News Rogers the Musical coming to the Hyperion Theater

[TP2000]

I finally sat down to watch a recording of the show. Frankly, I don't get it. Not for me, I suppose.

It seems very theme park-y, if that makes sense.

This can't be permanent. If it's replacement hasn't been announced by Christmas, we need to start worrying.

 

[SuddenStorm]

It seems very theme park-y, if that makes sense.

This can't be permanent. If it's replacement hasn't been announced by Christmas, we need to start worrying.

I saw one person online, I'm forgetting where, say this would be excellent if it was on a Disney Cruise ship.

But in the Hyperion at DCA? Which housed Aladdin and Frozen? Disney can, and should be doing better.

 

[SplashJacket]

I saw one person online, I'm forgetting where, say this would be excellent if it was on a Disney Cruise ship.

But in the Hyperion at DCA? Which housed Aladdin and Frozen? Disney can, and should be doing better.

I don't understand the slander DCL's shows are getting. Some are wretched (Golden Mickeys, Villain's Tonight (retired), Wishes (retired)), while others are mediocre (Believe, Tangled, Dreams), others are great (newly updated Aladdin, Once Upon a Song (simple but great), Twice Charmed), some are amazing (Frozen), and some are utterly incredible like Beauty and the Beast on the dream.

If Beauty and the Beast on the Dream received a full theatrical production, it would probably be one of my favorite shows in general. It's absolutely fantastic and hands down anything I've ever seen in a theme park, whether it's in the Hyperion or Big Bang Beat in DisneySea. I really hope they don't bring Rogers to one of the new ships as it doesn't seem to meet the Disney Cruise Line theatrical caliber I've come to expect.

Truly though, BatB on the Dream is a gem and I prefer many segments of the DCL show to the broadway iteration (which I also love).

 

[waltography]

I don't understand the slander DCL's shows are getting.

At least for me, I don't think it's DCL slander so much as a comment on size and scope. Between the cast size and the scope/size of the set pieces, this show would really benefit from a theater small than the Hyperion to fill out the obvious empty space. I think a third of the runtime between "I Want You," the plane crash, the Avengers introduction, and "End of the Line" is played on a nearly empty stage, and from the mezzanine and balcony it's noticeable.

 

[TP2000]

They Hyperion Theater seats 2,000 people. There are some mid sized cities in the USA that don't have a theater that big.

The Hyperion's proscenium is huge, and its stage tech capabilities and audio/visual effects are top notch. It wasn't built to handle the same type of shows that are put on in the Fantasyland Theater. It deserves, and DCA desperately needs, something bigger and grander than what they've currently got in there.

I remain fairly convinced this Rogers show was greenlit as just a stepping stone project, to retain and attract back all the talent they lost during the 13 month long closure of the Disneyland Resort. And for that, I do not envy them one bit. Departments with highly skilled labor like that were devastated by the too-long Covid closure.

I will await an announcement in the fall once Fiscal '24 starts as to what they're really going to do with this huge theater.

And then let's see how badly the barking ushers and the mandatory App mess things up for that one.

 

[TheRealBobIger]

Did the usher bring you your cold Diet Coke on time?

Coke Zero is more my speed now

 

[waltography]

I think Rogers The Musical's very existence at DCA is the problem.

I know people involved with the production of it as well as the original end-credit scene for Hawkeye, and most people involved think it was a bad idea to make it anything beyond the joke it was originally.

I don't blame the creative team for doing their best to make lemonade out of lemons. I'd even go so far as to argue the central conceit of a Steve Rogers musical isn't an issue, it's the song and what it means dramaturgically for a show like this. Given the bounds of what was mandated for them, they did a valiant job trying to recontextualize the song into something that makes sense somewhat.

DCA desperately needed a show back in the Hyperion after the pandemic and it needed one that was relatively "safe" as part of bringing back folks into the fold of DLE. Rogers fits that bill and will continue working so long as it doesn't overstay its welcome with an indefinite extension past this year.

 

[waltography]

They should’ve just ported Beauty and the Beast from the Dream.

Would've loved that, audience participation for Chip and all.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

I think Rogers The Musical's very existence at DCA is the problem.

I know people involved with the production of it as well as the original end-credit scene for Hawkeye, and most people involved think it was a bad idea to make it anything beyond the joke it was originally.

