Disney’s HERCULES will transfer to the West End in 2025

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 6/24/24 at 9:10am

Exclusive: Disney’s ‘Hercules’ musical sets premiere in London’s West End" by Broadway News' Andy Lefkowitz - "“Hercules,” the latest musical fromDisney Theatrical Group, has set a summer 2025 premiere at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London’s West End. Tony winner Casey Nicholawwill repeat his work as director and co-choreographer from a recently opened Hamburg production. ... Production dates and casting, by Natalie Gallacher CDG for Pippa Ailion & Natalie Gallacher, are still to be announced for the West End staging of “Hercules.”" https://bway.ly/3wgglx

Updated On: 6/24/24 at 09:10 AM

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 6/24/24 at 11:41am

I hope this undergoes a lot of work before the West End.  The video makes it look pretty awful - the production design is just ugly and appears to lack any sense of vision, artistry, or design cohesion.  And the slowed-down tempo of Zero to Hero zaps it of all energy.  This actually seems like it would have been a good fit for Julie Taymor.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/24/24 at 11:46am

On paper, the Hamberg production seemed like a shotgun marriage of a creative team (list below), some of whom were carried over from the Paper Mill production. Nicholaw is one of those people who does his best work with close collaborators that he works with time and time again. I wonder if they will shake it up further for London?

This world-premiere production is directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (Aladdin) and co-choreographer Tanisha Scott, with set and additional video design by Dane Laffrey, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, sound design by Kai Harada, and costume design by Gregg Barnes and Sky Switser. The production team also includes video designer George Reeve, puppet designer James Oritz, hairstyles and wigs designer Mia M. Neal, makeup designer Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche, and special effects designer Jeremy Chernick. The music team is led by music supervisor and arranger Michael Kosarin, with orchestrations by Danny Troob and Joseph Joubert and dance arrangements by David Chase.

[bwaylyric]

Posted: 6/24/24 at 2:56pm

Why is Disney so high on this property?  There are other titles that are more worthy of development and production.  I'd rather see Hunchback on stage.

[singer234]

Posted: 6/24/24 at 2:59pm

bwaylyric said: "Why is Disney so high on this property? There are other titles that are more worthy of development and production. I'd rather see Hunchback on stage."

Anecdotally speaking, anyone I have ever spoken to between the ages of 20-40ish have all unequivocally said Hercules is their favorite Disney film of all time and the one they have the strongest connection to. I'm not really sure why, but that seems to be the case for a lot of millennials/gen Xers.

[pablitonizer]

Posted: 6/24/24 at 3:09pm

singer234 said: "bwaylyric said: "Why is Disney so high on this property? There are other titles that are more worthy of development and production. I'd rather see Hunchback on stage."

Anecdotally speaking, anyone I have ever spoken to between the ages of 20-40ish have all unequivocally said Hercules is their favorite Disney film of all time and the one they have the strongest connection to. I'm not really sure why, but that seems to be the case for a lot of millennials/gen Xers."

 

I agree! The movie flopped at the time (for Disney's standards), but I felt a strong connection to it, its characters and music so I have the fondest memories. I also believe Disney has been trying to make a live-adaptation for quite sometime but perhaps first they want to test if this musical is well-received or not. I choose a musical adaptation of Hercules rather than Hunchback. I hated Hunchback when I was a kid, and I still do

 

Updated On: 6/24/24 at 03:09 PM

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 10:45am

Luke Brady cast in the title role; full casting to be announced shortly

[Alexander Lamar]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 11:27am

bwaylyric said: "Why is Disney so high on this property? There are other titles that are more worthy of development and production. I'd rather see Hunchback on stage."

didn’t they already do hunchback?

 

[Chip27]

Posted: 11/16/24 at 9:45pm

I'm so nervous. I hope they fix the story Hercules. I want the Hercules musical to succeed so it can go to Broadway. I'll try not to expect to that it'll WIn a Tony Award for Best Musical or for now, an Olivier Award for Best Musical, but I hope Hercules is fixed and become a hit. P.S. Is it wrong that I want to see a Disney musical to Win the Tony Award for best musical?

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 11/16/24 at 11:38pm

singer234 said: "bwaylyric said: "Why is Disney so high on this property? There are other titles that are more worthy of development and production. I'd rather see Hunchback on stage."

Anecdotally speaking, anyone I have ever spoken to between the ages of 20-40ish have all unequivocally said Hercules is their favorite Disney film of all time and the one they have the strongest connection to. I'm not really sure why, but that seems to be the case for a lot of millennials/gen Xers."

I looked up the audience score (officially called Popcornmeter) for both movies on Rotten Tomatoes, and both are pretty middling for Disney animated musicals. 76% of the audience likes Hercules, and 71% like The Hunchback of Notre Dame. 

In comparison, Encanto has an audience score of 93%, Moana has an audience score of 89%, Tangled has an audience score of 87%, and Mulan is 85% liked.  

Based only on how much people liked the movie, neither Hercules or Hunchback is an obvious choice to turn into a stage musical. 

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 11/17/24 at 1:16am

They need to go back to the Berlin production of Hunchback. That new one ( which I do love ) needs to get away from all the narration that takes place, also remove Scott from the project as well.