DISNEY + SHAKESPEARE.

DISNEY IS TAKING ON SHAKESPEARE!!!

THE FACTS & FIGURES:

Disney has hired Alex Timbers to direct a musical adaptation of a TBD Shakespearean classic [with Amy Talkington adapting the screenplay]. Mr. Timbers has been nominated for two Tony Awards for co-directing Peter and the Starcatcher (for which SMASH's Christian Borle won the Best Supporting Actor Tony last year) & writing the book for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (which he also directed). He has also directed The Pee-wee Herman Show, Gutenberg! The Musical, Boozy, & A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Christmas Pageant. The film will be produced by Offspring Entertainment's Adam Shankman, Jennifer Gibgot, Jon Chu & Matt Smith.

The William Meets Walter Dynamic:

It is my prediction that this new Will & Walt connection will be the beginning of a long (& possibly glorious) union. I am opposed to the overwhelming Mousification of Broadway, but I am not so close-minded to forget the awesomeness the brought to stage...Julie Taymor's ground-breaking puppetry in The Lion King, Mary Poppins flying over the audience, The Little Mermaid swimming on Heely's, Elton John's beautiful score for AIDA, & the list goes on. One thing that anyone who has eaten at DisneyLand knows is that Disney brings the highest quality of product to the table. It's a little weird & feels a little bit off, but, overall, I like this an exciting development. The Disney corporation is also so universal that this film will undoubtedly introduce people (especially children) to the Wonderful World of Shakespeare [or Edward DaVere, but that's a blog for another day]. 

THE SHAKESPEAREAN MUSICAL:

 "Developing The Last Goodbye – a Romeo & Juliet with the music of Jeff Buckley, 

I've been so lucky to get to explore the possibilities of combining Shakespeare with contemporary music. 

This Disney film takes that concept even further & turns it on its head in an ingenious way."

Just the idea of anyone putting Shakespeare in the form of a musical makes this creative endeavor cool in my book & Timbers comes with experience in marrying musicals & Shakespeare. In addition to the recent rock musical The Last Goodbye, Timbers will also be directing a musical adaptation of Love's Labours Lost with composer Michael Friedman which will premier this summer as part of The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park. I'm just hoping the songs will be in iambic pentameter. 

The Great Question: Which Play Will It Be?

I am very curious as to which Shakespearean play they will choose for this inaugural production. According to Timbers, "The script stretches the boundaries of the movie musical & demands the sort of surprising visuals & raucous spectacle which I love to create in my own stage musicals." Obviously, it will be a comedy (which knocks out Titus Andronicus & most of my favorites) & will more than likely not be Love's Labour's Lost. My prediction is A Midsummer Night's Dream. It is the quintessential play for any inaugural Shakespearean company: it is probably the most accessible in terms of plot, probably the most popular in terms of audience familiarity, & there are fairies. My second bet (& the one I'm rooting for) is As You Like It. I have played Hermia in Midsummer twice, so I have a spot in my heart for that show, but As You Like It would be a little bolder & shine light on an entirely awesome Shakespearean comedy that always seems to slip through the cracks.  My other projected/hopeful possibilities would include The Taming of the Shrew (which actually could be a real contender due to the approach-ability of the subject matter), Much Ado About Nothing (which lacks the plot & I don't think anyone would be happy with a filler plot being incorporated), The Tempest (an exciting choice I would imagine to be too daunting). 

SOURCES:

Deadline.com + Broadway.com + Playbill.com

DreamCast: AIDA

AIDA is an opera that was translated into a musical that could have been highly sensual show, but Disney had to sand that essential element down. The musical was a glorified cartoon at times. My imaginary movie would be more sensually-based & historically-relevant like Rome. But I do love some of the songs & Disney never fails in awesome spectacle, which is always appreciated onstage. I also love that AIDA has a very different tone than the typical Disney musical. At least this musical was based on an opera as opposed to the animated inspirations of Shrek, Beauty & the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, & even the mighty Lion King.

 

The Players

Stacey Dash as Aida

AIDA is Disney’s watered-down interpretation of an opera.

Just as Clueless was a flighty interpretation of Jane Austen’s Emma.

Aida needs to convey a very real, but untapped strength.

Stacey Dash is distractingly beautiful,

but could pull off being more than just the prettiest face.  

Jesse Williams as Radames

He could play the quintessential character of a male

sitting on the fence that a boy has to hop into manhood.

He seems masculine, but still insecure & growing into his manhood.

His crazy-pretty, enigmatic eyes make him seem

from a distant, different time & place.

I have the utmost faith in any Grey's Anatomy actor, &

Radames deserves to be presented as a complex character,

not just the man at the center of a love triangle.

Rashida Jones as Amneris

Why is this character always blonde?

Let’s try to be slightly realistic, Disney designers.

Cast a brunette as this Egyptian princess, at the very least.

On The Office, she played the potentially awesome partner

to a guy whose heart was just already taken.

Had he [Jim/Radames] not already met his soul mate [Pam/Aida],

she would have seemed like the perfect fit.

But losing both of those guys ended up serving as

a launching pad towards life as a stronger woman.