Earlier this week, Disney’s Hercules opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane – the exact same theatre where Frozen the Musical opened some four years ago. We were quite taken with that production – it didn’t blow us away, but it looked the part and was full of charm. So how does Hercules compare with its predecessor?
It makes for an enjoyable evening of entertainment, but we’re not sure it holds up quite so well. If you’ve seen a Disney stage adaptation, you’ll know what to expect – everything happens on a large scale. There’s a big cast, a big set, a big band, lots of choreography and it’s all really rather loud. The costumes are wonderfully camp and there are a handful of genuinely funny lines – and yet it feels like there’s something missing.
We felt at times this was a bit by-the-numbers light entertainment – yes there are some big choreographed numbers, but they felt quite generic. Hades (Stephen Carlile) does his best with the part he’s given, but in this production he’s very much a two-dimensional pantomime villain – a bit of a shame given how wonderful a creation Hades is in the film. Hercules (Luke Brady) comes across way too earnest and is somewhat lacking warmth and emotion – but he certainly looks the part and has an excellent singing voice. There are several new songs, but they’re somewhat pedestrian – nothing comes close to ‘Go the Distance’ or ‘Zero to Hero’ (the two highlights of the film are very much the two highlights here).
The real standout of the show is the five muses – Candace Furbert, Sharlene Hector, Brianna Ogunbawo, Malinda Parris and Robyn Rose-Li – all individually strong singers and captivating performers, they steal every scene they’re a part of. They bring humour, sass and an outrageous selection of outfits to the stage – there’s a real charm to their performances which is lacking elsewhere in the production.
Don’t get us wrong, we enjoyed our evening with Hercules – it flies by briskly enough, there are lots of strong vocal performances and the muses really light up the stage – but it feels a bit too generic a bit too often. A fun but flawed adaptation.
GAY TIMES gives Hercules – 3/5
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