I just WISH someone within Disney Theatrical Productions has the balls to push Hunchback for a Broadway production without holding back.

“He could light someone’s cigarette with his wrath” that line made me laugh my arse off😂😂

My wife and I saw this while it was running and we’re also really underwhelmed. We really liked the Muses, Meg and I did laugh at Pain and Panic, and Hercules was charming and fun. The lack of imagination comment really hit the nail on the head. So many creative choices frustrated me and it kind of does feel like Disney considers the material B-tier compared to something like Frozen, Aladdin etc. which might explain the wanting to make money off licensing and letting amateur theaters be able to do it easily enough. It was an afternoon away from the kids though so that counts for something lol (jk we love the kids)

The 90-minute version Disney and the Public put on in Central Park as a precursor to this was SO GOOD. I worried what would happen when they added another hour because it seemed so unnecessary. Unfortunately those worries were founded. What was confusing to me was how it seemed like in this version, there was LESS action than in the shorter version (which did contain both the marketplace scene and Hercules' adoptive dad.) It didn't feel like they added anything at all, just made existing scenes looong (and consequently more boring.) There were also funny Broadway show nods in the Central Park version (such as when Phil drags Hercules away after meeting Meg, Herc looked back at Meg and sang "WAY-AY-AIT FOR ME!") I have enjoyed Schuler Hensley in shows so was surprised how much I hated his version of Hades. Perhaps it evolved as I saw the show in the first week of performances. His Hades was just try to the point of unfunny. I didn't get it at all. Contrast that to Roger Bart, who absolutely crushed it as Hades in Central Park. Hilarious with the humor perfectly pitched. The Muses were given better presentation in the shorter version, too. Their costuming was much fiercer and their entrances were treated like events; one of which gave Destiny's Child " Survivor" vibes. That whole production was just tighter, cooler, funnier, and more coherent. I feel like Disney thinks it simply can't make a one-act musical, even though this worked so much better as one. Hope they can get closer to that terrific version of the show. I almost bought tickets for both of the day's performances when I wentbto Paper Mill, and I'm glad I didnt; once with this version was enough.

Just by what I’ve seen of the design it looks like the physical production, scenery and costumes, might be the biggest let down here. I hope this isn’t the end of the road for Herc though. I’d love to hear the full score some day.

That definitely sounds disappointing, but when I first saw Phil was just some guy in a tracksuit, I thought that was an amazing costume choice. It shows kind of the essence of who his character is.

This is one of those Mickey-Jo reviews with classic quotes. I'm dying at the casualness of the Hydra and River Guardian just "sauntering onstage" and Phil being "some dude in a tracksuit".

It seems this show breaks the "show, don't tell" rules constantly. That's sad. Merely telling us that Meg is hurt/died, doesn't do a damn thing for an audience if they're not being shown that moment and then shown the aftermath of it, and why this is important to Herc.

I’m saying this jokingly because it does seem like an actual narrative storytelling issue in the show - but Hades ‘oh Persephone ate some pomegranate seeds so now she has to stay here for half the year’ God Of Underworld making up some random arbitrary rule on the spot is very in-character for him mythologically 😅

I don't think I realized that this already closed. That was really quick especially compared to when Hunchback was at the Papermill

This sounds like such a let down, it had so much potential to be an incredible show. I was so so excited this show existed and was hoping it would be really good. What a shame they didn’t do it justice, Herc deserved better.

You were already in New York long enough to change your prononciation of wrath? I haven't revisited the score of Hercules for a while, but David Zippel's work on Cinderella has rather put me off the idea...

Thank you for the review! I didn’t see it, but know someone who did and said, “a lot of the muse songs were different, but not in a good way” and struggled to articulate what she meant by that. The way you explained the changes in “A Star is Born” perfectly explained what she was trying articulate over a month ago.

Saw Kimberly Akimbo and Parade yesterday. Both beautiful productions!

I came down to New Jersey to see it from where I live now. I got to see my childhood town where I grew up. Mostly, I came for Hercules. You hit such great points! I also felt the same way about a lot of the show as you did. I was also disappointed by how cheap Hercules' armor looked and how they put him back in the toga after the song. I'm glad that I came to New York the day before and saw & Juliet. That was fantastic and I would love to see it again!

It sounds like it was relying a lot on people being super familiar with the film and therefore would have context so they didn't have to show and could just assume that we know what's going on (I think that was also one of Diana's many problems because of the parts that were included that were a reference to a random photo or video from 40 years ago that if someone hadn't seen that particular thing, they were so confused as to why a character said or did something). And in this, not laying out the stakes of him saving Meg or not fleshing out Meg and Hercules' relationship may have been the writers going "well everyone knows all this already so f*ck it." When obviously you HAVE to treat it as a standalone story.

