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Why critics didn't love the HERCULES musical | Review roundup for the 2025 Disney West End opening
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Mickey Jo
Who put the gladden gladiator Hercules whose daring deeds a great theater? Well, that's still undecided. Oh my God. Hey, welcome back to my theatre themed YouTube channel. And as always, hello to those of you listening on podcast platforms. My name is Mickey Jo and I am obsessed with all things theatre and today we are talking about one of the biggest recent openings in the West End which is Disney's Hercules now a fully fledged stage musical. And I have been getting comments and messages asking me when I am going to be bringing a full review of Hercules Hercules here to my theatre themed YouTube channel where I review plenty of shows in the West End and on Broadway. And sadly my answer is not for the foreseeable future because I was not at the opening night performance of Hercules nor any of the adjacent shows and I have no current plans to go and see it on the horizon both because I just got back from the US and I'm still catching up on a lot of other reviews of shows that I saw while I was there but also because there was very little enthusiasm from the press team for Hercules to actually have me to go and see the show. Which is absolutely fine and their prerogative, I dare say at some point down the line when I find my myself with a free afternoon or evening, because occasionally that happens, I will buy myself a ticket, I will go down and see Hercules at Theatre Royal Drury Lane and then I will let you know what I thought of it. But in the meantime, in lieu of a review from my own perspective, let's read a bunch of other people's I'm here to let you know what the general critical consensus was from London's theatre critics. Yes, it's another review roundup video where I am going to scan through the reviews that have been released about Hercules so far and see which parallels and differences we can find in these various critical opinions. This is always something that I enjoy enjoy doing and it wouldn't be complete without your own opinions in the comments section down below as well. Have you seen Hercules in the West End already? If you have, very good job, very punctual of you and please do let us know what you thought of the show. And if you enjoy this and you want to hear more of my own reviews as well as every other theatre themed video that I share on here, make sure you're subscribed to my theatre themed YouTube channel and turn on those notifications so that you don't miss any of my upcoming videos. You can also follow me on podcast platforms or other social media apps. In the meantime, let's check out these reviews for Hercules. So let's start with a biggie. Let's go with first of all the Times and then the New York Times. You can tell this is an auspicious opening because the New York Times don't always cover London theatre. But you know anything Disney New Disney stage musical starting in the UK rather than in the us which is a comparatively rarer thing to happen. Not really, since like Mary Poppins I guess. Then you know it has the New York Times attention. But first, the British Times, written of course by chief theatre critic Clive Davis and he writes the Mighty Muses Saved Disney's musclebound musical. The new megamusical at Theatre Royal Drury Lane has new songs by Alan Menken. But why does it look like a Vegas theme park carrying on his three star review, which I'll remind you is no bad thing. Three is still more than half. That's three out of five, but not necessarily the five stars that Disney would have been hoping to put on a poster. He writes, now that everyone seems to be obsessed with superheroes, there ought to be an opening for a mythological character who gets by with with little more than a potent set of biceps. The new numbers are efficient but unmemorable. That does sort of align with my experience of them. And I saw different new numbers in Papermill versus Hamburg. Nor is there much of a buzz about the romance between Luke Brady's likable hero and Mayan Joralan's winsome Meg. Then we go on to address some of the criticism of the set that he implied at the beginning. A trip to Mount Olympus ought to leave you gasping, but this version of the Home of the Gods looks more like a Las Vegas theme park on a quiet Sunday afternoon. Scenic designer Dane Laffrey provides a set of pillars which sedately shift and forth. The puppet reincarnation of the movie's fearsome Hydra is underwhelming. So too are the costumes and choreography. So the Hydra is still in this one. Because my Hydra issue has always been the way that he, spoiler alert, I guess, dispatches the Hydra being completely antithetical to the whole law of the Hydra as an animal. Because when I saw Hercules, he cut off the Hydra's head and then everyone celebrated and I was like, that's not how you kill. That's the way you can't kill a Hydra. That's their whole thing. And speaking of puppetee characters, he goes on to say, if you are looking forward to seeing Pegasus reprising his screen role, much to the annoyance, no doubt, of classical scholars who are sticklers for accuracy and fair enough for them to be, but not at Disney's Hercules. I might suggest, I should point out that the flying horse is entirely absent, as it has been since the beginning of Hercules life on stage. And Hercules has gone through multiple different directors in that time. None of them have brought Pegasus to the stage. It's interesting, you know, Disney's relationship to its beloved non human animated characters. And when it chooses to theatricalize them, and when it doesn't, Aladdin, also directed by Casey Nicholaw, is a big example of one that didn't bring almost any of its animal characters from the film. Whereas something like Frozen commits to bringing Olaf and Sven, as they are seen in the film, to the stage, very realistically so. And then of course, you have the Lion King, where people don't necessarily look like animals, but you have, within the first 10 minutes of the show, this symphony of glorious animal puppetry creating the whole savannah landscape. So, you know, given