After celebrating its 20th anniversary last month, it’s been revealed that a stage adaptation of Disney’s Hercules is in the works, and it all sounds pretty heroic to us.
Of course, Disney have had a string of Broadway hits over the years by adapting their iconic animated movie musicals for the stage. Whether it’s The Lion King, which opened in 1997, or the recent stage version of Aladdin, which was nominated for five Tony Awards, we’re pretty much hoping that all our fave Disney musicals get the Broadway treatment in the future (we’re looking at you Pocahontas).
That’s why we’re thrilled to learn that Hercules is the latest movie getting the stage adaptation treatment.
According to a new interview given by musical maestro Alan Menken, the songwriter behind the music in Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, he’s been hard at work thinking about a Hercules stage musical adaptation.
Speaking to The Orange County Register, Menken was quizzed about those film scores that didn’t quite reach the lofty heights of “A Whole New World,” and “Colors of the Wind,” and he had these rather interesting things to say.
“I love Quasimodo (from The Hunchback of Notre Dame). I thought it was a powerful stage show with a very complex protagonist,” he said. “I’ve loved all of our protagonists: Aladdin, Belle, and Jasmine, and Hercules.”
Continuing, he went on to say that he felt that one of his movie musicals might just surprise people.
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“I have a very strong belief like Newsies [which was critically panned but successfully brought to Broadway], Hercules is going to have a moment that will surprise people,” he added, before dropping this bomb:
“Actually, I’m working on a stage version of Hercules.”
OK, this totally fills us with joy. While it might not have been the runaway commercial success of Aladdin, Hercules will always have a soft spot in our hearts. What’s more, we can imagine that the staging for the musical would be pretty inventive, too.
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Unfortunately, we don’t know any more details about the upcoming adaptation, and given that Menken is also working on the live-action Little Mermaid remake, and the live-action Aladdin remake, we’re not sure when we’ll see Hercules on stage. However, we’re excited to see just how it all comes together!
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