This review is spot on. I saw Hercules and was also very disappointed because it could have been so much more. One point I would add was the odd choice to have no set for Mount Olympus. The stage felt weirdly empty instead of mythical or majestic!

When you said that they turned Hercules’ trainer from a satyr to just a guy in a tracksuit, I audibly yelled “Why?” From that change to the lack of Pegasus to the overall diminishing of Hades’ character (which makes me so mad since he was by the far the best part of the movie) it seems like this show just took away a lot of the loveable absurdity that made the movie so funny and memorable. Truly too bad since the songs would work great on stage and having a Black Hercules is so cool

I am so glad you made this! I have been eagerly awaiting your thoughts on this show! I live in New Jersey and was lucky enough to get tickets to see the show a couple of weeks ago, probably right before you did. Your thoughts are so spot on about the entire production. I really hope Disney takes a hard look at this show and makes the necessary edits for this production, because Hercules could be an outstanding show. But not with its current script… I will say I thought the sets were wonderful, I just wish the show matched it. I also think the puppeteer work has a lot of potential. Thank you for such an entertaining video! I hope you enjoyed your time on the East Coast! ❤

I think while watching this show I was actually really invested and excited about it but then with some reflection after I saw a lot of cracks. Happy I was able to see it and even happier I get to hear you talk about it!

Like I said on the previous video it's an incredible IP that would lead to very theatrical wonderful moments if the ideas had more time to bake. I NEED Hades to have a villains song that gets an official release so let's hope they go back to the drawing board & this eventually then gets a studio recording similar to Hunchback.

Yeah I don't know anybody who love-loved the Paper Mill production. I didn't get a chance to see it before it ended its run. It really is a shame, I think Hercules had a lot of potential to improve on the source material, the way Hunchback improved on its animated counterpart. Maybe we can hope for further revisions when the show moves to Germany?

YES! As someone who was fortunate to be able to work on the Delacorte production, I was curious to hear how the Papermill Playhouse treatment would be. Sounds like little was changed between the two. But the fact that you shouted out my friend Tiffany Mann as the stand out of the Muses (!!) made me so happy! ❤

The muses could have been setpieces. Have statues framing the stage, and when it’s time for them to sing, bring them out all made up like statues and drop black curtains in front of the static statues.

Would you ever consider reviewing the Papermill's 2015 production of Hunchback of Notre Dame? I know bootlegs might not be enough to go on, but they did record a studio album.

