'Riverdale' Announced Its Season 4 Musical Episode & Fans Have 1 Big Question
Musical episodes have become a yearly tradition for Riverdale, and fans have come to eagerly await the inevitable announcement of which Broadway show will get the Riverdale treatment with each new season. Well, the time has finally come for Season 4's big production, but the choice of Hedwig and the Angry Inch may have some fans scratching their heads. The structure of the musical is much different from Riverdale's past adaptations, and the teaser image has fans wondering if Cole Sprouse will sing in Riverdale Season 4's musical episode or not. Sprouse surprised fans with a big song in Season 3's musical episode, but it is looking less promising this time around.
If you're not familiar, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical that debuted off-Broadway in 1998, and is centered on the concerts of genderqueer rock star Hedwig Robinson. In 2014, a revival starring Neil Patrick Harris brought the musical to Broadway, where it won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical. Andrew Rannells, Michael C. Hall, Darren Criss, and Taye Diggs have all taken a turn playing Hedwig.
The choice may be strange for Riverdale fans, though, especially since nearly every song in Hedwig and the Angry Inch is sung by just one character: Hedwig. When Riverdale adapted Carrie: The Musical and Heathers: The Musical, each character was cast in a specific role, and they sang the songs attributed to the their parts. But don't worry — fans will still get to hear at least most of the cast sing. The synopsis for the upcoming episode reveals Kevin will be a central character for the musical episode, but Riverdale High will be putting on Hedwig as a variety show, in which each student gets to perform their own versions of the musical's rock songs.
Here's the synopsis:
After the previous debacles of Carrie and Heathers, Kevin Keller has decided to revive Riverdale High’s tradition of hosting a Variety Show! But when Mr. Honey forbids him from performing a number from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Kevin and our gang rallies against their principal — by each performing a number from Hedwig, turning the Variety Show into a full-fledged musical that, as always, reflects our characters’ inner lives and struggles. And amidst all the drama, one forbidden “showmance” begins to blossom…
The promo image for the upcoming episode emphasizes this point, revealing the variety show's sign-up sheet. Everyone has crossed out their original act and written in Hedwig instead.
But one important name is missing from the variety show list. As was the case in Riverdale's first musical episode, Jughead Jones appears to be missing from the action. Jughead was notably to only main character not to sing in the Carrie episode, although he did belt out a duet of "Seventeen" with Betty the following year for Heathers.
Of course, there are a few reasons why Jughead's name is understandably absent from the sing-up sheet. For one thing, he does not even go to Riverdale High anymore, having transferred to Stonewall Prep at the beginning of Season 4. Plus, fans don't even know if Jughead will live to see this musical episode. Flash-forwards throughout this season have heavily teased Jughead will die soon, which would definitely keep him off the stage.
The airdate for this musical episode has not yet been revealed, so fans will just have to stay tuned as Riverdale Season 4 continues Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
