Disney Musicals

[Deleted]

I have no idea where to put this. I have been wondering what the average British Person thinks of Disney theatre? Also wonder what shows should they do and with what director?

[BurlyBeaR]

New thread created and moved to Musicals

[indis]

i am not british but i love the most Disney musicals: Tarzan is the best ever, Beauty and the beast is amaaazing, Aladdin is awesome and i like Mary Poppins as well. Not the biggest fan of Lion King and i did not like the Hunchback as much as i thought. Would love to see Rapunzel and Mulan made into a musical

[steve10086]

I never think of Mary Poppins as a “Disney Musical”. I know they co-produced, but it feels like just a Cameron Mackintosh show to me. And I think it turned out much the better for it.

[anthony40]

Oh man. Where to start?

Ok, well I am biased because even at the age of 48 (yes, really) I still love Disney.

Alas, I never saw Marry Poppins in stage.

I woud love to have seen Tarzan, but alas I don't speak German and, yes, okay I know the songs and words (I have the cast recording) and would probably appreciate the visuals, you want the whole package don't you.

The Little Mermaid never made it across the pond (Part of Your World and Kiss The Girl (Ah))- but I also have the cast recording.

I've yet to see Aladdin- don't judge me, money's tight.

I saw The Lion King in both L.A. and Sydney and still think that in terms of visuals, it's one of the best things I've ever seen.

I saw Beauty and The Beast here in London in previews and remember that I enjoyed that too.

Without knowing anything about it at the time I took a gamble and also saw AIDA in New York with the original cast and my mate and I thought it was one of the best shows that we saw.

I saw Newsies at the cinema and enjoyed it vey much.

I found Pinocchio at The National (somewhat) disappointing.

I too would love to see an adaptation of Tangled and Mulan. I also this that with more fleshing out The Aristocatts could be adapted for stage.

Bring on Frozen- he rubs his hand with glee.

[Deleted]

I have some very fond memories of Disney musicals, and some very average memories of Disney musicals also.

Poppins is far and away my favourite. The best music from Mary Poppns will last forever. Chim Chim Cheree has been in my marrow from a young age - I find it about the most melancholy song there is, but beautiful, and delicate. Feed the Birds is perfect. Kids will always be raised on A Spoon Full of Sugar. The story is touching, the staging was great. The proscenium arch walk in Step in Time was just wonderful. (Really glad there's a good film of this) It's held up well on the Canadiaum and UK tours I've seen, and I would gladly welcome it back to London.

Plus, she sings "someone's up your Chimney, and it isn't Santa Claus', which is just filthy and always makes me giggle.

Lion King is all downhill after the spectacle of the opening, and have seen it ruined on tour by poor casting.

I was initially cynical about Aladdin, but I ended up having fun inspite of myself. Not in any great hurry to rush back.

Would love to see Newsies. Enjoyed the broadcast and home release. The World Will Know is a fantastic song.

[Deleted]

On the subject of Disney - Hal Wilner's 'Stay Awake' album of is well worth a listen. There was a very enjoyable, if occasionally loose, performance of these adult-contemporary interprations at Meltdown a few years back with a great cast (Grace Jones, Nick Cave, Fenella Fielding, Shane MacGowan...).

"If that was the night's first golden moment, Grace Jones produced the second. Wearing a disc of purple organza on her head she swept into the auditorium and mounted a podium to deafening applause. Her Trust In Me, as sung by Kaa the snake in The Jungle Book, was equal parts Shirley Bassey and Ron Moody doing Fagin in Oliver!"

[Deleted]

Now I think about it, I took pictures. Not a conventional woman.

[ptwest]

I can only comment on the ones I’ve seen:

Beauty And The Beast - very nicely done, found a good amount of common ground between putting the film on stage and creating a piece of theatre.

The Lion King - love how it looks, love how it sounds when Lebo M’s music is playing. Badly let down by bland Elton John Songs (although I usually like his music) and an appallingly banal script. Style over substance.

Which leads me to Aladdin - a whole evening of style over substance. Looks fantastic but wasn’t engaged enough in the story or performances (genie aside) to warrant a second visit. Enjoyed the 1/2 hour version at the California Adventure a lot more.

Pinocchio - dull, dull, dull. Such potential here but was left marvelling at some of the stagecraft but not caring a bit about any of the characters.