what Disney has achieved before in putting animals on stage. It does feel kind of disappointing when they bring about a new show and they don't even try. There are some positive from Clive though, because this was beginning to read like a two star review rather than a three, he writes. The good news though is that Trevor Dion Nicholas adds mischief as Hercules sidekick. Phil. I wouldn't characterize him as Hercules sidekick. He's a trainer. Let's get that straight. This being a family show, his SATA traits have been airbrushed out. And you also can't help noticing that Hercules conceals his torso behind what looks like a string vest. Where have we gone with this, Clive? What's happening here? Why can Phil not have goat legs in a family show? I mean, we don't need to, you know, dive into the whole mythology of satyrs. This is also interesting on the subject of animals on stage because circa Papermill Playhouse, Phil also portrayed by a former genie in Aladdin, James Monroe Iglehart, of course, the original, he was just a human man. He was just a trainer in a tracksuit, which I found to be really disappointing. I could understand the challenges of Pegasus because you can do a horse on stage, but a winged horse that flies, that's a challenge. But turning Phil into just a dude, I thought that was a step too far. Cut to Hamburg. When they gave him goat legs, I was like, finally they fixed an easy problem. They did, however, turn pain and panic, which were sort of creatures in New Jersey, into humans in Germany. Now in London, they're all humans. Phil doesn't have goat legs anymore. And I fail to see what about a family production prevents you from being able to give the man goat legs. It is not a difficult thing to costume. They are doing it in Hamburg. Give the gentleman goatish trousers. Just sort of, just sort of goaty thighs is all I really want here. It will make a difference to me personally, as silly as it sounds. But also on the subject of the string vest, this was spotted in production images and sort of the first look at the show that has been released on social media. And boy, have the comment sections had thoughts about this. Clive in the Times goes on to say Steven Carlisle makes an authentically sneering villain as Hades, all hurt pride and flaring nostrils. He brings a touch of panto energy to the proceed which you know will work for a British audience whenever he's on stage. The script co written by Robert Horn, the brilliant Robert Horn and our own Kwame Kwe armor starts to crackle. I don't know if That's. Is that a positive thing? I feel like that's a good thing. Crackle like a fireplace. Yeah, that's what you want it to do. Clive finishes by saying that where he was sitting in the stalls, which presumably among the best seats in the house. You'd give one of the best seats in the house to the chief theatre critic from the Times. For goodness sake. A fair portion of Zippel's over amplified lyrics were so difficult to decipher that they might as well have been written in a classical language. Thankfully, those might mighty Muses all name checked here, can blow the roof off of any temple. Clive really loved the Muses and that I think turned this from a two star review into a three. And you know, he really said as much back at the beginning when he said that they saved the show. So that was the Times. What did my friend Matt Wolfe write over in the New York Times? Well, he led with how did Hercules get so lame? A Disney musical Based on the 1997 animated movie feels as though its creators wanted to get to the finish line. Move on. Now, as with many US based publications, this review does not carry a star rating. We will do our best to infer one from the tone and from the thoughts. I dare say it's going to be sub three stars because that was a very negative headline. Matt also notes the development that Hercules has had. First seen in New York Central park in 2019, Hercules has undergone significant changes in personnel on its way to the West End, including a German language premiere in Hamburg. But all the tweaking hasn't made a satisfying hole out of material that ought to feel a lot mightier than it does. And I have a great respect that sentiment. I'm already feeling pre annoyed by the notion that some people might write this off as, you know, just Disney being very thin and very cartoonish, which it's not. There ought to be a good musical out of this film. The problem would be if this falls short of that. And speaking of short, he says the production is so short, the second act is barely 40 minutes. Oh my gosh. That it begins to feel like its creators just wanted to get to the finish line and move on. Hercules casts its strongman central character, played by Luke Brady, as a puppyish young man trying to find his way in the world as God or mortal, or a hybrid of the two. To quote one of the better known songs from Alan Menken and David Zipple's score, Hercules needs to go from zero to hero in no time flat. That itself may help explain the rushed feel of the director Casey Nicholaw's production and we have some more conveying of the plot and the role of Hades as antagonist. Oh, some discussion of Pain and panic. I've been intrigued about this. Hades two minions, Pain and panic in the movie here go by the rather more neutral names Bob and Charles. That is disappointing. They were given human names in Germany. They were Franz, Franz and no Heinz. And it made sense because it was a pun to German audiences. That meant nothing to me. Oh Vienna. But Bob and Charles also means nothing to me, so I'm not entirely sure what the point is about this. Are they meant to just sound like goofy henchmen names? An inevitable love interest arrives in the cougarish form of Meg. I don't know if she's meant to feel cougarish, but then it depends how old you think Luke Brady reads on stage, because I didn't think he looked that young in production images. I love you Luke Brady. You're incredibly talented. I just don't think that he looked as young as perhaps Bradley Gibson did when he was cast in Paper Mill. Mr. Wolfe goes on to write that Meg has been enslaved by Hades but is quickly drawn to Hercules string vest. He is 10% toga and the rest muscle, we're told, and