I got to see closing night of this at the Papermill and there were just so many strange choices. Like the preamble before we meet Hercules felt 2-3x as long as it is in the movie, which would be fine, but then our introduction to Hercules is extremely rushed. We don't get to see him ostracized by his peers. We don't get to see him struggle with his strength in his town. He just kinda has this talk with his mom, leaves, then comes back 2 minutes later followed by an angry mob. The staging for Go the Distance was really lackluster. Hercules is just walking around the mostly empty stage. There are 2 turn tables, each with 2 columns on them, so for a bit he's walking on those past the columns, but that's about it. You don't really get the sense that this is an epic journey. The lighting isn't even interesting. It felt like no effort went into that scene, which is strange considering how iconic it is. It's also strange because Phil is introduced in a bar he owns I guess? And they build a whole set for this bar that is used in exactly this one scene and is never seen again. But for Go the Distance they just threw some columns on the stage and said good enough. Phil's intro is very weird as well. This bar he owns seems to be a dump but he's still super reluctant to train Hercules, and then changes his mind for no reason. Hera had given Hercules some advice about Phil like "Remember, a person who has lost hope is looking for a gift" and I thought he was going to have to use that to convince Phil to train him, but no, it goes nowhere. The choreography for One Last Hope was also lackluster. Hercules is mostly just jogging in place for it. Occasionally he jogs around the stage. At no point does he train with any weapons or learn any skills. They start the number with Phil telling Hercules that his strength is currently his greatest weakness because he can't control it and to demonstrate this gives him a slingshot which he messes up with. I was so confused why they didn't have him train with the slingshot, especially because it comes back in a later scene and he can just use it perfectly then. I guess he learned it off-stage. The fight scene choreography was just bad. They changed Nessus, the centaur, to a cyclops (I assume because it's an easier costume to make and puppeteer), which was fine, but then their fight is not about Hercules at all. Instead, most of it is Meg singing about how she hates men and can take care of herself. And then she just goes over and is like "Boys, stop fighting. Nessus, we're on for next week, right?" And Nessus is like "yeah" and just walks off the stage. Like Hercules straight up does not defeat him. And then they use the same cyclops costume for the cyclops that Hercules fights at the end of the story, which again, fine, but Hercules doesn't defeat him here either. He's losing to him, and then Meg comes with all the villagers (who have not factored into the play at all besides the mob scene and the "we need a professional hero" scene) and the cyclops just kind of puts his head in his hand and walks off stage. Hercules just never actually beats the guy in a fight. No one does. He just leaves when his scenes are done. The only fight we see Hercules win is with the Hydra, and again, it's very lackluster. The hydra has 3 heads and Hercules never cuts any of them off so we don't get to see more heads growing. And then he just kind of runs around the stage swinging his sword at them and not hitting them and they snap at him and miss and it all just feels very one note until Phil is like "here" and hands Hercules the slingshot and then he one shot KO's the hydra and the battle is over. It just wasn't very interesting or dynamic. I understand they couldn't have had hundreds of heads like in the movie, but they could have at least had him chop off the first head, think he's won, then the next two come out and he has to find a new strategy. But no. He just swings his sword a bunch then perfectly uses the slingshot that he royally screwed up with the last time we saw him use it. No real struggle or emotional payoff. Fully agree with MickeyJo's assessment of Meg's character. They removed all of the bits where she was starting to like him despite herself which we see in the movie. Instead, she actively hates him upon their first meeting and then every interaction after that is guided solely by her interest in getting free of Hades until the date scene where she's trying to find his weakness and starts falling for him. It comes fully out of nowhere. They also do the thing I hate where a girl is yelling at the guy and she gets in his face and then she stops yelling and they almost kiss. It's stupid, it comes out of nowhere, it is not a good replacement for an actual love story. And the fact that she DIES OFF STAGE! WTF?!!! I disagree with his assessment of Hercules though. I hated what they did to his character. Instead of being sweet and naive but more clever than people realize, he's just a juvenile idiot and I found him generally unlikeable. I was honestly shocked he didn't dab. We never really see him struggle with anything or win anything and the character strangely just doesn't have much to do, so it's hard to feel invested in him. The play is not short but somehow manages to rush through most of Hercules' most important scenes or just not give them the effort they deserve. Hades was ok. I personally prefer the James Wood fast-talking sarcastic version of Hades to the much darker, more one-note character we got in the play, but I wasn't too put off by Hades' depiction here. They do still give him a good number of jokes, which I appreciated. I've just seen the deep ominous Lord of the Dead before, and I didn't think it was very interesting but I wasn't too offended by it. My sister was, though. She hated that they changed Hades character so much. Honestly, most of the play was fine. The performances were good, but the very talented cast was generally wasted on poorly written characters imho. Now that I think about it, I agree with MickeyJo's thoughts on the muses lacking personality, but I wasn't bothered by it when I saw the play. Honestly, the muses were definitely the highlight of the show, and every time they were on stage we were having fun. They also give them a lot more numbers, which I appreciated, although I do wonder if Hercules' scenes might've been better if there was more focus on him than on the muses. But considering their characterization of him in the play, I think I preferred the muses, and I think most of the audience agreed. At curtain call, the muses come out together, last except for Hercules, and the crowd went nuts. People still cheered for Hercules, but his applause was noticeably an octave lower and a few decibels quieter. The only part of the play that I straight up hated was this 5-minute long dirge that Hercules sings right before A Star Is Born where the whole play stops so he can solo about being human is better than being a god because humans can fail and gods can't (despite the fact that Hades literally just failed in his plans to take over the Underworld), and it's the worst song. Just in general. I zoned out part way through and only zoned in when my dad yawned very audibly behind me and there was still another minute or two before the song was over. It completely killed the momentum of the ending and should be cut at all costs. And finally, and this is a nitpick, I hated Hercules' costume. For most of the play he's wearing a plain white toga, but the waist is too high. It's falling at about the level of his belly button, where you would expect to find a waistline on a woman, as opposed to just on top of his pelvis, where men's waistlines typically fall these days. It was a little thing but it really bothered me. The only time it got better was when they gave him a breastplate during Zero to Hero, which came down to the top of his hips and fixed the waistline problem. I didn't care that plate armor is not historically accurate because he looked so much better with the breastplate on. But then he immediately goes back to just the toga after that song for no reason. The breastplate never comes back. RIP breastplate. You are missed.

