Disney’s HERCULES - Reviews & News Thread- Page 7

[BETTY22]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 8:29am

NEW YORK TIME - Now comes a sloppily revised iteration written by Kwame Kwei-Armah, the artistic director of the Young Vic theater in London, and the composer Robert Horn at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, N.J.

- Why did they bring on new book writers? 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 8:31am

The reviews, in general, were not kind. Let it go to Germany next year and see if they can rework this mess. Then maybe have it tour come 2024-25. No way this touches Broadway anytime soon.

[BJR]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 10:00am

Jordan Catalano said: "New York Times Review

This Times review is the definition of a bad review."

Juan can be gleeful in his pans and he definitely goes there with this one.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 10:30am

Are there any photos of Hensley as Hades? It seemed like a notable omission in the production photos. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 4:41pm

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Co0kI_0gBE9/?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 4:46pm

Jordan Catalano said: "New York Times Review


This Times review is the definition of a bad review."

And everyone involved with Aladdin breathes a heavy sigh of relief. 

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 6:08pm

I’m really not a fan of any of the costumes save for the Muses. Why oh why is Hercules not in leather armor?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 6:54pm

Someone online said Hensley looks like Dwight Schrute in that costume and now it’s all I can see. 

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 6:55pm

CATSNYrevival said: "https://www.instagram.com/reel/Co0kI_0gBE9/?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY="

That costume/hair/makeup is tragic.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 7:06pm

The staircase to nowhere. Looks like a bad prom theme. 

[BroadwayBen]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 8:02pm

Robert Horn is having a year...this and Shucked...

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 8:19pm

I can’t imagine them bringing the show to Broadway in this form unless the plan is literally to run it as a limited engagement and roll out the licensing soon after. Or like Hunchback they don’t intend to bring it to Broadway at all. What is going on?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 8:39pm

I mean, I think for Disney it is not a big deal at all Aladdin is doing fine, so they don't really need to replace it. And the show was picked up for Germany. Maybe they'll retool it. Any idea if it's the same team? I mean, Hunchback ran for years in Germany and I wish we had gotten that production here. 

[mememe]

Posted: 3/5/23 at 4:26am

CATSNYrevival said: "https://www.instagram.com/reel/Co0kI_0gBE9/?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY="

And there is the reason they haven’t been using pictures in their campaign…ouch

[Skywalker3]

Posted: 3/5/23 at 6:19am

So Hades looks like the cartoon.. But Phil is just a guy in a tracksuit? 

[Dolly80]

Posted: 3/5/23 at 4:54pm

Oh wow this looks horrible. The design choices!!!

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 3/5/23 at 5:03pm

That NY Times review was very harsh. Kinda mean actually. You can say the show sucks without writing career-killing insults to almost everyone involved. Jesus Christ.

[TheatreMonkey]

Posted: 3/5/23 at 8:42pm

BroadwayBen said: "Robert Horn is having a year...this and Shucked..."

Meaning...what exactly? Yeah, "Hercules" is certainly not going to be a highpoint of his career, but I'm personally getting quite tired of this lazy "Shucked" card people keep playing. If you do the least bit of Googling, you'll see damn-near rave reviews for the most recent out-of-town tryout. And wouldn't you know -- the book is highly praised! Yes, the marketing is full of puns and pretty corny (hah!), but its plot isn't a state secret, it's got a solid creative team, and was highly lauded in its pre-Broadway tryout.

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 3/9/23 at 12:01pm

I don't think this was nearly as bad as people have said it is.  I don't know if they've made changes, but seeing it half way through the run, its not perfect but not horrible either.  My biggest issue was the lead.  I loved Hensley in this, and really like that his new song "Cold Day in Hell."  Can someone explain to me what happens to Hades at the end?  Hercules saves Meg, and then he's allowed to go to the heavens and chooses to remain human.  What happened to Hades though?  I missed it.  The fabric thing that came out of the orchestra must have distracted me.

[BigDisneyFan]

Posted: 3/12/23 at 2:03pm

Finally saw this last night... some thoughts:

1. Like the last post alluded to with Hades demise.  There wasn't a lot for his exit. I think it was just mentioned he lost and walked away.  He can't be killed in the typical Disney cliff fashion.  Lots of "telling" vs. "showing" in this show. 
2. "Go the Distance" is not earned at all.  The first act really drags, but we're not really building  Hercules as the protagnist.  There is one scene where the townspeople are angry with Hercules because he is clumsy or something. It's just not enough. I dunno how you solve this.  Telling the audience he is clumsy doesn't add up. I would guess they should lean more into him resenting/hiding his powers (ala Elsa / Marriane Williamson).  
3. The sets are pretty great.  I imagine if this were ever to go to Bway they would be plussed quite a bit.  
4. Fight Scenes -  Ugh nothing worse than Disney theatrical fight scenes, they're always corny and cringe. In this show we have a ton of fight scenes.  They are all terrible.  The puppets are cool, but the scenes are awakard and confusing.  The hydra was cool, but no heads getting sliced off?  The end fight was just strange, I guess we have to take the towns people's word for it.  They really need to pick a style here and stick with it.  I don't think having weird slow motion, some hand-to-hand combat and group scenes work together.  I don't understand the sling shot thing at all. 
5. Costumes -  These feel really inconsistent.  The base of Hercule's toga is not flattering at all.  I think the budget is probably at work here, does feel like a hodge podge. 
6. The love story in this show is clunky and confusing. Once again we have an unearned song.  Meg's song seems wedged in and unlike the movie, we have time to develop the notion they fall in love with each other.  But this is all rushed for the sake of getting the song in. 
7. Phil & Hercules relationship is under developed.  I know we get into Aladdin and Genie territory here, I dunno why they don't lean into Rocky or Mr. Miyagi more.  Phil has no edge and his backstory is just referenced.  Show us.  *EDIT - I almost forgot, I saw what they did opening the second act.  There is a whole bit letting us know Phil is unaware Hercules won't go to Mt. Olympus - this conveniently sets up the Phil song. Sorry but this is bone for Iglehart (believe me! we're wondering why he took this!)  The song is fun, but unearned.  It also does nothing because as soon as we're done it is moot. Why isn't he given some of Zero to Hero?
8. The choreography.... the first act is really confusing and just not great.  There is a work out number that is just sad.  We've seen these types of scenes amped up in Legally Blonde.  Also we don't really see Hercules transforming.  The second act picks up a bit, but this show needs way more choherent movement.  This seems like the cheapest fix for this show. I think it needs some real style and consistency.  Perhaps they should be looking at West Side Story for how to deal with combat and theme. 
9. Book and songs - Book needs work, more showing less telling.  Songs....Cool Day in Hell and Great Bolts of Thunder are really cool.  The audio mix was very strange so I can't comment too much on the music.  

