“Rogers: The Musical” began as a joke within the Disney+ sequence “Hawkeye,” which offered a problem for the Disneyland Resort’s live-entertainment crew. How, in a 30-minute, closely condensed Broadway-style present, do you carry a bit of heft to a manufacturing by which followers shall be clamoring for cheese? Positive, there’s Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow and the Hulk, amongst others, however these are superheroes who spend extra time flexing jazz fingers than muscle.
Within the present opening right now, directed by Disney’s Jordan Peterson with a e-book from Hunter Bell, identified finest for Broadway’s “[title of show],” the reply was easy: heartbreak.
The story of Steve Rogers’ transformation into Captain America is framed by longing — for higher days, for acceptance and for love. It permits the manufacturing, which veers near overt patriotism in its opening moments, to discover a sense of private grounding. When an actor taking part in a younger Rogers is framed by an Uncle Sam army recruitment poster, he will get all wistful and rejected: “What’s a man to do when ‘I need you’ doesn’t imply you?”
Don’t fear, the manufacturing doesn’t keep down for lengthy. “Hawkeye” launched followers to the over-the-top corniness of the music “Save the Metropolis,” a piece written by Broadway vets Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and it pops up a number of instances, every one leaning into the showtune parody that it’s. When it desires to, “Rogers: The Musical” embraces its silliness.
Our superheroes within the present appear to be outfitted extra like they stepped out of Instances Sq. begging for images than something associated to the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the comics that impressed all of this. We all know that’s Hulk, as an illustration, as a result of his gym-ready sweatshirt is inexperienced. That helps give “Rogers: The Musical” its charms, considered one of which is the best way it makes an attempt to hit a number of theatrical touchstones in “half-hour or much less,” as a cadre of USO singers and dancers who function narrators inform us.
Actors carry out in “Rogers: The Musical,” which runs this summer season at Disney California Journey.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Instances)
Presently slated to stay round just for the summer season, “Rogers: The Musical” provides Disney California Journey a large-scale theatrical manufacturing in its Hyperion Theater, a stage that has sat darkish because the resort reopened in 2021 after a pandemic-forced closure. The area beforehand was occupied by a tackle “Frozen,” which packed considerably extra particular results than “Rogers.” The latter will get by with some methods of the sunshine and intelligent use of projections. This isn’t an action-focused present, because the exploits of Captain America are instructed by framing the actor in comic-book-style covers that roll onto the stage. Fashionable Marvel not often seems so decidedly old-school, as even the projections paint New York within the fashion of a brash, Nineteen Fifties-era comedian.
The present leans closely into theater tropes quite than up to date theme park trickery, which is anticipated. Disney, in spite of everything, isn’t being shy in saying this present isn’t meant to stay round past August. But it surely’s additionally welcome, as theme parks themselves are levels, locations audiences can assume a job and play at lighter, sillier or extra heroic variations of themselves. Additionally they, when performed proper, lead by emphasizing aspiration, and may inform relatable tales of excessive drama that may encourage creativeness — or just present us the facility of reside theater.
“Rogers: The Musical” arrives at Disney California Journey at a time when theaters, together with these in Los Angeles, are struggling to return to their pre-pandemic success. Theme park reveals like “Rogers” have the facility to create a fan for all times, introducing a probably younger Marvel fan to swing dancing and jazzy balladeering.
“We try to supply a variety of leisure in our parks. For a lot of of our visitors, particularly youngsters, this can be their first time ever seeing a theatrical manufacturing of this caliber,” mentioned Dan Fields, govt inventive director at Disney Stay Leisure. “It’s our hope they’ve such an ideal expertise, they stroll away eager to see extra — at Disney, of their communities or elsewhere — and that they could even develop a lifelong love of theater.”
Actors painting the Avengers in Disney California Journey’s “Rogers: The Musical.”
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Instances)
Hefty ambitions for “Rogers: The Musical” maybe, however there’s a lot in these half-hour to smile at, even when the present feels closely expository and plot-driven. That’s most likely extra a operate of the theme park medium and its time constraints than a extreme criticism, because the present seems like a “biggest hits” compendium of Captain America moments. In case, say, a romantic emotion isn’t fairly clear, the USO singers will seem to shortly inform us what we needs to be feeling. Anybody who’s seen a handful of the Marvel movies probably will decide up on the narrative, which follows Steve Rogers’ transformation into an excellent solider who manages to survive his WWII-era roots to outlive to the current day, all of the whereas lacking an alternate life with Agent Peggy Carter.
The musical options 5 authentic songs, not counting the beforehand heard “Save the Metropolis” and “Star Spangled Man,” which dates to the movie “Captain America: The First Avenger.” The brand new works are credited to composer Christopher Lennertz, with lyrics by Peterson, Lennertz and Alex Karukas. None fairly attain the heights of “Save the Metropolis,” which went all out in its showtune glitz. “Rogers: The Musical” comes off as a sequence of puzzle items constructed round that signature quantity.
Lennertz, a composer with a prolonged résumé of movie and tv credit, together with Marvel’s “Agent Carter,” performs it extra low-key. The brand new works largely try to take “Rogers” out of parody mode, a choice that accounts for a sequence of tonal shifts and ends in a theatrical temper that’s not fairly critical but not absolutely goofy. Essentially the most immediately grabbing music — past “Save the Metropolis” — is “What You Missed,” sung by the normally stoic Nick Fury (because of the nature of theme park productions, by which a number of performances will be staged each day with revolving casts, Disney doesn’t launch the names of its performing actors).
Actors carry out in “Rogers: The Musical” at Disney California Journey.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Instances)
As we transition from WWII to the current day, with Captain America having been frozen for about 70 years, Fury will get a bedridden Captain on top of things on popular culture, from “I Love Lucy” to “Star Wars,” with a couple of cultural moments, reminiscent of the autumn of the Berlin Wall, thrown in. Take into account it a showtune tackle “We Didn’t Begin the Hearth,” an opportunity for the viewers to smile in surface-level understanding of its assortment of references. The tune isn’t utterly up to date, because it appears to nod to Salt-N-Pepa greater than something of-the-moment, however it swiftly strikes “Rogers” out of the jazz age.
“Avengers” heroics are instructed in music and projections quite than large-scale fights, however the choreography is simply the correct quantity of organized chaos. The transfer to not use full superhero costumes can also be a clever one, because the Avengers don’t stand out a lot from New York citizenry, serving to to drive residence the message that reside musical theater is commonly finest when embracing the humanity onstage quite than hiding it in fancy results.
Those that know the story of Captain America know he will get to have his adventures and get the lady, however “Rogers: The Musical” works to clarify that the previous are pointless with out some private success. Marvel movies typically look at this, however the message will get misplaced in all their noise. “Rogers: The Musical” has a stage of confidence as a result of it is aware of precisely what it’s — a little bit of a lark, with some large band dancing and a bit of little bit of coronary heart. Not unhealthy for one thing that would have perpetually existed as solely a intelligent joke.