I thought the pacing was a bit off - I feel like they should have ended Act I with Zero to Hero, which may have made the whole thing flow a bit better. I also wish they had left the Muses in white the whole time! (And that ending with the Titans was awful!)

When transferred/licensed to Hamburg, Germany in Spring 2024 I think they will rework / upsacle the Show. The Stage Entertainment Group, which brings it to Germany, never makes small / cheap productions. They also renewed the hunchback with Disney.

We saw the show at the Paper Mill. When leaving the theater, our collective opinion was "meh." As you, we didn't hate it but we didn't love it and we're just as confused about how the titans were defeated.

Saw it at the Delacorte, I love hearing your thoughts on this!

Hello MickeyJo! I hope you are enjoying your first visit to NYC. As another 'Brit', I'd love to visit the Big Apple but I'm quite put off by the high costs. As you and Aeron seem to be spending some time in the city, I wonder whether you'd be prepared to share some tips on affordable accommodation, etc? With many thanks from an ardent fan of your objective reviews.

Damn. Hercules in memoriam rn 😅😅😅

As someone who's been waiting for decades to see a hercules musical live, this does sadden me. I truly hope they get another chance to tweak it up

If I was still in the City right now I'd have to say Hello!! Even though I've had friends in Bad Cinderella AND this show, lol! I'd still literally invite you if I was in a show right now, lol! I really enjoy your takes! ✌🏾

papermill’s version of hunchback was SUPERB!!! the way there were able to translate the gargoyles to a chorus of quasi’s inner thoughts was done amazingly. it doesnt sound like they were as successful in Hercules doing something similar. after a production like that, my expectations are very high for animated movie turned musical. and by the sounds of it-im glad i skipped this one.

I live a half hour from Papermill and an hour from NYC. I’m a big Disney fan, but really didn’t have a desire to go this. Coworkers seemed to love it, but it just wasn’t for me.

I worked with Shuler way back in 1993 on a production of Oklahoma!. He's a great guy. And I could write a diatribe about how union rules have wrecked regional theater in America. People should be paid accordingly, but my specialty was let go and turned over to interns without a clue and overworked people who didn't really need to work 14 hour days for not much of a pay increase. Was a tech for 35 years. Had to retire mostly from the BS.

"He couldn't even set off the fire alarm with his wrath".........Ha ha ha ha!!! HILARIOUS!!!

I actually was in Hamburg few days ago and saw signs for the Hercules casting on one building of stage entertainment, the german production company!

Petition for Mickey Jo to move to NYC so we can get all of his amazing reviews on bway shows

Well explained! I do hope that they changed the things that you mentioned in the newest version of it, because this does not sound good.. The puns sound fun though! (The casting of Hades is fun by the way, considering the actor voiced young Hercules in the movie according to Wikipedia.) Luckily Stage Entertainment will most likely not let their actors walk off stage the way you describe, so I very much expect it to be an upgrade. And the sniplets you can see so far look great, you saw for example Meg being in the 'air' with some snakelike something around her. So they presumably have included some fighting at least!

How disappointing! You’d think they’d have more fun with the muses! Like if a huge pottery prop was rolled out with a painting of them, but as the pot turns it’s the performers in the same pose. “I won’t say I’m in love” could’ve had multiple statue pieces, but the the muses are some of the statue pieces OOORRRR the statues come to life and the muses are doing a fun tango with them as Meg is reacting going “no chance, no way!” 🤣

I was fortunate enough to go see Hercules. My opinion is a little biased though since my aunt was in the production and I generally enjoy every musical I go to haha

Hi Mickey, I’m a fairly new person to your channel. I enjoyed your review of Cinderella and Bad Cinderella and I’m gutted I didn’t get to see the Broadway version although I did like the opening night maps that were given out. I do have a spare one if you would like it of Belleville. With the Hercules one, this seem to be on the Disney cruise line so it looks like a lot of things are often done in the parks before they go onto Broadway because I remember seeing frozen at DISNEY Park level and then next thing we know it’s gone to Broadway and gone to London And from the staff at the London production, they said the London ones a lot better because it’s a bit bigger et cetera and I remember seeing Aladdin on Broadway. It was the first time I’ve been to New York and I was like I’ve got to see two shades so I’ve got to see Finding Neverland which I absolutely enjoyed so I’m gonna have to try and find your video on that one and then I saw Disney’s Aladdin and then and then someone said oh yeah it’s going to London six months later I was like typical, but in fact, the same genie I saw and Broadway came over to London now I think this was the understudy and he was really good and without him. The show is definitely not the same. I’m gonna have to look up your opinions on Ben Alton we will rock you through the ages. It would’ve been lovely to have met you at one of these shows because it would be fun. Thank you for this video. It was really interesting and I was kind of sad that one of my favourite Disney films didn’t quite make it but it sounds like they were testing it out and I didn’t quite get it right and I know Finding Neverland they actually tested it with a different actor to Matthew Morrison somewhere else, and it was a little bit longer, but it actually worked a bit better , as I’ve seen the full production of the original, via KZfaq and I’ll leave it like that