the show features a largely bare chested male chorus. For a family musical, Hercules doesn't stint on suggestive eroticism. Ah, the theatre. Although I will say if there's one theatre going nation in the world that ought not to complain about a little bit of mild suggestiveness and eroticism in family shows, it's probably British audiences. Because I for you Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and I raise you all pantomimes ever carrying on, he writes, while Hades whines and moans. I've lost everything but weight is how Robert Horn and Kwame Kweama's jokey book puts it. Hercules takes advice from the wisecracking trainer Phil, who advises the young man to go the distance, which, according to this review, gets several reprises here without ever raising the roof. Oh, the production's self evident task is to honor the movie's sizable fan base while striking enough theatrical sparks to justify a live action version. You have to wander there at the absence of any wizardry to match the magic carpet ride in Aladdin. I've been saying this, I've been saying this. Also directed on stage by Nicolor or the imposing Icescape from Frozen. I mean, I think with Frozen it's probably like the whole Let it Go sequence and the dress reveal and you know, also the depiction of Olaf and in the West End production, that damn bridge that kept on going and going and going and was remarkable. But I have been saying this about Hercules and you know, I thought that Hamburg was really moving in the right direction. I said it still needs a magical something. Nobody flew lies. We have all of these God characters and the puppetry was cool. I liked the puppetry, but we needed a moment. We needed a something. And it feels like all Disney shows have that, like Beauty and the Beast has the show stopping sequence, that is be our guest. It also has the transformation. Aladdin. As mentioned here, it's the carpet ride Frozen we've already spoken about. Lion King has the challenge of its most visually and musically iconic moment happening at the very beginning of the show and sort of peeking at the start, but that's a different conversation. Hercules has iconic music. It just doesn't necessarily, necessarily have the visuals to go with it. What are you expecting visually as the defining moment of Hercules and you know, the ones that are coming to mind from the film. Hercules riding Pegasus, Hercules diving into the underworld, Orpheus style to go and rescue Meg. None of those things have ever been depicted in the stage version. Hell. Hercules succumbing to the Hydra and then eventually emerging as the victor after a very arduous battle. We don't really see that happen either. The set from Dane Laffrey, a Tony winner this month for his gorgeous work on maybe Happy Ending, of course consists mostly of movable white pillars accompanied by projections from the video designer, George Reeve. But for all the talent to hand, the design is rarely as remarkable as Herc's gleaming teeth. As the stage clears to allow our hero to do battle with monsters aplenty, including a cyclops and five headed hydra that resemble the outsized creatures you might find on a ride in a Disney theme park. I don't think Matt Wolfe has been to enough Disney theme parks in his life because I can't think of that many rides where like, where are encountering like Hercules not specifically, but even Hercules esque kind of like giant creatures. And listen, he's from the US so this could be like a Disneyland and Disney World versus Disneyland Paris kind of a thing happening here. All I'm saying is that the Snow White and the seven Dwarfs Dark ride could never. He writes, Brady is an immediately likable leading man and Joralan playing Meg makes what she can of the predictably sassy. Meg, who sounds very of the moment when she talks about being seen, wouldn't be Disney if we didn't have a little bit of social politics in there as well. Potentially performative. Don't talk about the Middle east, whatever you do. And then, as we've heard before, the show only kicks into gear with the appearance of the Muses, five wonder women familiar from the film who shimmy on and off stage and narrate the proceedings. They're also name checked here in the final paragraph before the review concludes with this sentence between them, they left a fragile show that still has a great distance to go on the way to success. I'm willing to say that that feels maybe like a two star review and noted many of the same points, but it found a little less to enjoy about it, I feel. Let's go next to Sam Marlowe's review in the Stage newspaper. This is a three star review with the headline Cheerful Nonsense and it seems to start quite positively, Sam Marlowe writes Has Christmas come early? It sometimes feels like it watching this bouncy new musical from Disney Based on the 1997 animation with its heroes and villains, its featherweight plot, its abundance of glittery numbers performed by a dancing perma smiling ensemble, and its fantastical but relatively low tech mythological creatures all served up with liberal lashings of camp. It has plenty in common with a big budget panto. I don't imagine that's the last time that we'll hear that comparison, and it might be a treat for younger children or nostalgic lovers of the film who squeal with delight at the recreation of each familiar moment. The rest of us are more likely to find ourselves craving a scintilla of nuance, a whiff of real jeopardy. Any reason at all really, to care about the antics on stage? We'll be waiting in vain. And I actually disagree little bit here because I think it's the people who care more about the film who stand to be the most disappointed by this. And I offer as well that so much of the jeopardy of the film's plot has been removed from this production. We have random offstage deaths. We don't see some of the most fateful moments in those final few scenes and the sort of transactional way in which death matters. In those moments, Marlow qualifies by saying Casey Nicholaw's production isn't for us, it's for the fans, the Disney devotees. And it flaunts its silly humor and utter flimsiness with unabashed abandon. Once again, if it was for the Disney devotees, then things