Luxurious_Lumiere
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2017
As we all surely know by now, WDW will be debuting a new theater off of Main Street to house live entertainment, similar to the Hyperion Theater at Disneyland. Being a theatre nerd, and working in the industry here in NYC, I find myself unable to stop speculating as to what show Disney will put in this new space.
I've listed what I think are the top contenders and why below. I know many have speculated that they will just move a copy of the Hyperion's Frozen show over to Magic Kingdom, but I doubt it. Frozen will be opening on Broadway this season, and Disney might not want two Frozen stage shows on the same coast. If you can see it on stage with the price of admission to a Disney park, then why would you pay premium prices to see it on Broadway during a trip to New York? I could be wrong, and I'm sure Disney has marketing experts analyzing that data to determine if its a smart move or not. But the following options seem more likely.
What do you think?
Hercules
So, maybe it's not the newest movie, but fans have clamored for a stage adaptation of Hercules for quite some time. Recently, Alan Menken let it slip that he was working on a stage adaptation of the musical which would excite fans. Officially, the stage version is only for licensing purposes, but we've heard that story before. (Disney frequently launches stage shows as limited runs "that are for licensing purposes only, and have no aims for Broadway." Its a smart move b/c if the show doesn't do well, like Hunchback, it isn't perceived as a failure b/c it didn't have any Broadway or theme park plans. If its a success, like Newsies, then they say "well we only thought we would license it to regional theaters, but it was SO popular we just HAD to move it Bway!"). A large custom house would also provide opportunities to depict the larger than life creatures Hercules battles, which would be difficult to stage in a standard theater.
Moana
Speaking of things that are difficult to stage in a regular theater: how bout a story that takes place mostly on the ocean? Moana is an incredible musical and still riding a wave of popularity, but the technical and space requirements creators would need to tell the story would require a huge house, likely with custom built hydraulics. Disney Theatricals is already footing the bill to completely overhaul the St. James Theatre in NYC for Frozen's Broadway outing, and I dont think they have the funds to do that to a second theatre. So Moana may never make it to Bway, a Disney park is probably our only hope. I'd love to see what a creative director like Alex Timbers or Rachel Chavkin could do to tell this story, given the proper budget, technology, and scope.
Tangled
Tangled was hugely popular, and definitely deserves an increased presence in WDW instead of only being represented with toilets. The songs are still popular, its told in a classic Disney fairytale mode, and besides Rapunzel's hair it would be relatively easy to stage. It's actually surprising this one hasn't received a stage show in the parks yet. This is an easy crowd-pleaser that would appeal to a wide audience.
Mary Poppins
There will definitely be new interest an attention on Mary Poppins when Mary Poppins Returns hits theaters next year. And the turn of the century feel of Main Street is a perfect fit for the character (you used to be able to meet her there). So why not bring one of the greatest Disney musicals of all time to Main Street? The Broadway show is long gone, and the non-union tour concluding in several months, so there will be no risk of stealing money other productions. And with a stellar production already made, it wont be hard to fit it into the new theater.
OTHERS
There are plenty of other options that Disney has previously staged and could especially be in consideration as cost saving methods (if construction runs over budget, throwing up a show they've tackled before could save some money). Newsies would mostly fit aesthetically in Main Street, but it requires a huge cast, and the dancing is so taxing that they would probably need multiple casts to perform the several show times a day. The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast have both been done before, and their time in Hollywood Studios is rumored to come to an end soon. Putting either on Main Street would bring attention to the recent and upcoming live action film adaptations. I personally love Hunchback of Notre Dame, but the massive chorus they used in the recent stage version would need to be drastically cut back to be cost effective. And the issue of balancing the story's darker elements may prove challenging for a theme park.
I've listed what I think are the top contenders and why below. I know many have speculated that they will just move a copy of the Hyperion's Frozen show over to Magic Kingdom, but I doubt it. Frozen will be opening on Broadway this season, and Disney might not want two Frozen stage shows on the same coast. If you can see it on stage with the price of admission to a Disney park, then why would you pay premium prices to see it on Broadway during a trip to New York? I could be wrong, and I'm sure Disney has marketing experts analyzing that data to determine if its a smart move or not. But the following options seem more likely.
What do you think?
Hercules
So, maybe it's not the newest movie, but fans have clamored for a stage adaptation of Hercules for quite some time. Recently, Alan Menken let it slip that he was working on a stage adaptation of the musical which would excite fans. Officially, the stage version is only for licensing purposes, but we've heard that story before. (Disney frequently launches stage shows as limited runs "that are for licensing purposes only, and have no aims for Broadway." Its a smart move b/c if the show doesn't do well, like Hunchback, it isn't perceived as a failure b/c it didn't have any Broadway or theme park plans. If its a success, like Newsies, then they say "well we only thought we would license it to regional theaters, but it was SO popular we just HAD to move it Bway!"). A large custom house would also provide opportunities to depict the larger than life creatures Hercules battles, which would be difficult to stage in a standard theater.
Moana
Speaking of things that are difficult to stage in a regular theater: how bout a story that takes place mostly on the ocean? Moana is an incredible musical and still riding a wave of popularity, but the technical and space requirements creators would need to tell the story would require a huge house, likely with custom built hydraulics. Disney Theatricals is already footing the bill to completely overhaul the St. James Theatre in NYC for Frozen's Broadway outing, and I dont think they have the funds to do that to a second theatre. So Moana may never make it to Bway, a Disney park is probably our only hope. I'd love to see what a creative director like Alex Timbers or Rachel Chavkin could do to tell this story, given the proper budget, technology, and scope.
Tangled
Tangled was hugely popular, and definitely deserves an increased presence in WDW instead of only being represented with toilets. The songs are still popular, its told in a classic Disney fairytale mode, and besides Rapunzel's hair it would be relatively easy to stage. It's actually surprising this one hasn't received a stage show in the parks yet. This is an easy crowd-pleaser that would appeal to a wide audience.
Mary Poppins
There will definitely be new interest an attention on Mary Poppins when Mary Poppins Returns hits theaters next year. And the turn of the century feel of Main Street is a perfect fit for the character (you used to be able to meet her there). So why not bring one of the greatest Disney musicals of all time to Main Street? The Broadway show is long gone, and the non-union tour concluding in several months, so there will be no risk of stealing money other productions. And with a stellar production already made, it wont be hard to fit it into the new theater.
OTHERS
There are plenty of other options that Disney has previously staged and could especially be in consideration as cost saving methods (if construction runs over budget, throwing up a show they've tackled before could save some money). Newsies would mostly fit aesthetically in Main Street, but it requires a huge cast, and the dancing is so taxing that they would probably need multiple casts to perform the several show times a day. The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast have both been done before, and their time in Hollywood Studios is rumored to come to an end soon. Putting either on Main Street would bring attention to the recent and upcoming live action film adaptations. I personally love Hunchback of Notre Dame, but the massive chorus they used in the recent stage version would need to be drastically cut back to be cost effective. And the issue of balancing the story's darker elements may prove challenging for a theme park.
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