And I know people involved with the production who put a lot of effort into its creation and are thrilled its being received so warmly by the audience and park regulars.

So...

Different perspectives.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

Went to see the show again this weekend and wound up going twice in one day as I got the premium package and also got in for virtual queue.

Ran into a fellow park regular/entertainment fan who decided to join me for both shows as well (having already seen it twice last week). We had a blast and the show was as delightful, funny and heartwarming as the first time. Love the music and happy I'm getting to know some of the songs better. The Steve performers are amazing.

I was pleasantly surprised to see my friend's MagicBand synching with the show! I take it as a good sign that they bothered to program that, again, knowing the local audience and our love for repeat viewing of park entertainment and little details like that that add to the experience.

Also happy to report that there were less Cast Members yelling at us to stay back until we had our barcode - although there were still some. However, the result of not being yelled at (feels like they've given up controlling the crowd out front, but crowd was less frantic than the holiday weekend/opening weekend, too) is letting people through without a barcode because NOBODY EXPLAINS THIS SYSTEM TO THOSE OF US USING IT.

A poor woman and her family got into the line behind my friend and I to get barcodes scanned before her boarding group had actually been called. She was thoroughly confused where she was supposed to go or how my friend and I had barcodes on our phones and she didn't. We explained to her she actually would not be let into the queue for the show until her boarding group was called and she got that barcode, then tried to explain to her where to prompt the barcode when she does get called (requires an extra button push that a Cast Member had to show me last week or I never would have found it). She was completely befuddled by the entire process, poor thing. And I didn't blame her. I blame NOT FIXING THIS STUPID VIRTUAL QUEUE SYSTEM SO PEOPLE COULD EASILY USE IT.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

P.S. The show is great. (It's not better than Cats, but I plan to see it again and again...)

P.P.S. Skip the premium package. The prepackaged popcorn is stale and I got no better of a seat than I had with the free virtual queue. That said, the package photo op is cute and I liked the popcorn bucket and lanyard we got for it.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Operational stupidity aside, I don't really understand the backlash to this show. And I say that as someone who doesn't care about Marvel at all.

I swear some people will complain about literally anything in that theater unless it's the return of Aladdin.

Maybe when I (hopefully) see it in a few weeks I'll feel differently, but I don't understand the desire to condemn the thing sight unseen that some are displaying here.

 

[Professortango1]

Operational stupidity aside, I don't really understand the backlash to this show. And I say that as someone who doesn't care about Marvel at all.

I swear some people will complain about literally anything in that theater unless it's the return of Aladdin.

Maybe when I (hopefully) see it in a few weeks I'll feel differently, but I don't understand the desire to condemn the thing sight unseen that some are displaying here.

I think its because the show is trying to be cringe. It feels weird to have Disney making a 30 minute joke saying "its corny and cheap, right??? We know!!!"

The sets are okay, the music is okay, but the tone and the costumes just don't work. It is why we enjoyed the musical moments of Streetcar! and Planet of the Apres: The Musical in The Simpsons, but an entire 2 hours of that wouldn't be nearly as fun.

The fake show was cute in the show because Hawkeye's reaction was the focus. Now they want us to be Hawkeye and roll our eyes at the bad show? But also laugh at it. And also be inspired by t.

I can't wait for them to replace Monsters Inc: MIke and Sully to the Rescue with DCA 1.0: The Ride where we ride through the original version of DCA with cheap gags. It's so meta, right????

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

The show isn't trying to be cringe. It's trying to be meta. And succeeding. It's funny where it's supposed to be and gets the laughs as it includes the audience in on the joke. It's also earnest and sweet and moving as the Steve Rogers story should, be.

End of the Line gets me each time I watch it, right in the heart. I also really like I Want You. I enjoy the choreography in the USO number. And how cleverly Star-Spangled Man is incorporated into its scene.

And Save the City cracks me up how it plays out (trying to avoid spoilers for those who haven't seen it), the silly dancing and costumes. The Nick Fury song is performed with a big wink at the crowd and the crowd gets it.

All of it works exactly as intended - humor and heart. It's a solid little show that's an extra gift to Marvel fans. I'm so thankful they made it for us.