would be different. The show started life off Broadway in 2019 has been reworked since mention of shucked at Regent's park with cartoonish sets dominated by faux marble pillars and cobalt and gold mosaic from Dane Laffrey. Its hijinks, very shakily constructed on ancient Greek myth, play with simple storybook concepts of heroism, family and true love. And we have a little bit of explanation of the early events of the plot, thanks to some farcical shenanigans involving the blind prophet Tiresias. Tiresias turns up in this. Tiresias is not, to my recollection, in the animated film, but fascinating about that. Our guide through this cheerful nonsense are five fabulous Motownish muses who supply sassy glamour and much of the musical firepower. Luke Brady's likable Herc. That's the second time he's been called likable, I believe brings the right combination of beefcake and boy next door innocence and charm to the title role. We are just sort of pressing up against what I think are the edges of the way in which we ought to talk about the physical appearance of stage performers, because I think if certain things were written about women, and I think we've learned or the industry has learned not to write in a certain way about women, I think they're still learning to apply that same sentiment to men, for what it's worth. While May Anne Jorlyn as Meg, a prisoner in the underworld with a fiercely feminist outlook and a dim view of masculine heroics, makes an enjoyably feisty reluctant love interest. And nice to hear a perspective on Meg from a female theatre critic. Trivedy and Nicholas adds wholesome ballast as Herc's personal trainer Phil. Steven Carlisle's evil Hades snarls, struts and quips in baddie tradition. And members of the supporting cast cavort their way through Nicolor and Tanisha Scott's ebullient twirling choreography in Greg Barnes and Sky Switzer's Cod classical costumes. There are bustling citizens in tunics at the Agora. There's a Centurion marching band. Oh, I'd quite like a Centurion marching band. That sounds fun. And a lightweight tap number to accompany Carlisle's dastardly machinations. That also sounds intriguing and I feel like is possibly a new staging of the German number. I think it's definitely not Cool Day in Hell that I heard in New Jersey. For the life of me, I can't really remember Hades Song from Germany. A Minotaur, a many headed hydra and a Cyclops also feature, with help from James Ortiz and Laughrey's somewhat lumbering puppets. So not a lot of love there for the puppets. Is it all enough? Sam Marlowe asks. Not really. But if that's what you came for, and it probably is, then that's what you get. There's not much more to it, but as far as it goes, it's amiable fun. I do think that that's kind of selling the audience short in many ways. I think people like to go because of nostalgia. I think a huge proportion of the AUD is going for nostalgic reasons and does stand to be disappointed. It is not enough just to put the film on stage. There is no guarantee audience members are going to be satisfied regardless. We have seen this before with other screen to stage adaptations. People don't always love it just because they love the film. Sometimes that makes it a little bit easier to enjoy the stage production. Sometimes it puts it on a higher pedestal and it makes it in fact more challenging. And they hold it to an even higher standard. And there's something to be said about the power of familiarity. Because if you're serving me a dish in a restaurant that I have never had before, you can tell me that whatever you've put in front of me is that dish. But if you're serving me something like a spaghetti carbonara, then I know what I'm expecting. You get it. We'll carry on with this review here from the Telegraph. Do we have a star rating to go with this one? Claire? Not that I can necessarily find. Oh, four out of five stars. Okay, a little bit more love from Claire Allfrey in the Telegraph. This fun filled adaptation has retained the Disney animation's goofy knockabout humor and refusal to take itself seriously. The West End's new musical Hercules is a blast for the under tens, she writes, and I'm immediately intrigued by this first paragraph in which she shares Disney stage adaptations tend to be conceived with a ruthless eye on the film's pre existing fan base. Not so this theatrical version of the 1997 animated riff on the Hercules myth, which is pointedly and triumphantly aimed at families with young children rather than the original's numerous disciples. I question why it needs to be an either or. I question the extent to which, you know, doing something more familiar of the film or, you know, more worthy of the film, would not serve families with young children because it's, you know, still a Disney property. And I also wonder where that notion has come from. Is there a program note in the opening night program somewhere saying like, we really didn't care about the fans of the film. We're doing this for the kids. Let's carry on. The adapters may have made a few transgressive changes, but the fleet footed result has retained the original's goofy knock about humour and refusals to take itself seriously. Best of all, Claire writes, it boasts a truly heaven sent quintet of muses who sashay their way through Alan Menken's still radiant, gospel driven score with just the right amount of sass to make your average tween squeal in delight. Am I still allowed to squeal in delight if I'm not your average tween? Certainly it's a good day to be one of those five muses because they are getting excellent notices. The bad news for the purists is that the several significant tweaks will leave them howling in outrage. Several key characters, including the mighty Titans and Hercules, dim but loyal equine friend Pegasus have been excised. The Titans were there in New Jersey from what I remember. But since no more pain and panic, the demonic shapeshifters on Team Hades and now a couple of deadbeat blokes called Bob and Charles. The irritable satyr Philoctetes is now a world weary, very human waiter. He's a waiter now. He's a waiter. Why is he a waiter? What is he doing as a waiter? There was like a sort of a restaurant set.
