Jim on Film: Disney’s Broadway Babies
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Disney’s Broadway Babies
Susan Egan, Heather Headley, Tsidii Le Loka, Sherie René Scott, Josh Strickland, and Ashley Brown are just a few of the stars Disney has either brought to Broadway or turned into significant talents through roles in the original casts of their shows. Susan Egan earned a Tony nomination as Belle in the original cast of Beauty and the Beast. Michael Eisner himself chose Heather Headley to appear as Nala in The Lion King, which she would leave in order to tackle the role of Aida in my favorite Disney show, for which she would earn a Tony award. Tsidii Le Loka, though not having taken on a significant Broadway role since The Lion King, made an indelible mark on Broadway with her Tony-nominated role as Rafiki. Sherie René Scott was not a newcomer to the Broadway stage when she originated the role of Amneris in Aida, but her amazing performance gave her plenty of deserved attention and lead to a variety of roles on Broadway and off. Josh Strickland was plucked from obscurity to showcase his rock vocals as Tarzan, and Ashley Brown put herself on the map in the tour of On the Record, which was quickly followed by performing Belle on Broadway and has lead to the much-coveted role of Mary Poppins in the original Broadway cast of Mary Poppins.
This is not to neglect the number of established Broadway stars who have blessed Disney with their presence in their shows—Terrence Mann, Tom Bosley, Gary Beach, Beth Fowler, Burke Moses, Samuel E. Wright, Adam Pascal, John Hickock, Merle Dandridge, Shuler Hensley, and Jenn Gambatese have all made significant appearances in the original casts of Disney Broadway shows.
No matter how many helicopters land on stage, no matter how many puppets there are coming down the aisle, and no matter how many dragons top a proscenium, to me, the greatest spectacle of all on Broadway is the talent—the Stephen Lynches (currently in The Wedding Singer), the Brian D’Arcy Jameses (recently in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), the Sutton Fosters (currently in The Drowsy Chaperone), and the Felicia P. Fieldses (currently in The Color Purple) far outshine the most stunning set pieces. People who don’t get to see stages filled with Equity performers (the stage actors’ union) don’t understand the profound effect of seeing a great talent perform live. There are actors who are excellent performers, and then there are actors who have a special spark they bring to the stage, a magnetism that pulls you to their performance and makes you remember them forever. Sitting front row center for the pre-Broadway tryout of The Lion King, I was mesmerized by Heather Headley as Nala. When seeing her again in Aida, just hearing her speak brought tingles to my spine. No rising mansion can equal the thrill of a Heather Headley.
With the recent announcement of a pre-Broadway tryout of The Little Mermaid, I got to thinking about all the great talent who could be in the next original Broadway cast of a Disney show. With music by Disney and Broadway veteran Alan Menken and new lyrics by Glenn Slater, who wrote created a handful of under-valued songs for Home on the Range, the Broadway incarnation of The Little Mermaid has a good start out of the gate of becoming Disney’s next big Broadway blockbuster.
With a Disney show, it’s particularly fun to imagine potential casting because of their record. Not only does Disney fill their original casts with amazing, established stage talent, but they also have an astonishing knack for bringing to light new or under-utilized stars. Having been blessed enough to see all but one of Disney’s American shows with their original casts, it is their gift for casting that have wowed me more than the special effects of Beauty and the Beast, the imaginative puppetry of The Lion King, or the simplicity and elegance of setting for Aida and Tarzan.