It’s not uncommon to see a musical based on a movie or TV show or even a comic strip. But “Rogers: The Musical” may be the first to be created from a throwaway TV show gag that grew out of a movie series based on comic books. The public can now watch the mini-musical, which runs about half an hour, at Disney California Adventure’s Hyperion Theater through August 31. I was lucky enough to witness the opening performance last week, followed by a panel discussion with some of the key creatives.
‘Rogers’ first came to life in the Disney+ show ‘Hawkeye’, in which Jeremy Renner’s titular Avenger attends a Broadway show with his children. The show hits a little too close to home, as it turns out to be an adaptation of the life of his friend Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. The show’s big song “Save the City” details how the Avengers defeated villain Loki in the Battle of New York in 2012. We watch a confused Hawkeye take in the surreal display of these jazz versions of The Avengers. So does Ant-Man – who wasn’t even there!
So even though we see less than a minute of the show on “Hawkeye,” it achieves something sublime in those few seconds: It’s silly but self-aware; a hilarious commentary on consumerism aired on a Disney-owned network; and, perhaps most importantly, a really smart and catchy song. That’s because even jokingly, the “Hawkeye” crew wasn’t messing around — they enlisted the great Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for the song, a team whose songwriting credits include Broadway’s “Hairspray” and the movie “Mary Poppins Returns”. include.
Shortly after the episode aired, the internet was abuzz with people saying they wanted a real, live “Rogers” musical. That included Dan Fields — but unlike those of us rhapsodizing on Twitter, Fields happens to be the executive creative director of Disney Live Entertainment. During the panel, Fields revealed, “We were like any fan saying, ‘I want to see the rest!’ That’s when we realized, ‘Hey, we’re Disney Live Entertainment, we can do that!’”
It seems clear that much like the musical-within-the-show on “Hawkeye,” the folks at Disney Live knew they couldn’t mess around. They assembled their own heroic crew to set up the production. To direct, they tapped Jordan Peterson, who began his career as a parade performer before serving as show director on projects “Oogie Boogie Bash” and “Magic Happens,” the first Disney daytime parade in nearly 10 years.
For the book, they called on Tony Award nominee Hunter Bell for his work on “[title of show]”, to assemble hours of stories from the Marvel Cinematic Universe into a sitcom program. Bell knew pretty quickly where he wanted to center “Rogers” – on the story between Steve and Agent Peggy Carter. It makes sense, since in many ways “The Avengers” begins chronologically with “Captain America: The First Avenger” and ends in “Avengers: Endgame” on a shot of the duo. “Great love stories make great musicals,” noted Bell. “So much great musical theater is based on a love story. When we tightened up that love story a little bit, I think that sealed the deal.
The new music was composed by Grammy Award winner Christopher Lennertz, who previously earned an Emmy nomination for another superhero song when he wrote the music and lyrics for the song “Never Truly Vanish” for Amazon Prime Video’s satirical “The Boys.” Lennertz also wrote the lyrics for five new songs with Peterson and Alex Karukas. (In addition to “Save the City,” the show features the song “Star Spangled Man” from “Captain America,” written by Alan Menken and David Zippel.)
“[We] wanted to give everyone — musical theater fans and superhero fans alike — something they would love about the music,” Lennertz revealed. He was also excited about the idea of working with the music for 70 years, which gives audiences the chance to explore different styles, from Busby Berkeley-inspired big band songs to a Stephen Sondheim-esque banter where Nick Fury explains what Rogers has been sleeping. through his 70 years on ice.
Yes, Nick Fury sings — and wears a sequined eye patch! And the song, called “What You Missed”, is a real show stopper.
Sarah Kobayashi, choreographer for Disney Live Entertainment, also enjoyed using the different time periods to “integrate different dance styles across the decades and give them a modern twist”. Kobayashi is also a self-professed Avengers fan, saying she wanted to find movement that made sense “for their characters and their humanity at times and their superhero moments.” And it shows she knows the characters – check out Thor’s merry dance or the cunning moves of the musical’s Loki.
All the elements are top notch, from the beautiful costumes to the creative sets and lighting. A very special shout-out goes to the ASL interpreters who not only relay the dialogue but really convey the emotions that take place on stage with their faces and gestures. For example, they will creatively stretch a gesture if someone is holding a note. Although it’s located in a theme park, it really has a Broadway feel to it and just further convinces me that a full-on Marvel musical is not only necessary, but inevitable.
For more information on “Rogers: The Musical” and showtimes, visit https://disneyland.disney.go.com/entertainment/disney-california-adventure/rogers-the-musical/
Disneyland Resort / Sean Teegarden