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Ryan
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Mickey Jo
In the Hamburg production. It was like Cafe Medusa or something. Does he work there now? Is he? What's going on here? Most unforgivably for the film's fans, Hades struts about in a blingy frock coat rather than shimmering in a haze of icy blue fire. Definitely not sure how I feel about that one. But then that sort of tied in with several misgivings I have about the costuming in her case. Yet if you're under 10 years old and care less about such things, this punchy stage show is a blast. The problem with that Claire is that somebody has to take the 10 year olds to the theatre. And you know what? I do really resent the idea that theatre for kids can get away with stuff because they're not gonna care about details and nuance and context and the value of adaptation. It's not mutually exclusive. It can honour all of those things and still appeal to a young audience. But also, also, we have to hold theatre for families and young audiences to a high standard. We can't keep writing it off as like, well, it's for kids. Well, it's for families. It doesn't need to be sophisticated, it doesn't need to be nuanced. There are plenty of shows that do both and do both well. And its current incarnation, this is the first time this has been referenced, I believe, can't compete with Drury Lane's previous Disney occupant, Frozen, in terms of sheer artistic ambition. For all the towering human held puppet monsters and Olympian grandeur of the set design, grandeur being the descriptor for the set there, there is precious little here to induce wand. Again, taking us back to the lack of flying carpet thing, there's the nagging suspicion that the many omissions, flying horses, chimeric fiends, the epic finale between Hercules and the Titans were made in the name of creative expediency rather than narrative improvement. And that I think is a very accurate and very damning point. Yet the show's larky pantomime feel there it is again, has its own virtues. Luke Brady is an endearing wannabe hero sporting a goofy grin worthy of Jim Carrey and singing the show's standout song, go the Distance with palpable tenderness. The beefed up character of Meg doesn't come off so well. Interest interesting. It's a pity male script writers tend to think fleshing out female characters mean turning them instead into generic feminist mouthpieces. But Mayan Joralan still exudes Sarki hand on hip attitude. Oh, Stephen Carlisle can't match James woods who voiced the original Hades and who among us can? I do think it's a shame that Roger Bart, who was attached to the very first production of Hercules, hasn't been involved in subsequent versions. If you if you don't know, he was the singing voice of Hercules in the 1997 film. And it would have been really interesting to see and hear him as Hades because of that, but also because he's such a charismatic character actor and that's, I think, what this role needs given his brief was evidently camp panto villain. He rises to the task with gusto. And while the gag a minute script contains plenty of groaners, it thankfully avoids the temptation to slip into 21st century platitudes about identity and self worth that could have bogged things down down. You know, fine for us to entertain those 10 year olds, but God forbid we leave them thinking something accessible. Nothing to scare the gods. Then she concludes by saying, but for families with young children, an excellent tip for summer, though it's hoping to run considerably longer. What else do we have here? I could use a different kind of a vibe. Let's go to Timeout London and Andre Lukowski. Always good for a witty review. Andre writes, One of theatre's greatest mysteries is how Disney literally made the most successful musical of all time, the Lion King, and then proceeded to learn absolutely nothing from it. I could write a thesis about this, and I so agree. Virtuoso director Julie Taymor included all the dumb stuff required by the mouse in her version of the Lion King. Farting warthogs basically, but nonetheless crafted an audacious and iconic production that departed radically from the aesthetic of the film and is still in theatres today, theaters around the world. Yes, subsequent Disney musicals like Aladdin and Frozen aren't bad, but they take zero risks, effectively just plonking the film on stage and are not in theaters today. Concisely, he makes a great point. And here comes Hercules, the next in the megacorp's long line of perfectly adequate, not very imaginative adaptations of its bountiful 90s animated roster. The show's not so secret weapon is the retention of the film's sassy quintet of single singing muses. Sassy seems to be the favourite adjective with which to describe them. They're a whole lot of finger snapping, head shaking, quick changing fun, and also add a note of character to Alan Menken's likable but unremarkable Alan Menken style score. I don't know what to make of that. I think at least the music from the film less so much the stuff added for the stage production, but certainly the film score of Hercules is incredible. However, the Muses are also symptomatic of the fact that the show's ancient Greece comes across as a reskinned small town America. Without having any comment to make on small town America, everyone has American accents and does American things. The notoriously vindictive goddess Hera is reimagined as a twinkly eyed all American mom. I mean, that goes back to the film, doesn't it? While there's a vague nod to Hellenistic art, there were endless opportunities to have done something visually audacious and aesthetically interesting and they were all passed upon. Sure, the Lion King does insist on the accents, but Taymor's production is pointedly steeped in vivid paintings, Pan African aesthetics here, Dane Laffrey's sets and George Reeves video design are often impressive, but they never don't look like a themed restaurant. To be fair, one scene is actually set in a themed restaurant that will be the return of Cafe Medusa, where it seems that Phil is a waiter, a singing waiter, I guess. But he makes a very interesting point. And I am so here for the Lion King comparison because