The biggest reaction I've heard from everyone I've talked to is "I was so worried it would be cheesy but it was so good!" It's not for everyone, but that doesn't make it a bad show.


That said... it's no Aladdin. Although

Spoiler: SPOILER

there are clear nods to both Aladdin and Frozen in it.

 

[Professortango1]

The show isn't trying to be cringe. It's trying to be meta. And succeeding. It's funny where it's supposed to be and gets the laughs as it includes the audience in on the joke. It's also earnest and sweet and moving as the Steve Rogers story should, be.

End of the Line gets me each time I watch it, right in the heart. I also really like I Want You. I enjoy the choreography in the USO number. And how cleverly Star-Spangled Man is incorporated into its scene.

And Save the City cracks me up how it plays out (trying to avoid spoilers for those who haven't seen it), the silly dancing and costumes. The Nick Fury song is performed with a big wink at the crowd and the crowd gets it.

All of it works exactly as intended - humor and heart. It's a solid little show that's an extra gift to Marvel fans. I'm so thankful they made it for us.

The biggest reaction I've heard from everyone I've talked to is "I was so worried it would be cheesy but it was so good!" It's not for everyone, but that doesn't make it a bad show.


That said... it's no Aladdin. Although

Spoiler: SPOILER

there are clear nods to both Aladdin and Frozen in it.

Save The City is pure cringe. And Fury's song might be winking, but it's still not funny bor clever. I love patter songs, but it's just not good with the cringe meta humor of Disney IPs.

The show doesn't know what it wants to be. It's not funny enough to be a comedy, but way too cheesy and thinly scripted to be taken seriously.

 

[CaptinEO]

I think its because the show is trying to be cringe. It feels weird to have Disney making a 30 minute joke saying "its corny and cheap, right??? We know!!!"

The sets are okay, the music is okay, but the tone and the costumes just don't work. It is why we enjoyed the musical moments of Streetcar! and Planet of the Apres: The Musical in The Simpsons, but an entire 2 hours of that wouldn't be nearly as fun.

The fake show was cute in the show because Hawkeye's reaction was the focus. Now they want us to be Hawkeye and roll our eyes at the bad show? But also laugh at it. And also be inspired by t.

I can't wait for them to replace Monsters Inc: MIke and Sully to the Rescue with DCA 1.0: The Ride where we ride through the original version of DCA with cheap gags. It's so meta, right????

Havent seen the show, don't plan on going this summer either so probably won't ever see it.

But that being said I'm so tired of Disney taking their themepark so seriously when it comes to story/attractions/immersion.

We used to have Darth Vader fighting (and losing to) little kids with Lightsabers in Tommorowland.

I am all for them doing something corny and humorous and remembering that they run a themepark not an "immersive experience".

 

[Professortango1]

Havent seen the show, don't plan on going this summer either so probably won't ever see it.

But that being said I'm so tired of Disney taking their themepark so seriously when it comes to story/attractions/immersion.

We used to have Darth Vader fighting (and losing to) little kids with Lightsabers in Tommorowland.

I am all for them doing something corny and humorous and remembering that they run a themepark not an "immersive experience".

Darth Vader fighting a kid and losing is cute and appealing to the true power fantasy for a target demographic. It plays it straight. They don't have the kid suddenly use the Force to make Vader twerk or talk sing a song.

An actor playing a Superhero in a cornball trite musical isn't a power fantasy of any demographic. The Storyteller's Theatre has a blast presenting Beauty and the Beast and Tangled in a fun and fresh way that is both fun and compelling to watch. Rogers isn't fun, or clever, or very compelling. Its just "lol, look at how this bad musical dressed Iron Man. LOLZ! Nick Fury sings! That's so out of character for him, so its funny!"

It isn't an embarrassment, its just cringey and smells of a big corporation trying to seem hip and meta. It reminds me of when Sony re-released Morbius.

If they had just created a fun, slightly camp, superhero musical, I would have been all about it. Give me Evil Dead the Musical, but for families and the MCU. Instead, they waver between meta cringe and an earnestness that it never achieves. Its not funny enough to be a comedy and its not deep enough to be earnest. Its just kind of a stomachable mess.

 

[CaptinEO]

Darth Vader fighting a kid and losing is cute and appealing to the true power fantasy for a target demographic. It plays it straight. They don't have the kid suddenly use the Force to make Vader twerk or talk sing a song.

