Skip to main content

Go the Distance

Disney's "Hercules" is coming to Central Park as a musical, and this is good news. "Hercules" is an underrated post-Ashman Disney movie. People in the know feel that it didn't quite get the reception it deserved.

One thing I like about "Hercules" is how closely it follows the blueprint for the Great American Musical.

A successful musical often starts with a tone-setting number, a toe-tapper that lets you know who the main people are, and what the setting is. Think of "Tradition," from "Fiddler," or "Little Shop of Horrors," from "Little Shop."

"Hercules" gives us "The Gospel Truth."

After this, you need an "I Want" moment--and "Hercules" has one of the best, "Go the Distance," where the title character vows to leave his hometown and discover his purpose for existing.

A Broadway musical should have a conditional love song, where a main character swears she is not in love but, in swearing, seems to reveal that she actually is in love. Think of "People Will Say We're in Love," from "Oklahoma." "Hercules" gives us "I Won't Say I'm in Love."

You also want a star in a supporting role who has a great deal of center-stage time, as a kind of relief-source in the midst of all the drama. Think of "Son, Be a Dentist" from "Little Shop." "Hercules" gives us Philoctetes (Danny DeVito)--and a light solo, "One Last Hope."

Here's hoping Roger Bart and the "Hercules" cast will do this movie proud. We'll know soon!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Host a Baby

-You have assumed responsibility for a mewling, puking ball of life, a yellow-lab pup. He will spit his half-digested kibble all over your shoes, all over your hard-cover edition of Jennifer Haigh's novel  Faith . He will eat your tables, your chairs, your "I {Heart] Montessori" magnet, placed too low on the fridge. When you try to watch Bette Davis in  Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte , on your TV, your dog will bark through the murder-prologue, for no apparent reason. He will whimper through Lena Dunham's  Girls , such that you have to rewind several times to catch every nuance of Andrew Rannells's ad-libbing--and, still, you'll have a nagging suspicion you've missed something. Your dog will poop on the kitchen floor, in the hallway, between the tiny bars of his crate. He'll announce his wakefulness at 5 AM, 2 AM, or while you and another human are mid-coitus. All this, and you get outside, and it's: "Don't let him pee on my tulips!" When...
3 comments
Read more

Joshie

  When I was growing up, a class birthday involved Hostess cupcakes. Often, the cupcakes would come in a shoebox, so you could taste a leathery residue (during the party). Times change. You can't bring a treat into a public school, in 2024, because heaven knows what kind of allergies might lurk, in unseen corners, in the classroom. But Joshua's teacher will allow: a dance party, a pajama day, or a guest reader. I chose to bring a story for Joshua's birthday (observed), but I didn't think through the role that anxiety might play in this interaction. We talk, in this house, quite a bit about anxiety; one game-changer, for J, has been a daily list of activities, so that he knows exactly what to expect. He gets a look of profound satisfaction when he sees the agenda; it doesn't really matter what the specific events happen to be. It's just about knowing, "I can anticipate X, Y, and Z." Joshua struggled with his celebration. He wore his nervousness on his f...
2 comments
Read more

Josh at Five

 Joshie's project is "flexibility"; the goal is to see that a plan is just an idea, not a gospel, not a guarantee. This is difficult. Yesterday, we went to a restaurant--billed as "open," with unlocked doors--and the owner informed us of an "error in advertising." But Joshie couldn't accept the word "closed." He threw himself on the floor, then climbed on the furniture. I felt for the owner, until he nervously made a reference to "the glass windows." He imagined that my child might toss himself through a sealed window, like Mary Katherine Gallagher, or like Bruce Willis, in "Die Hard." Then--thank the Lord!--I was able to laugh. The thing that really has therapeutic value for Joshie is: a firetruck. If we are out in public, and he spots a parked truck, he wants to climb on each surface. He breathlessly alludes to the wheels, the door, the windows. If an actual fire station ("fire ocean," in Joshie's parla...
Post a Comment
Read more