one, cannot think of anything better than watching Mexican Pizza: The Musical on TikTok while digging into the tasty snack.