HERCULES to Play the Public Theatre this summer!!- Page 3

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 2/7/19 at 11:04am

These productions have about 200 performers in them.  No way is it moving to the Public or "uptown" in this version.

 

[ellbellthomps]

Posted: 2/7/19 at 11:26am

I really, really, really, hope this transfers.

Alan Menken was gonna adapt it, I thought. 

[Kad]

Posted: 2/7/19 at 11:30am

Nobody should be pinning hopes of a transfer on this particular incarnation. That is not what these productions are about. 

And Menken is adapting it. It's there in the press release: there will be new music from him and David Zippel and Pulitzer Prize nominee Kristoffer Diaz is writing the book. 

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 2/7/19 at 11:58am

Hercules will draw attention to PublicWorks (a very special program that gives stage opportunities to people who may not have even seen theatre before), and that is a good thing. But it's a waste of time to speculate over the post-Public future of it!!! I have to imagine that even Disney is uncertain of Hercules' future until they assess the Public production.

The real head-scratcher is why they're doing MUCH ADO in the park again. I like Kenny Leon's work, but they literally just did it in 2014, in a lovely production directed by Jack O'Brien with Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklater, Brian Stokes Mitchell, John Glover, and Pedro Pascal, with music by David Yazbek.

[Alex M]

Posted: 2/7/19 at 3:13pm

Very excited! Its right in time for my sisters birthday (Hercules is her favorite film) so hopefully I can snag a ticket. Question for anyone who may have any idea, does this production mean that we won't be seeing Hercules on broadway for awhile...if ever? I just feel like since Disney doesn't have complete control and the fact the cast will be so enormous of this theres no chance of moving it.

[Kad]

Posted: 2/7/19 at 3:28pm

Think about this production like this:

Disney grants the rights to do Beauty and the Beast or Newsies or The Little Mermaid to hundreds of theaters each year, and they are free to design and stage them however they please. Disney is not involved with those productions, and those productions have no future beyond their runs at those theaters. 

This is essentially the same idea here. Only this happens to be a new show. 

Updated On: 2/7/19 at 03:28 PM

[LuPita2]

Posted: 2/7/19 at 5:15pm

I saw the The Tempest in 2013, and it was such a joy to see people to know that Public Works had partnered up with so many wonderful organizations to make that extraordinary event happen.  I think this will be amazing. 

I don't understand the transferring talk, it's like people here don't know what "Shakespeare in the Park" is, which is surprising.   

[Emmaloucbway]

Posted: 2/7/19 at 5:19pm

LuPita2 said: "I saw the The Tempest in 2013, and it was such a joy to see people to know that Public Works had partnered up with so many wonderful organizations to make that extraordinary event happen. I think this will be amazing.

I don't understand the transferring talk, it's like people here don't know what "Shakespeare in the Park" is, which is surprising. "

Didn’t the 2009 Broadway Hair revival start out as a Shakespeare in the Park production? 

And Merchant of Venice a few years later as well, started out at the Delacorte and then moved to the Broadhurst that fall (IIRC)

 

[LuPita2]

Posted: 2/7/19 at 5:33pm

Sorry, when paired with Public Works.  

[Robbie2]

Posted: 2/7/19 at 10:20pm

Emmaloucbway said: "LuPita2 said: "I saw the The Tempest in 2013, and it was such a joy to see people to know that Public Works had partnered up with so many wonderful organizations to make that extraordinary event happen. I think this will be amazing.

I don't understand the transferring talk, it's like people here don't know what "Shakespeare in the Park" is, which is surprising. "

Didn’t the 2009 BroadwayHair revival start out as a Shakespeare in the Park production?

And Merchant of Venice a few years later as well, started out at the Delacorte and then moved to the Broadhurst that fall (IIRC)

"

yes it did and it was a lot of fun...I guess the line for free tickets will be crazy long like the last musical HAIR...we arrived at 5am I recall for free tickets and the wait seemed like an eternity during that terribly hot sunny day.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 2/8/19 at 3:08am

KJisgroovy said: "While I'm happy to see a Hercules musical... partnering with Disney seems like a complete betrayal of everything The Public stands for. I mean. Not to be hyperbolic. But. It seems real lame."

Exactly my thought. And Oskar Eustis is not just an enormous influence on me personally, but in my experience an artist of unquestionable integrity.

Isn't The Public awash in HAMILTON money? Do they really need the money they'll make off a stage adaptation of a mediocre Disney musical?

*****

ETA Thanks, Kad. I wasn't aware of the Public Works program, but I think I understand now.

Updated On: 2/8/19 at 03:08 AM

[DrewJoseph]

Posted: 2/8/19 at 3:35am

So this is not Disneys new Broadway musical, but I’m dying for a full broadway score and songs from Menken for Hercules. It could go the way Aladdin went and eventually come to Broadway right?

Are these kind of shows usually filmed or do people make bootlegs of them? I wish I could hear the Pinocchio National Theatre songs for example, but unfortunately never found a recording of it.

[sorano916]

Posted: 2/8/19 at 10:12am

DrewJoseph said: "So this is not Disneys new Broadway musical, but I’m dying for a full broadway score and songs from Menken for Hercules. It could go the way Aladdin went and eventually come to Broadway right?

Are these kind of shows usually filmed or do people make bootlegs of them? I wish I could hear the Pinocchio National Theatre songs for example, but unfortunately never found a recording of it."