I think that is the antidote to writing off all of the Disney stuff as, you know, just being Disney and just being, being fodder for families and not being rich with the possibility of critical and financial success. Because look at the Lion King. You know, it may have gone to be a tourist trap ultimately, but it's still hugely celebrated and there's still an evident amount of artistic achievement on that stage. And in terms of how it was realized visually, it is a really strong choice and it's a departure from the aesthetic of the film. And this version of the Hercules doesn't look like the animated film. It's not like they have stayed too close to the original, but what they've come up with is sort of a watered down, generic version of it. Not unlike, I'm sorry to say, the design for Aladdin. I think Frozen basically really tries to emulate the film's aesthetic as closely as possible. But Hercules just gives you like gods on stage in a sort of a bland way from what I can tell. Like there's golf, there's draped white fabric and there's pillars and there's the occasional nice bit of mosaic. But given the inherent theatricality of ancient Greece, for crying out loud, surely there is something more that we could have done with this. All that accepted Andre writes. It's a sturdy action adventure romp that absolutely does the trick and is eminently worth taking the kids to during the holes. It begins when Hercules is born. I don't need to read about the plot again. I absolutely know what happens. Luke Brady's adult Hercules belatedly discovers his divine parentage. We're still doing it. We're still, still doing it. The special effects aren't groundbreaking, but they're good fun. Especially the set piece battle between Hercules, Phil and a many headed puppet Hydra. I'm gaining confidence that they may actually do this Hydra battle properly. I'm. I'm hopeful at this point. Brady is a boyish and, wait for it, likable lead. His perma white smile is bigger than his pecs. Gosh. But it's kind of the point that he's not a beefcake, but rather an affable young man bewildered by his own strength. Was he not referred to as a beefcake in one of the previous reviews? Similarly, this man is muscular and also not muscular enough. Once again, if we were to talk about the anatomical features of an actress this way, I do think that we would be in very dangerous territory. I feel like this needs to absolutely stop. Meian Jolin gives Goode Sassy love interest as Hercules Sassy love interest who is called Meg for some reason. I'm sorry, is Mega not canonically of Greek mythology? Why do we have beef with Meg all of a sudden? What name would you give Hercules Girlfriend? It's all absolutely fine and accepting it's not a screechingly ambitious piece of work, then perhaps all it really lacks is a big Showstopper moment. Once again, this seems to have been obvious to everyone. There's no Circle of Life slash A Whole New World slash Let It Go style Mega banger Kyle Isles. Hades turning into a much bigger puppet version of himself in the final showdown almost does the trick. And that was one of my favorite moments from the Hamburg production. I'm glad that they have retained that. Disney musicals have vast budgets and the Lion King is an ongoing reminder that even staying within the lines of the IP bold creatives can achieve something special with that dosh. Andre, I could kiss you for writing that. Hercules, though, is one unit of generic Disney Stage Entertainment. It has charm because it's adapted from a charming film and talented people have made it, but it's definitely not going to go down in legend. I don't even know if that reads like a three star review, and I think if it wasn't, you know, so obviously decent fodder for kids and for families. And you know, I know I said everything before about how we should still hold to a high standard even though it's for kids. That wasn't me suggesting the kids weren't going to enjoy it. I think the kids are going to enjoy it, but they that's not the point. I think if it weren't for that, a lot of these threes would probably be twos. We have another three star here from Nick Curtis in the Evening Standard. He says Hercules at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane chugs along Agreeably enough, this adaptation of the Disney film is slick with some fun songs, but somewhat lacking in strength. Ironically, it might be faint praise, he writes, but this adaptation of Disney's 1997 animated film, which plays fast and loose with ancient Greek myth, is like the slickest panto you've ever seen. Once again, the panto comparison is there. Luke Brady's pumped up Perma grinning and clumsily super strong. Hercules is a menace to society. I keep hearing, like Perma smiling perma grinning. This has come up multiple times and is a prefix I so rarely encounter in reviews. Imagine twice in one day. Wherever put it, he's a menace to society and we haven't even been around that long, as a plaintive Agora dweller puts it, which I actually think is a very witty joke. There are unthreatening puppet monsters, from a many headed Hydra to a galumph Cyclops and a quintet of fairy godmothers in the shape of a girl group chorus of Sassy. You heard it finger wagging Big voiced Muses. The show bounces along on a witty set by Dane Laughrey of pirouetting pillars, giant statue fragments and gorgeous backdrops inspired by Gerald Scarfe's original production design. Interesting. However, Brady's Hercules is sweet but uncharismatic, his romance with Hades bored, seeming servant Meg low powered. The score includes hits from the original film and some new numbers added for the 2019 Off Broadway premiere. I enjoyed the Muse's much reprised Gospel Truth, Hercules Go the Distance and Meg's Forget About it in Performance, but none lingered in the ear or the mind on the journey home. Steven Carlisle's outrageously camp scene stealing Hades gets all the best lines. People die all the time. I should know. I kill them. And Hercules, grumpy old trainer Phil runs him a close second, played of course by Trevor Deer and Nicholas claiming to have taught Pilates how to exercise and to have invented a knight at the Apollo. Does it matter that Hercules should really be called