An actor playing a Superhero in a cornball trite musical isn't a power fantasy of any demographic. The Storyteller's Theatre has a blast presenting Beauty and the Beast and Tangled in a fun and fresh way that is both fun and compelling to watch. Rogers isn't fun, or clever, or very compelling. Its just "lol, look at how this bad musical dressed Iron Man. LOLZ! Nick Fury sings! That's so out of character for him, so its funny!"

It isn't an embarrassment, its just cringey and smells of a big corporation trying to seem hip and meta. It reminds me of when Sony re-released Morbius.

If they had just created a fun, slightly camp, superhero musical, I would have been all about it. Give me Evil Dead the Musical, but for families and the MCU. Instead, they waver between meta cringe and an earnestness that it never achieves. Its not funny enough to be a comedy and its not deep enough to be earnest. Its just kind of a stomachable mess.

I see what you mean, thanks for the explanation. I don't know much about Marvel but what youre describing to me sounds like how in Wreck It Ralph 2 Disney was willing to ruin the characters of the Disney princesses for some cheap Family Guy style jokes.

It just doesn't work for me when a company full on parodies their own work.

 

[Consumer]

Darth Vader fighting a kid and losing is cute and appealing to the true power fantasy for a target demographic. It plays it straight. They don't have the kid suddenly use the Force to make Vader twerk or talk sing a song.

 

[Emmanuel]

Went to see the show again this weekend and wound up going twice in one day as I got the premium package and also got in for virtual queue.

Ran into a fellow park regular/entertainment fan who decided to join me for both shows as well (having already seen it twice last week). We had a blast and the show was as delightful, funny and heartwarming as the first time. Love the music and happy I'm getting to know some of the songs better. The Steve performers are amazing.

I was pleasantly surprised to see my friend's MagicBand synching with the show! I take it as a good sign that they bothered to program that, again, knowing the local audience and our love for repeat viewing of park entertainment and little details like that that add to the experience.

Also happy to report that there were less Cast Members yelling at us to stay back until we had our barcode - although there were still some. However, the result of not being yelled at (feels like they've given up controlling the crowd out front, but crowd was less frantic than the holiday weekend/opening weekend, too) is letting people through without a barcode because NOBODY EXPLAINS THIS SYSTEM TO THOSE OF US USING IT.

A poor woman and her family got into the line behind my friend and I to get barcodes scanned before her boarding group had actually been called. She was thoroughly confused where she was supposed to go or how my friend and I had barcodes on our phones and she didn't. We explained to her she actually would not be let into the queue for the show until her boarding group was called and she got that barcode, then tried to explain to her where to prompt the barcode when she does get called (requires an extra button push that a Cast Member had to show me last week or I never would have found it). She was completely befuddled by the entire process, poor thing. And I didn't blame her. I blame NOT FIXING THIS STUPID VIRTUAL QUEUE SYSTEM SO PEOPLE COULD EASILY USE IT.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

P.S. The show is great. (It's not better than Cats, but I plan to see it again and again...)

P.P.S. Skip the premium package. The prepackaged popcorn is stale and I got no better of a seat than I had with the free virtual queue. That said, the package photo op is cute and I liked the popcorn bucket and lanyard we got for it.

Opening day, my friend got his barcode while i was still waiting for mine (We don't have our keys in the others app). The CM we talked to tried scanning my Magic Key Barcode and it ended up working so we both got in together. Using VQ for the Hyperion was a bad idea from the start. If they end up extending Rogers, I hope they drop VQ.

The VQ debacle was why I actually decided to the premium thing for the rest of the run. Sure I'm paying $29 each time but at least I have the best chance of getting a front row seat and i have a more quieter time while waiting to go in.

 

[Professortango1]

Yeah, I'm aware of the trash fire that was DHS. And I don't think very many folks would defend this. People love to share videos of Voldemort dancing like Cardi B and such, and its funny as a meme, but I certainly wouldn't want to see Universal think "hmmm, people like this thing, let's embrace it and put into Voldy shakin' it on a stage."

I also don't need to see Disney having Indy dance to Deevo's Whip It. These things feel like the corporate equivalent to a dad dabbing at their kid's sleepover.