okay but "rock, papyrus, Cesar" makes no sense because cesar's a roman emperor. Greece was under roman rule by that point sorry if i'm pedantic but shit like that is a huge pet peeve of mine

You were kinder to it than I was, but not by that much. I liked this *very slightly* more than the Delacorte version, but the pacing was terrible and most of the points you hit in the video were the ones my roommate and I came out saying. I will also say, while Shuler Hensley has a fine voice, when I saw it, it looked like he'd lost a bet to end up in this production. He was phoning it in like nothing I've ever seen before. Possible he was having an off night, I suppose, but also a serious lack of adequate direction.

I just came home from seeing the German production of Hercules, and the first thing I did was rewatch this video. Honestly? I'm surprised at how many of your points line up with the show I just saw. They've certainly changed a lot of the script and managed to balance out some of the issues both the movie and the Paper Mill production (judging by this review) had, but they've also somehow managed to create new issues where there weren’t any before. I'm kinda baffled at some of the decisions they made. As for the staging and choreography, they still felt rather unimaginative to me. So did the set design as a whole. They opted to use a screen for a lot of it, which left the stage looking pretty empty, unfortunately. The costumes were great though, and I did appreciate the puppets they had, even if I'm mad at how they handled the hydra (which Hercules somehow defeated by doing the very thing you're not supposed to do when fighting a hydra... cut of its heads). But yeah, overall I gotta say I share the sentiment of feeling underwhelmed. Lots of questionable choices, even if the singing was great and the production value was on par with Disney's usual stuff.

I saw this a few weeks ago. I think your criticisms are all fair but I came away with some different highs and lows. I was probably most disappointed by Hades - he had some jokes that were well delivered but I didn't love his song or practical effects, and I really wanted a more physical (animated) performance from that character, both more menacing and more zany in his excited moments. All the fight sequences, especially the finale were very disappointing - the puppets were cool but the staging/choreography did not inspire any suspense or believability. I was actually very impressed by the sets and some of practical effects - they seemed to do a lot with a little, like the way the cloth "statues" were backlit to reveal the actors for Zeus and Hera and then went dark again. Mount Olympus looked pretty silly though. Also for maybe the first time ever in a Disney stage show I think they sold me on the love story independently of the movie. I absolutely loved the back and forth between Meg and Hercules in Forget About it where the other character appeared in slow motion during the other's verse. Meg was also more feminist in a way that didn't feel heavy handed or preachy. Lastly, I think some of the changes they made may have been an attempt to permeate more of black culture into Hercules' struggle. First by casting a black man as Hercules and rooting his human family in his adoptive mom and Auntie (also love the antithesis pun), then again with the turn at the end with "Uncle Phil" as more of a pseudo-father figure which he never was in the movie. And then with the emphasis on the power of community to fight the evil in the end. I can't say that those were good changes or an appropriate direction for this story but I think it was an attempt to further develop what was just a sprinkling of gospel culture with the music of the movie, and I certainly recognized it for what it was even if it needed more work. Overall I had a good time but I definitely wanted more from some parts of the show.

I saw Hercules back in February. It was the second show as part of a two show Sunday for me. I caught a matinee performance of Sweeney Todd at 3:00 PM on Broadway and drove to Paper Mill Playhouse for a 7:00 PM performance of Hercules. I had just sat down at my seat and the curtain went up. And I thoroughly enjoyed the show, but I am not sure if that is because I was glad, I made it to the show on time or because I have never seen the Disney animated feature. I think it may be the latter since I had nothing to compare this show to.

I saw Hercules at the Paper Mill and agree with everything you said. Very lackluster and disappointing. Where I was sitting, it was hard to hear the lyrics and the numbers generally sounded like noise. Had a bit of a coughing attack near the end of the production and didn't even bother to return to my seat. It was a wrap for me.