Mary Poppins - for me the best of all - loved this show although I can’t stand the film. Thankfully not sticking slavishly to the film script but putting in enough iconic moments, this stands head and shoulders above the rest. I suppose it helps that there were many stories by PL Travers to call on rather than just one film, but thought this was outstanding.

To be honest, there are no other films I would like them to do. I would love to see them pour the same resources into new, original works rather than film copies that seem to be coming increasingly theme park like. But then, that wouldn’t sell so well I suppose.

[Jon]

Newsies proved Disney can do musicals on a slightly smaller scale, if wasn’t flashy and I’d never seen the film but it was a fun show with s great songs and great dancing

I’d like to see Disney revisit King David which was a musical they did to reopen the New Amsterdam

[alece10]

Well I've only ever seen one Disney musical which was Mary Poppins and loved it. But then it's not really a true Disney musical in my opinion as songs have been added and I think of it as Cam Mac musical.
Wish I had seen Beauty and the Beast when it was in the west end but I've never had the desire to see Lion King or Aladdin.
The one I'd love to see though would be Newsies.

[Deleted]

I absolutely agree with everything said about Mary Poppins. It is by far one of the best stage adaptations of anything, and the production was lavish and everything family theatre should be, on the same level as Matilda (although I wish they didn't take out "Temper Temper" and as much as everyone likes the touring house set, I can't help but admire and be nostalgic when I see pictures of the full London/Broadway set).

I've only seen Poppins and The Lion King, which I only thought was just good once I got over the puppetry and costumes. It felt very much the film on stage (which I know it is difficult to be anything else as there is no other source text). And weirdly the songs I liked the most were the ones not in the film.

I haven't seen it, but I was really rooting for the NT's Pinocchio to be the same sort of level as Poppins or even Matilda, but the word of mouth is mixed. I won't get chance to see it now, but if I did, it would be more out of curiousity than excitement (which is how I felt before the reviews came out). I hope they can rework it and add new songs.

However, I am so glad to hear Bedknobs and Broomsticks is confirmed for Chicago as that is one of my favourites. I admit, I would've liked to see it be developed over here as it is a British story like Poppins, but hopefully it will still be wonderful.

[Dave25]

I think the Classic Disney films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin and the Lion King are some of the best films out there and true works of art.

To me, the power of these films is the sheer beauty and fluidity of the animation, the pre-recorded tracks that create a better than life feel and are sometimes even used as a voice-over (sung thoughts) where you don't even see the mouth of the character singing (Something There in BATB for example).

These films are a triumph of the fantasy and the filmic magic creates a better than life feel and emotion.

To me, these stage adaptations fall flat. They use the same story and music, but the orchestrations are always cheap-ish and toned down, it sounds dry, everything becomes too literal, and in many scenes the actors in their costumes look like a sack of potatoes on a stage. The little mermaid on Broadway was just embarrassing. But so are scenes in BATB, Aladdin and The Lion King.

Also the fact that many of these films have talking animals and fantasy figures doesn't help. Theatre might be too literal for that, which makes it feel silly or forced at times. Then there's the added street dance breaks for hyena's or an 8 minute version of Arabian nights with dance breaks and constant count- and tempo changes feels forced and tiresome to me. It does not make it more magical or anything. 

[Deleted]

Mary Poppins is a standalone really, and is exquisite in production values thanks to Cameron Mackintosh. Beauty and the Beast was nice but uninspiring, and The Lion King fizzles out after the impressive opening. I’ve not bothered with the others... they seem to be churned out now as family money-spinners, and as Dave25 says, the animated films are such works of art that they can’t be improved upon.

Some of the best Disney ‘shows’ can be seen in the Disney parks: I saw The Lion King (I think it was in Animal Kingdom, Florida although it could have been in Disneyland, Paris) which was far superior to the one Julie Taymor directed. It was about twenty minutes long and directed by Craig Revel Horwood. The Little Mermaid animated show in Florida was in a small theatre where water was spinkled on us as we went Under The Sea! Fantasmic at the Hollywood Studios in Disney World featuring Mickey (Mouse not Ball) and a host of Disney characters is just breath-taking...

[ptwest]

To add to the above post the Finding Nemo show at the Animal Kingdon is terrific too. I think because they have high production values but are under 30 mins long so aren’t stretched to breaking point.

Mind you, the Beauty and the Beast snow at the Hollywood Studios Park is hilariously abridged!

[Deleted]

Mar 25, 2018 14:17:19 GMT ptwest said:

To add to the above post the Finding Nemo show at the Animal Kingdon is terrific too. I think because they have high production values but are under 30 mins long so aren’t stretched to breaking point.

