HERCULES to Play the Public Theatre this summer!!- Page 15

[darquegk]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 1:09pm

We know how this one is likely to play out because it's not the first time Disney has taken a long developmental process on a show.

ALADDIN: early workshopping as an expanded theme park production, additional material tested as part of "Aladdin Jr.," multiple regional variants (remember John Tartaglia's "sassy gay friend" Genie who drove a golf cart?), before finally making its final form in an out of town production that transferred to Broadway.

HUNCHBACK: German megamusical production, revised into the now-licensed "story theatre version," tested at La Jolla and several other regionals, never played Broadway, straight to licensing.

NEWSIES: similar to Hunchback, but response to out-of-town tryouts so strong that it transferred to Broadway by popular demand.

JUNGLE BOOK: out-of-town tryout was divisive; back to the drawing board.

Now, for comparison, HERCULES: tested as expanded theme park show "The Muse-Ical," additional material created for Public Works-specific production, will next roll out in a regional out-of-town premiere as two-act show. From there, who knows? It could pull a Newsies, have the right energy behind it, and transfer after all; it could be a Hunchback and prove it has an appeal to the regional market; or it could be a Jungle Book/earlier versions of Aladdin, and just not be ready for the mass market yet.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 1:18pm

Seems like they’ve expanded the show and are working with some regional theaters across the country to work with this new version which will then be licensed out.

[ggersten]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 2:38pm

There was also Freaky Friday which went from LaJolla to a cast recording, a film adaptation for the Disney Channel and licensing. 

[copskid949]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 7:30pm

darquegk said: "We know how this one is likely to play out because it's not the first time Disney has taken a long developmental process on a show.

ALADDIN: early workshopping as an expanded theme park production, additional material tested as part of "Aladdin Jr.," multiple regional variants (remember John Tartaglia's "sassy gay friend" Genie who drove a golf cart?), before finally making its final form in an out of town production that transferred to Broadway.

HUNCHBACK: German megamusical production, revised into the now-licensed "story theatre version," tested at La Jolla and several other regionals, never played Broadway, straight to licensing.

NEWSIES: similar to Hunchback, but response to out-of-town tryouts so strong that it transferred to Broadway by popular demand.

JUNGLE BOOK: out-of-town tryout was divisive; back to the drawing board.

Now, for comparison, HERCULES: tested as expanded theme park show "The Muse-Ical," additional material created for Public Works-specific production, will next roll out in a regional out-of-town premiere as two-act show. From there, who knows? It could pull a Newsies, have the right energy behind it, and transfer after all; it could be a Hunchback and prove it has an appeal to the regional market; or it could be a Jungle Book/earlier versions of Aladdin, and just not be ready for the mass market yet."

Don’t forget Finding Nemo, which still plays the Animal Kingdom and is finally going to be licensed as a Junior show in 2021, almost exactly 14 years after it premiered. (Although I would pay big money to see a revised version of that show go to Broadway. It’s definitely toned down for the theme park audiences but they can go FAR with the material they already have.)

Also Moana! The Junior version that just got released was initially going to be a one-act, full-scale production at Walt Disney World. They only cancelled it because the plans to build a theater for it fell through somehow.