The cast was pretty good.  Hensley and his henchmen are standouts. Then again, they get the most to work with.  

Updated On: 3/12/23 at 02:03 PM

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 3/16/23 at 8:08am

I saw it last night. I also saw it at the Delacorte-I will say I left the Delacorte happier than I left papermill. It’s sad because I do think there’s something really strong in there but they haven’t quite gotten to it yet. Some thoughts:

Great bolts of thunder-as at the Delacorte Grest Bolts of Thunder is the best added song. It’s so great and theatrical and shows off the muses. The go the distance reprise within it literally gave me chills. But then there’s too much after it that doesn’t feel climactic. There’s definitely another way to show Meg going to Hades rather than just hearing about and To Be Human kills any momentum.

Herc’s arc-firstly this could be helped by adjusting his costume. He basically wears the same thing the whole time-showing off his legs, pecs and arms. There’s never a moment where you think he’s a zero. Dress him in something that hides his physique in the beginning. Also I think the scene with the crowd chasing him doesn’t work as welll as a scene with him being bullied. I think that’s more relatable and earns more sympathy. More about To Be Human, I like the song enough but where it is in the show should just be a reprise not a whole song.

Phil’s song at the start of act 2 didn’t work for me. Maybe if there was a slow no confidence for him in act 1 this would be a nice arc but he doesn’t need it.

I thought this Meg (costume and acting) was stronger than in the Park even tho I really like Krysta. 

I felt this way at the Delacorte but the placement for Cool day in Hell feels wrong. At that moment I don’t think hades singing is justified. The reprise felt good to me but he didn’t seem to have a reason to sing in the first moment. 
 

Also, the Zeus and Hera statues were AMAZING

 

Updated On: 3/16/23 at 08:08 AM

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 3/16/23 at 11:55am

I'd agree that it was more charming at the Delacorte, but part of that came from having a community theater vibe.  They really tried to scale it up here to varying degrees of success.

The biggest issue by far (which I think many of the critics mentioned) is that we don't see any of the battle scenes, except with the Hydra, and that one feels lame.  They took the time to put in a dance break in Zero to Hero but I would've preferred a battle montage instead to actually demonstrate how Hercules started proving himself.  Great Bolts of Thunder is a fun song and shows a bit of the gods' battle, but we don't really watch how the titans get defeated (I think in the Delacorte it showed the villagers actually going up against the titans).  And just a small interlude of Meg going after Hades would've worked wonders (in the movie Hercules gains his powers back because Hades harmed Meg, which was against their deal.  Here, it's just because Hades was defeated?)

I agree that To Be Human stops the show a bit (and not in the good way).  It's so close to the end that we can feel it, but the downtempo ballad really just makes everyone take a pause so we can listen to what Hercules has to say about human life.  I wouldn't mind it as much if there was more progression through it, if it showed more struggle or if the music evolved more between verses, but it mostly felt like the same idea being said across all of the verses.  I didn't remember A Cool Day in Hell from the Delacorte, but I really did not care for it here (though the reprise was fun enough), and at intermission when I mentioned it, my friend said something along the lines of "I don't think anyone liked it".

The costumes, especially for the gods, straddle a line between purposely over the top and cringingly garish, and I'm still not quite sure which side of the line I fall on.  I do think Hades's costume worked better in person than in the pictures that were posted, but I kind of wish they just went with the wig Roger Bart had at the Delacorte rather than trying to make it too much like the movie.  I was a little confused about the colored costumes that the muses change into midway through the first act.  I get that it's to maybe give them some variety, but I couldn't tell if they were alluding to something or if it was just for the sake of having them in a different costume.

I think the show is a lot of fun in the big group numbers if you don't think too much about how the plot is progressing. There are a good number of laugh out loud lines in the classic Robert Horn style, but the overall arc of the show felt off-kilter (a long drawn out first act and a second act that wrapped up all the plot lines much too simply...or just dropped some).  As it stands now, it wouldn't be a bad show for community theater groups, but I'm curious to see if changes are made for Germany.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 6/20/23 at 11:05am

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/VIDEO-Casey-Nicholaw-Will-Direct-HERCULES-in-Hamburg-20230620

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/20/23 at 11:18am

This really feels like a for-hire job for Casey. The majority of the creative team remains the same from Paper Mill –– including Tanisha Scott who will now co-choreograph alongside Casey. The German production will bring in a new costume designer (Gregg Barnes) and dance arranger (David Chase), but everyone else on this design team is being carried over from Paper Mill.

Will he have carte blanche to rethink everything as long as he uses the team from Paper Mill, or does he need to stay within the design aesthetic that was already created by Lear?

[BwayLB]

Posted: 6/20/23 at 11:36am

I loved his work on Aladdin so that does make sense.