I don't understand where the disconnect is coming from in terms of this not being connected with Disney and Alan Menken not writing new songs for it...

Here's the official website: https://publictheater.org/Tickets/Calendar/PlayDetailsCollection/18-19-Season/Public-Works-Hercules/

Which says this: this summer’s production, based on the Disney animated film, will feature the film’s beloved score, plus additional original songs by the film’s composer Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel... 

As well as: HERCULES is presented by special arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions, under the direction of Thomas Schumacher. 

As Kad so lovingly put it previously, Disney gives rights to theatrical entities to do their own production of a Disney piece. Most of the time that's something that has lived on the Broadway stage previously (Beauty and the Beast, Newsies, etc.) However, for Hercules, they just went with giving the Public a new show. Also, for those thinking that Disney is hands-off, it's probably way more internal than what's we're going to see on stage.

Also, as it's been already stated, Public Works is for the community to take part. They usually have like 200 community members in the cast with only a handful of professional actors. This transferring is very unlikely. 

And no, there won't be bootlegs. You're outside. People will notice someone taking out a camera, moreso than in a dark theater.

[Kad]

Posted: 2/8/19 at 10:21am

Eh, there will probably be bootlegs. There were bootlegs of Into the Woods, as well as other shows in the park. Park productions typically escape bootlegger's notice since they're less in-demand among the fan set and harder to get into. 

For Disney, this production basically will be a trial balloon to see if the show works and to gauge interest, at little cost to them and with virtually no risk (see also National Theatre's Pinocchio, or Mary Zimmerman's Jungle Book). They get to work with what is arguably the country's premiere theatre and it also happens to be a lovely, successful community engagement program. There's essentially no downside for them. 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 2/9/19 at 8:56pm

GavestonPS said: Isn't The Public awash in HAMILTON money? Do they really need the money they'll make off a stage adaptation of a mediocre Disney musical?
 

Putting aside my personal opinion of the excellence of the Zippel/Menken collaboration, I don't see why this would be any more artistically bankrupt than the version of the Odyssey they did recently. Hercules did okay, but it wasn't a top earner of the Disney Renaissance. This doesn't feel like a cash grab as much as another way to jump into Greek mythology with a good score as a solid starting point. Sure, it's not accurate to the original myth but the original myth was fiction anyway.

[natashalost]

Posted: 2/12/19 at 10:15pm

Just heard from a friend involved with the production that Ashley Park is in talks to play Meg, as of right now. Not sure if contracts have been signed yet.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 2/12/19 at 10:37pm

^That would make perfect sense because she announced her departure from Mean Girls today

[LuPita2]

Posted: 2/12/19 at 10:40pm

I immediately though of her for this.  If true, incredible casting.  

[theaterlyfe19]

Posted: 2/13/19 at 5:35am

KJisgroovy said: "While I'm happy to see a Hercules musical... partnering with Disney seems like a complete betrayal of everything The Public stands for. I mean. Not to be hyperbolic. But. It seems real lame."

I have to agree. The Public is known for their innovative and different shows, not something cookie cutter and mainstream like Disney. Oh well....I guess we’ll see how this goes! 

[Andres_Zayas]

Posted: 6/17/19 at 8:41am

First hint of casting? Hailey Kilgore posted this on her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/ByztF8Lgu2n/?igshid=112zer6ycuci2

[cdf1983]

Posted: 6/17/19 at 4:50pm

Hercules is my favorite Disney movie and I'm glad it's getting some form of a stage adaption! As much as I'd love for it to transfer, that's pretty unlikely (as it's been said multiple times). Though I could easily imagine this production as a way of seeing interest and how well the material is received, possibly seeing what would have to be revised or redone. I see at as a large scale workshop, if you will. 

[OffOnBwayHi]

Posted: 6/17/19 at 5:25pm

According to this episode of Stagecraft, Disney is treating this just as they would a Broadway show:

http://stagecraft.libsyn.com/how-disney-taught-a-generation-to-love-musicals

Yeah, it’s in the park, but I would think of this as a try-out that could truly transfer.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 6/17/19 at 9:06pm

I doubt it will go to Broadway (especially with Hadestown running), but it will likely become available for regional/educational/community theater, like Hunchback, Freaky Friday, etc.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 6/17/19 at 9:50pm

The Distinctive Baritone said: "I doubt it will go to Broadway (especially with Hadestown running), but it will likely become available for regional/educational/community theater, like Hunchback, Freaky Friday, etc."

 

You may very well be right about the licensing route, but I doubt their reasons would have to do with Hadestown. I can't imagine Disney being the least bit worried about losing sales to Hadestown just because they are both based on Greek myths (that is what you were implying, right?). The prospective audiences would have very little overlap, and artistically the two properties are very different from each other. The biggest thing they have in common is that Hades is the villain in both, but their depictions of the character couldn't be more different (unless they radically re-imagine the character in the stage show). 

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 6/17/19 at 10:05pm

YES!!! I can definitely imagine this taking Circle in the Square right after Oklahoma if they want to make this authentic for a Greek show. 

The Distinctive Baritone said: "I doubt it will go to Broadway (especially with Hadestown running), but it will likely become available for regional/educational/community theater, like Hunchback, Freaky Friday, etc."

But, will Hadestown last long though? Plus, Hercules has the advantages of the Disney company and the fact  that people will recognize it right away by the title alone.