I used to work at Paper Mill. I wish I was still there so I could have met you. They should have pushed Hunchback to Broadway but I heard it was too expensive. I love Paper Mill. However, they usually do very safe productions to market more towards families. I know that because I've been in meetings where this is specifically the conversation. PMP has families and older people that attend hence why they try to stick a family friendly show and a show that is considered a classic. They only recently started to take more chances and try to rebrand as a tryout theater. I think Hercules could definitely be done on Broadway but they need to make it darker rather than sugar coating everything for a family audience. German musicals do that really well in making things more gothic and dramatic and I think that could do really well with Hercules. I think that is why Hunchback was doing well in comparison. It had a darker feel and they weren't afraid to go there.

completely off topic, but which hotel did you stay at? looks really nice

I was so excited to see this when it was in Central Park and ended up being pretty disappointed in it. I was hoping to hear from your review that there were rewrites and improvements made for the Paper Mill run...Oh well. I remember some of my big gripes with it were how the expanded storylines for Zeus and Hera were handled.

This was more or less my feeling when I watched my daughters school production of The Little Mermaid, that the stage show was greatly diminished from the theatrical version. A lot of the plot points felt phoned in, especially the finale. You nailed it when you commented that it was a lack of imagination, like they took the easiest path through the story rather than the most effective or interesting one, and the additions mostly made it weaker or muddled. Everyone did a great job, and it was clear how much work had gone into it-- but there's only so much they could do to counteract the unfortunate choices in the book.

I love the songs from Hercules so I had really high hopes here. 😥

Felt 100% the same way. I saw it day 1 and they didn’t even have a proper bow song at the end. I also thought some of the songs were crazy slow and was like 🧐 but it was super fun to see and glad I had the chance to go

I was so disappointed I missed this ( as I also missed it in 2018 - 2019 (?) In Central parks Delacorte Theater as part of New Yorks Summer Shakespeare series ) I really wanted to see it this time but I'm glad I didn't , sounds like it needs work .

Omg I saw it last month! I had a great time, but there are DEFINITELY a lot of things they need to fix if they really want it to go to broadway, or Germany, or anything.. I mean, wtf was that fight scene with the titans? 😭 I will say though: great bolts of thunder SLAPS

"He could light a cigarette with his wrath. That's about it." XD

The 90s Sailor Moon SuperS musical in Japan had a Pegasus character, and for its appearances they just projected an animation onto the background of a flying Pegasus from the show, and it seems like Disney could have figured out something if that's what a goony anime musical figured out how to do about 25 years ago with a shoestring budget.

I saw the show and for me it was: Pros: Megs entire character + extra song, Pain and Panic were more comedic and less annoying vs the movie, Phil's character + extra song (honestly I didn't notice he wasn't a satyr anymore lol), and the muses. The monster puppets I also enjoyed and the sets, for the most part. Cons: Hades portrayal + his song is particularly bad. The depiction of the gods was cheesy, especially in the beginning of the show. Hercules as a character had some improvements as far as character development but still had a way to go. The first third of the show felt clunky, with most of the action happening offstage and just being talked about vs shown. The book/writing was particularly awkward, especially in the first portion of the show as well. I found the climax of the show to be.. odd and unexciting. Disney has backed themselves into a corner more than once in that way, because what's animated isn't always doable on stage (Aladdin onstage is excellent, but the ending there is also rushed and anticlimactic) All in all I enjoyed the show. It had ups and downs, but I've seen worse productions by Disney on Broadway (even if this isn't what this was). For example, I saw B&tB on Broadway and the whole show felt like a high school rendition imo. Hercules had a similar vibe, but it was more fun.

I attended Hercules’ first preview performance at Paper Mill, and I have a question: in that performance, the people of Thebes defeat the Titans by grabbing rubble of destroyed columns from around the stage which were revealed to have lanterns in which shot beams of light at the titans as they are backed up into their laser prison. As this moment is described here, it appears the rocks were eventually cut from the production. This makes sense as they were neither explained, nor addressed in the dialogue in any way, but I’ve not heard any mention of their existence in any discussion of the show. Having seen them firsthand, it seems impossible that they wouldn’t be a key talking point. Otherwise, the comparison to panto is incredibly apt. The jokes dusty from vaudeville, the mugging, it felt tired and too reliant on the performers to make it interesting.

