I hope this goes well, but I'm a little skeptical about how the theatre audience might take this show.
First of all I have credentials: I was on Broadway a few years ago and am currently majoring in Musical Theatre (I know you guys get snippy when people talk about things they don't know much about).<o>
</o>
<o></o>
The movie departs a bit from the normal Disney routine of the 1990's animation renaissance, for fewer songs are sung by the characters themselves. More so than the
Lion King and
Beauty and the Beast, the songs would be sung by Phil Collins and other vocalists not connected in the visual elements. In the ‘Tarzan Rocks’ show in DAK, this tradition was also carried out. Recent rock musicals have failed miserably or have been subject to compromised runs if the vocals are too far removed or juxtaposed from their original intent into a musical story (See
Lennin, Good Vibrations, Movin’ Out). What I mean to say is, the Broadway Theatre audience does not want to see a show that is just visually or acoustically appealing, but one that has a story where the characters themselves are directly involved in the creation of those elements. This is why rock musicals such as
Rent have had such commercial success.
I just hope that Disney did not fashion this show banking on clever acrobatics and a rock sound, but rather the central story, adding these elements to only ‘enhance,’ not create the connection between the characters themselves.
The reviews will be out in a few months. In due time, we will see.<o>
</o>