Heracles if we're being Greek rather than Roman about it? I mean, take that up with Disney, because if you're going to try and change that now, like I know I said that they should feel like they have enough creative freedom, per the last review that we read, to step away from the Disney film. I don't think changing simultaneously the name of the protagonist and the title is actually a good move, just in terms of, you know, SEO, if nothing else. Similarly, does it matter that there should be nine muses and not five? Not really, concludes Mr. Curtis. What's more disappointing is the sacrifice of the epic for a generic character arc and the lack of any serious jeopardy. We've heard almost exactly that once before already. The lack of of jeopardy. Interesting to quote the first act closer, Hercules goes from zero to hero by defeating the Hydra, becoming a sort of himbo celebrity, the demigod who put the glad in gladiator before realizing that what he wanted was in front of him all the time. The rest of his labours are whisked over in a confusing montage, as to be honest, they are. In the animated film, the plot by his uncle to take over Olympus is similarly fudged and there's no heat in his affection for Meg. I have to assume, I promise this is the last time I'm going to mention this Hydra thing. I have to assume that they have resolved the plot of the Hydra battle and that he doesn't kill it by just chopping off one of his heads and having done with it. Because there have been so many references to the ancient Greece of it all in these reviews, these critics have really been working hard to let you know how much they know about ancient Greek mythology. And you have to imagine that I wouldn't be the only person taking issue with it if that's how he dispatched the Hydra in the West End production. Maybe they listened to me, or maybe they just listened to reason, or maybe some somebody saw the show and was like, guys, that's not how you kill a Hydra. That's literally the thing you can't do when you kill a Hydra. As I mentioned last time, I'm talking about it. Hades strides around snipping human lifelines like elastic bands setting loose chiffon soles that billow beautifully upward in a cone of light. But there's no real sense of threat or danger. If only script writers Robert Horn and Kwame Kuayama had put as much effort into the plot and emotion as they do into the one liners. And that'll be Robert Horne, king of the one liner, as we learned with Shucked. Like I say, the show chugs along agreeably enough, powered by the attitude and powerhouse vocals of the Muses. But in the ranks of Disney stage adaptations, it feels closer to the mediocre Frozen, which lasted just three years at this theatre from 2021 to 2024, which I don't know if I'm ready to characterize as an objective failure. Although clearly Nick Curtis didn't enjoy it. And admittedly it's not the Lion King, which he references next. The all conquering the Lion King. 25 years in the similarly sized Lyceum and still going strong. Oh, and that was the end. Okay, closer to Frozen than the Lion King is what he concluded. Which, you know, if anything, I think if we were to make a ranking of all Disney stage musicals ever, each production of Hercules that I've seen would all rank below the productions of Frozen. That I've seen both in terms of the production and I think in terms of the material. Sadly. Oh my gosh, there are so many more reviews. Let's go to Sarah Crompton in what's on Stage Disney's Hercules in the West End bursting with energy but lacking in heart, writes Sarah Crompton. This is a three star review. Once again. She begins by talking about Disney's remarkable success since the opening of the Lion King 28 years ago in terms of transforming its chart topping animated movies into stage musicals. And Hercules has all the qualities associated with the brand. It's slick, it's colorful, it's energetic, it's a show where it's perfectly possible to have a good time. Yet something is is missing. Just like in Annie, the wit and warmth that made the 1997 classic rather endearing have been replaced by something much more mechanical and heavy handed. As we follow Hercules on his quest for godlike status, the entire endeavor feels lacking in heart. Ooh, the book is strangely dissonant, she goes on to tell us. It solves some plot problems, muffs others, and varies in tone from the relatively sophisticated. Dating is just wondering why someone is single and then finding out. Which could be a line straight out of the Shucked, couldn't it? To the worthy A town without tolerance is not a town worth saving to the low in that outfit I can see your nuts. As in Y O u re to the simply odd he's so strong he could be a single mother. Which almost actually is a gag from Shucked. What's the line where Gordy drinks the alcohol and he says that's so strong. Could raise like four kids on a teacher's salary. That seems familiar of that joke. The songs by Alan Menken and David Zipple supplement those in the film, but don't ever produce a tune to Touch Zero to Hero or Go the Distance, which were both in the original. It's that is clearly on some levels intended for children. The Telegraph concluded the same thing, so the sets by Dane Laughrey resemble something out of the Flintstones, with fake rocks, big pillars and a bar called the Medusa. There it is. The Medusa confirmed. They are enhanced rather prettily by video designs by George Reeve that whisk Hercules and the musical from one place to the other without ever breaking any new ground. The puppets are equally unsophisticated. Great lumbering Cyclops and T. Rex plus a machine for the time first final battle where Hades suddenly has giant hands that lollop about the stage. Hades himself, Stephen Carlisle doing his best has been turned into a snarling pantomime villain with strong echoes of Scar, who Carlisle previously played on Broadway. Luke Brady's Hercules smiles at every opportunity and has a nice line in cheek, while Mayan Jolin's sweet voiced Meg enlivens each scene in which she appears. Trevity on Nicholas isn't really given enough to do as the trainer Phil charged with the turning Hercules into a superstar. Best of all, as we've heard before, are the five