I saw it and our thoughts were SO similar! I agree that Meg and Herc needed more time to develop their relationship. I find it funny that you liked A Cool Day In Hell, bc I really didn’t like it, I’ve now started calling it A Cool Day in Neverending Hell because it just went on foreverrrr. I LOVED Izzy McCalla as Meg, I was already a fan before tho, so that prob influenced a lot. I agree I feel like it had so much potential and just was not given as much care as frozen or the lion king

This makes me so sad. I love Hercules and had such high hopes!

Have you seen Eugenius? Booked to see it next week and no idea what to expect

I worked on the pre-Broadway version of Aladdin and its actually a complete lie when they say they I working on it for regional licensing. They say that just to cover their butts. They wanted both Aladdin and Newsies to go to Broadway but were too scared to say it and its the same with this show.

Is it a browadway show?

Did they not test this on one of their cruises? They did that for Aladin.

What did you think of the song “To Be Human?”

I wonder why a trailer oder videofootage of the show can’t hardly be found online. Just some off-theaterstage clips. Not a good sign.

I just really hope the powers that do the show in Hamburg see this Video and listen to all the feedback from you and others and rework the show for Hamburg. I hope the do a mash up of this production and the one in Central Park... i want my Phil as a Satyr and Hercs Dad and the Muses to be as cool and fun as in the movie...

Disney Theatricals is all over the place. Papermill has had a messy track record when it comes to shows. They did a revival of Beauty and the Beast not too long ago (probably to test the waters for the revival) that was beyond ugly and so poorly done. Great actors, terrible direction and design. While papermill can do good work, what they did very mid-level. Not much better than a high budget community theatre. Granted most of the blame is the poor book and direction. What I miss most from Disney Theatricals (that this production lacks) is the lush sets, and detailed costumes we used to get. Frozen was the last show to really get the star treatment. Even the tours are going more and more minimal to cut costs...theatre as a whole is just looking cheaper and cheaper... Maybe it was always this bad, but as an adult theatre professional I now see just how commercial and soulless some of these projects become. Maybe one day the show will get a facelift...

In reguards to some theater productions of Disney properties, I feel like Jeff Goldblums character in Jurassic Park. They knew they *could* make a stage adaptation, but didn't stop to think if they *should.*

I would've done shadow puppets for pain and panic turning into worms I think a rocking horse would've been hilarious for pegasus and for something like Mount Olympus and the town that herk destroys I would go green screen sets and I'm sure there's some way to do Hades fire head maybe fake fire? How dare they cut Hercules dad he was a major part of the heart of act one. For the muses I would go with them surrounded by giant vases that would be amazing maybe for Hades hair like sparkling streamers or lightbulbs could work somehowc

I love the Papermill - I’ve seen so many amazing productions there. I’m actually really sad I missed this, even if it wasn’t their best.

Would love your thoughts on this version from the Disney Cruise Line back in the day. I saw it a few times when I was a kid and made me a massive fan of the movie. And Jennifer Hudson was also in this show before she went on American Idol. She’s not in this video. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eJ2JepaL1JOzgY0.html

i saw Hercules as a school trip back February

I really want to see a West End or a Broadway production of Hercules! I always thought it was THE Disney to adapted into musical! Maybe some changes are planned to the Germany transfer...

Ugh I swear that Disney hasn't made anything worth a crap in any media AT ALL since Moana

I wanted to see this so badly omg

Hades killing Meg makes no sense because it is directly and obviously breaking his deal. He assumed that Meg would never sacrifice herself and so counted on her being self servinf. Hades whole downfall was his belief that everyone is qs cruel and oetty as he is

I would definitely have missed Pegasus. BTW are you seeing Pooh in London? Ellie ❤❤❤it. And did you get a chance to see Wicked and SIX on Broadway?

I saw it at the Papermill, and I think the word I would use to describe it is underwhelming. They had great source material, a great cast, and great resources (Papermill usually goes all out on their shows; their production of Clue with the changing setpieces was awesome), but it just fell flat in so many areas. The cast all put in really solid performances, but I feel like the script/direction didn't give them much to work with. Like you said, the muses sang beautifully, but the style just wasn't really there. The younger, more naive take on Hercules worked fine early on, but I didn't feel like he really grew out of it by the end like he should have. Meg's character just didn't feel as genuine and deep as her movie counterpart, and her new feminist rhetoric felt pandering. She was already a strong female character without needing to declare herself as such. I thought that the various monster puppets looked awesome, but they were sadly underutilized. All the big fight scenes just seemed to be choreographed in the laziest way possible, and in a story about a hero fighting bad guys that's a major flaw. The absolute worst aspect to me was the ending. As you mentioned, Meg dies offstage, and there is NO emotional impact from it. That scene was so pivotal, and they cut it out entirely! That one change made the story feel soulless. I still feel like this show has potential. If they make new fight and dance choreography, tweak how some of the characters are portrayed, and rewrite the ending it could be really great.

id love to hear your thoughts on White Girl in Danger and Shucked!

