Disney's Hercules The Musical

The new musical "Hercules", based on the famous animated film of the same name (1997), was created by Disney Theatrical Productions. Alan Menken, who composed the film’s score, collaborated with David Zippel (lyrics), who spent several years developing songs for the stage version. In addition to the songs featured in the film, they created several original compositions. However, the main hits - "Go the Distance" and "I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)" - remain. Interestingly enough, the international premiere occurred in Hamburg, Germany, in 2024, and the show was performed in German.

In June 2025, the musical “Hercules” opened on the West End. Excited spectators rushed to the premiere performances, and many were left somewhat perplexed... The stage version of the Disney animated film was expected to be of roughly the same high standard of production as the other shows that had already gone this route and become hits (Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan). In them, the actors carefully created the images of their animated prototypes, preserving the characters' external similarities and internal content.

This is precisely what director Casey Nicholaw failed to offer the spectators. Styled like a children's matinee, the production featured impressive set design by Dane Laffrey with life-size full-body puppet costumes (a Hydra, a Cyclops) and sets evoking the atmosphere of the ancient world.

The costumes by Greg Barnes, along with the special effects and video installations by Jeremy Chernick, also testify to the project's prolific budget.

The captivating story, created and narrated in the animated film, remained virtually unchanged in the stage adaptation, which cannot be said about the main characters. While the actor playing Hercules (Luke Brady), a radiant, smiling, handsome man with superhuman strength, succeeded in bringing his character to life, the main villain - Hades (Stephen Carlile), who is powerful, greedy, and cruel, more reminiscent of the devil than the god of Olympus in the film, however in the musical - he transformed into a comical character who one can only laugh at.
Phil, from a dwarf satyr, loving mentor to Hercules, originally, turned into a young muscular man who teaches Hercules the tricks of battle and survival. Unfortunately, despite all the most flattering words that can be said about the actor playing Phil (Trevor Dion Nicholas), this reimagining of the character played a negative role in the production.
The image of Hercules's love interest, Meg (Mae Ann Jorolan), was a bit watered-down, despite her excellent vocals. She plays the nasty one at first, then the lovelorn one, but both are unconvincing.

Undoubtfully, the show's highlight is the quintet of beautiful muses, who sing like angels (Malinda Parris, Brianna Ogunbawo, Candace Furbert, Robyn Rose-Li, Sharlene Hector). They act as a Greek chorus, commenting on the events, playing along with the characters. The rousing performance of gospel and other ensemble numbers serves as an important structural element of the show.

“Hercules created a world with gospel and the world of Greece – that wasn’t even my idea, it was John Musker and Ron Clements [creators of the animated film script] – we decided to try this approach and it worked”, - said Alan Menken in one of his interviews. And if this ancient Greek myth can be conveyed to the audience through the language of a stage musical in subsequent reworkings, the value of this performance will definitely increase.


Photo credit by Matt Crockett