Mind you, the Beauty and the Beast snow at the Hollywood Studios Park is hilariously abridged!

Never a truer word spoken. When we watched the Hollywood Studios version the whole show came to a close as the villagers chased after the Beast singing they were going to kill him. Clearly a one-off but still... Grim.

[ptwest]

I particularly liked the sequence where Belle was in the village singing that she wanted adventure then after a quick voiceover she’s in the castle being serenaded with “be my guest!”

[Deleted]

I've only seen three Disney musicals live and I haven't fallen in love with any of them particularly. The Lion King I found vastly overrated and a let down compared to the word of mouth. Aladdin was, well boring in the scenes that didn't involve the Genie or a special effect. And if you count the current production of Pinocchio, it is my favourite of the three but it wasn't incredible or anything.

That said, I'd be willing to give them a second chance because of how much they are loved.

[Being Alive]

Disney really do have some hits when you think about it!

Lion King was spectacular in the 90s, but it’s incredibly dated now. It needs a revamp - you could do so many more incredible things with it now than you could before.
I wish I’d seen Little Mermaid, the bootleg I saw was pretty awesome, and it’s something I think would do very well over here if Lion King were to ever close.
I hated Aladdin - the genie was good but apart from that it was Panto and not a musical, which isn’t what’s advertised.
Aida is a favourite of mine, and I want someone to bring over the La Jolia Hunchback, as it’s one of my favourite cast recordings.

But for me, their shining glory is Mary Poppins. My first musical I ever saw, and I thought it was unbelievable. It’s the perfect nod to the film mixed with a great new set of stuff. I just loved it!

(And I also hated Pinocchio at the National, but it just used the songs, it’s not a Disney show so I don’t really count it)

[Someone in a tree]

From what I’ve seen they are all over produced.

Also the films are short and are often excellent but then padded out to include an interval and some dull songs when staged.

I would love to see a imagativly staged small scale production of of Beauty, Hunchback and Mermaid

[musicalmarge]

AIDA... damn - my guilty pleasure. I ADORED it on Broadway and saw it twice.

[Deleted]

Mar 24, 2018 9:45:55 GMT @matildawormwood said:

I have no idea where to put this. I have been wondering what the average British Person thinks of Disney theatre? Also wonder what shows should they do and with what director?

LOL:-) I had really no idea where to put it

[Deleted]

Disney is big deal for me, the films, the songs, the theme parks. Unfortunately I found the Lion King musical somewhat lacking. On the flip side of that, I love what they did with Aladdin and Mary Poppins, and Pinocchio has the bones of a great show, too. Unfortunately Tarzan never happened despite my efforts, due to the sprinkler fault when I was in Oberhausen.

Disney shows don’t appear to get revivals from the graveyard very often, which I find disappointing as I’d love to see Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. As for films I’d like to see adapted, I think Mulan & Moana would be my first picks.

[Mark]

I think it's hard to put them all into the same basket as they are all vastly different shows. My favourite of them is Mary Poppins which I have seen twice, the music and all the colours are just fantastic. I saw Aladdin again for the third time this week and found it very enjoyable with a much saronger cast than last time. Beauty and the beast I have seen twice on UK tour and enjoyed, again the music is so strong. Heck I even enjoyed High School Musical when it toured.

Little Mermaid on Broadway I remember not being so good, but still enjoyable for the music. Newsies I found extremely lacking when I saw it about a year into its run, but the music has really grown on me. Lion King I really didn't like when I saw it, but I was 17 and sat in the back of the upper circle. My plan is to see it again to give it another go seeing as that was 10 years ago.

I'll see Frozen hopefully on my June New York trip. Tarzan I didn't see and don't really have much interest to. I'd love to see Hunchback done over here, maybe one of the regional theatres will pick it up. Same with Aida. I've heard that Freaky Friday is meant to be good too, add to that a new Bedknobs and Broomsticks musical premiering in Chicago next year.

Of those that haven't yet been adapted, Hercules I think has great potential, as does Tangled and Moana. I did wonder whether Lin Manuel might be tempted by expanding Moana for the stage so as not to have his next work "compared" to Hamilton quite so drastically.

All in all, I think the star of the Disney shows are the composers they manage to attract and thus you are always going to have a sort of quality to them.

[Deleted]

Oh now we're talking, Newsies was fabulous! I loved the cinema version, and if that one wants to come over feel free.