I saw Hercules at PaperMill in previews maybe a few days before it opened. I so wanted to love it but it was underwhelming. 1. The ending with Meg getting the village to help Hercules defeat Hades? What the hell was that?? Worst part. I liked in the movie that Meg got hurt and the pact broke. 2. I felt Hades was very flat. I also think having an actor with a deep voice was not the best choice for that character. I actually felt the same way with Jafar when I saw Aladdin and that had the original voice actor playing him! But both villains just did not do it for me. 3. The puppets were great but Hydra is a monster where you cut off one head, two more grow on. It just looked like three hydras were coming at him. It was weird. 4. As my husband put it, Hercules was not the main character; the Muses were. I loved that they had more of a part but it really just seemed like it was more Gospel Truth reprises then we needed. 5. Hercules just seemed like a kid the entire time. It didn’t seem like he grew up. 6. The only thing I was really happy about was that they didn’t do anything crazy or different with “I won’t Say I’m in Love.” That song was just perfect. My husband said the muses were in Meg’s face a bit too much instead of being small and in the background but it is what it is.

Could you please do a Hadestown review? It’s my new favorite musical.

Aladdin is Crested by Disney true?

I feel like Disney disappoints so, so often with their stage shows. Newsies is an exception for me, but other than that, I can't think of a Disney show I was wowed by. Aladdin didn't even have haze or clouds or projections or anything smart for the flying carpet scene, ffs, it was just a platform being flown awkwardly in the air. They have more money than god, and yet they only seem to manage to come up with mediocrity. I wish that budget could be given to more people who have exciting and interesting ideas, rather than rehashing old material ad infinitum. Or that they could just actually put that budget to good use and make something stunning. Also that Hades costume just looks like utter garbage, I'm sorry

As I long suspected it sounds dreadful. Thank you for your honest and knowledgeable critique.

Your review is almost copy and paste my thoughts on this exactly. I was so excited to see this production but goodness it felt like they sucked the emotion from what made the movie so moving. The performers are trying their best, especially James, but this show needs a lot of work before it can even be licensed.

So you’re telling me that The Lightning Thief could do a fucking Satyr character but a DISNEY MUSICAL couldn’t? Damn

When you have Hadestown on Broadway, any modernization of a Greek myth for stage has to stand out as being unique and this show was poised to do that because of how long ago the film came out. It’s such a shame the production team just seemed to … not care? It sounds like the creatives behind putting the pieces together weren’t inspired. Or there was some chaos that disrupted production and caused changes in direction during development. I’m just really shocked Disney let this happen. Disney at its blandest usually relies hard on spectacle to hide the lack of substance. It sounds like they just didn’t both with the spectacle this time. Why bother staging Hercules? I’m so be-mused.

Good hair day! 😍

Lol this video just made me want to watch the movie...again....

Hi how are you doing today

What i don’t understand is that public production was so good! What happened

Wanted to love it. It was cruise ship level. So badly done. The dance where it was a 80s gym? So not good. Costumes were well funded high school level. And then his parents. They hated him UNTIL he did what they wanted. Even at the end. Kids around me “mom and dad were so mean!” Then the devils he caught were bunraku inflatable puppets that looked like pubic lice. They really did. When a man upstage drop that landed during the public crabs, we were like “here comes the RIDD comb! Really bad face makeup for some major character. What a horrible mess. I am seeing the rights go to MTI SHOWS and thousands of community theaters will inject the Disney will be performed for decades.

Germany will premiere it next year, Stage Entertainment will produce,....let's see!!! 😕

Seems like they don't know what to do with the costumes ... Some are wearing sneakers and sweatsuits, but Hades for an example is in full costume and make up. Hades next to Phil looks like two different shows. Super dissonant. They need to pick a lane. All Disney and fantastical or all contemporary and inspired by the movie, but not a literal adaptation. Needs a new vision I think

As a Hercules fan since ‘98, I feel bad for you and I did expect to hear more positive things. I’ve wanted Hercules to happen for a while. The cast even looked promising on paper. Im a SoCal native and yet I still haven’t made a trip to the metropolitan area. I’ll be cautious in case Hercules hits a regional theater in my neck of the woods before I ask my mom if we can buy tickets.