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KPop Demon Hunters writer gives update on "emotional" new project and why book fans will be obsessed
The Baby-Sitters Club musical?!
- Olivia Garrett
Published: Wednesday, 12 August 2026 at 12:40 pm
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While some artists seem to thrive in their niche, songwriter Mark Sonnenblick lives for variety – instead of carving out a space for himself, he simply cuts into each project to see what story and heart lies inside.
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The composer shot to mainstream success last year as one-half of the duo behind KPop Demon Hunters' smash hit single Golden. Written by Sonnenblick and South Korean singer EJAE, the track went beyond viral, with 1.88 billion streams on Spotify, scooping up the Oscar for Best Original Song and the first-ever Grammy for a KPop song.
His recent work also includes collaborating on Elton John's The Devil Wears Prada musical soundtrack, London's newest cabaret musical Midnight at the Never Get, and next, a new musical based on the beloved American book series The Baby-Sitters Club – so as I say, variety.
In the midst of Midnight at the Never Get's five-star run with Dear Evan Hansen star Ben Platt, I find Sonnenblick already buzzing about his next project, and promising an "emotional" return Ann M Martin's book series.
Ejae and Mark Sonnenblick. Unique Nicole/Getty Images for Netflix
"There's a reason The Baby-Sitters Club still speaks to people," he said, in an exclusive chat with Radio Times, "Kids really connect with them because the characters are so relatable and they speak to very complicated things in childhood."
This musical adaptation was announced in September last year, with a theatrical release penned in for 2027. The show will take on an original story, following the club's founding members – Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey – as they return to their Connecticut hometown as 25-year-olds to honour a reunion pact.
"What I'm excited about for the show is we get to see a slightly older baby-sitters club at a time when they've all lost touch; they've drifted and they're coming back together in ways that are complicated. They're in their mid 20s, so a time in their lives when they're feeling a bit lost and things haven't worked out exactly the way they thought, and I think we've all felt that way, and so you get to see just what the group looks like in that context." said Sonnenblick.
He continued: "For any fan, what we love about the books is watching this club get formed, watching them go on adventures and solving problems together, and I think like there's going to be something very emotional about seeing that here."
As for the music, he added: "I was thinking about what the music sounds like, and this idea of being able to live in '90s like Sheryl Crow land and Indigo Girls, it's a kind of raw acoustic style and a kind of acoustic raw.
"It's very different to anything I've been able to write before, I'm just immersing myself in the challenge of what that can sound like with kind of these four girls at the centre, but it's been really fun to build."
Ben Platt in Midnight at the Never Get. Johan Persson
When songwriting, Sonnenblick is always turning against "what's expected or what people are looking for," and his process reflects that: "It's always different, what I love about musical theatre is every one you can come to going 'what is the sonic world that this wants to have, and the language it wants to have?' Sometimes you write the score from the ground up, other times, it's a movie like Demon Hunters where they already have an amazing music team and a vision."
For Midnight at the Never Get, the show was built in the very kind of New York cabaret club its story is based in. The musical follows singer Trevor Copeland as he puts on the cabaret act he and songwriter Arthur Brightman performed hundreds of times throughout their professional and personal relationship.
Talking through the story of their – at the time, illegal – love, he uncovers the tensions, politics and differences that drove them apart with music inspired by Cole Porter and the Great American Songbook.
Sonnenblick and collaborator Sam Bolen began playing around with the concept in 2016 at a piano bar called Don't Tell Mama.
Mark Sonnenblick and Actor Sam Bolen attend "Midnight At The Never Get" Photocall at Don't Tell Mama on July 19, 2016 in New York City. Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images
"I loved the idea that there's this forgotten performer who's like, 'Let me tell you the real stories behind these songs', and that it would be about their their romance.
"At the start it wasn't caught up in the gay liberation movement at all, but we both loved golden age musicals and I jumped at the chance to kind of queer the canon.
"But also we had this idea that when you sing a song, or when a song becomes a part of who you are, you start to see the world in a way through that song, and so we had the theme nostalgia and looking back through a specific lens which just ties into this genre of music so well."
While the show was New York based, however, it was thought of as a London production from the start. "Broadway theatres are not not intimate, and the investment would have been so much higher," said Sonnenblick. "And the idea of making a club like this, it just wouldn't be possible. So we talked about London as the spaces have more flexibility but also the theatre community here is so strong, and so it felt like here's a chance to do a show in a place that would really appreciate it."
He continued: "We knew London would be a place that would embrace the story, and embrace the idea that things aren't always clear, people are complicated and layered and different things can sneak up on you."
Midnight at the Never Get is running until 12 September 2026 at the Menier Chocolate Factory.
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For more recommendations check out the Going Out section or listen to our new podcast In the Interval. Plus, our Jesus Christ Superstar review and Beetlejuice review. We also have events like the best kids theatre shows and best West End shows.
Authors
Olivia Garrett
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