Muses, who combine magnificent gospel rift singing with plenty of humour and knowing sass. They appear in an ever changing wardrobe of outrageous shiny costumes, headdresses glistening, bringing their own rising pillars along with them for added effect. Sarah notes that the scene in the Rose Garden in which they eavesdrop on the courtship of Meg and Hercules, resplendent in pink wigs, skittering on high heels, their voices full of breath and wonder, a scene that we haven't heard mentioned in any other reviews, has a sweetness that is missing elsewhere. Director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw, with co choreographer Tanisha Scott keeps things moving along at a rapid lick. Sometimes it might be nice to let the action pause for breath and tone down the volume of the excellent band under musical director Daniel Whitby. Nice to hear him mentioned. That's the first I believe in any of these reviews, but the plan seems to be to get through everything as quickly as possible, which was noted in a previous review. Not often that people come out of shows saying the whole thing was shorter than needed to be. Hercules is antiseptic fun, she says, carefully manufactured. It isn't a bad night out, but it's like a fizzy drink, lively on the tongue but ultimately unsatisfying. Which I think once again is a little more damning than a three star review might suggest. And I attribute that, I think to I mean the strength of the music from the film and the Muses and their performances, but also the nature of its intended audience. And we'll take a look over David Benedict's thoughts in Variety, but it does seem like we're encountering the same opinions repeatedly. It seems as though there is quite a strong critical consensus on this one. Disney's over bright, relentless revamp muscles into the West End, writes David Benedict. How do you do a flying horse on stage? Answer you don't. They cut the horse.
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I don't know why that isolated sentence after that made me laugh, because we already understood what he meant. But adding just for emphasis, they cut the horse. He seems hurt by that. But while Hercules friend Pegasus may be gone in almost every other other respect, Disney's latest stage adaptation Hercules cleaves to its 1997 animated movie hit. But almost 30 years on sensibilities and the story's tone have changed. Oh, I'm curious about this. In place of actual dramatic tension, the film relied on fast cut, explosive animation and some character zip. Softening those characters for present day sensibilities banishes what little edge there was and leaves everything feeling over bright in a restless and relentless production. At 110 minutes plus intermission, it's longer than the 93 minute movie and feels it. I take everything back. David Bennet Critic doesn't think it feels too short, he thinks it feels too long. Hercules was a moderate success, though something of a disappointment compared with its doubly more profitable immediate predecessor Pocahontas. What connected the two and keeps it alive in the memory of those who saw it was its fun 90s feminist sensibility in Hercules on screen and stage that's embodied by the Muses. A five strong Greek chorus of smart mouthed, lung busting black women. A sound design with more clarity on the vocals than on the brassy 13 piece band would have helped the quintet, but none of them is low on sass or killer melismas and their knowingness is the predominant attitude of director Casey Nicholaw's production. Continuing to say more about them, he writes, their joyful energy kick starts everything and they land every moment striking poses and rising up through the floor of Dane Laughrey's set to the audience's delight. But the thought occurs that it takes more than hydraulics to lift a show. As if aware that engaging plot is not the story's strongest suit, Nicolor keeps his foot on the accelerator throughout. We've heard that before, making sure nothing and no one dawdles as the production hurtles from one incident to the next. He's helped no end by Laughtery's four towering pairs of white Greek pillars moving near non stop into different configurations for the ever changing locations. Aesthetically it's poles apart from Broadway's the Great Gatsby, but like that musical, the visuals here, somewhere between dazzling and downright gaudy are dictated by the dominating video projections. One minute they're showing literal locations, the next they're abstract explosions of colour and texture. He goes on to say that keeping everything fast moving diverts audiences from the thinness of the material, but has a downside in that nothing has time to breathe, even when characters get a moment of self realization. The book, including sizable chunks of the screenplay, replaces drama with platitudes or dialogue gags. No one wants a family musical to be a genuine Greek tragedy, but a genuinely engaging atmosphere and consistency wouldn't have gone amiss, And I appreciate Mr. Benedict for seeking out those qualities in what is obviously still a family show. The strongest scenes belong to those featuring the dashingly droll antagonist Hades. We do see to be hearing that Hades gets the best dialogue. The Muses get all of the best vocal moments. Frock coated and led by his coiffured mane of white hair. A deliciously enjoyable Stephen Carlisle is like Alan Rickman on steroids, with added decibels. Like every actor on the massive theateral Drew Lane stage, he doesn't speak, he shouts happily. Carlisle's characterisation, which picks up where James woods original left off, is strong enough to sustain that level of performance. He really liked Stephen Carlyle. Others fare less well. The original film's henchmen, Pain and Panic, are now feckless putz's Bob and Charles, who look like escapees from the Lord of the Rings. Similarly, Trevity on Nicholas brings industrial quantities of bounce to Phil, but banishing the amusingly furious grumpiness of the character as written for and played by Danny DeVito flattens the friendship between him and Hercules. Because beyond a little early exasperation, the relationship and by extension the whole show has no texture. These are really smart and thoughtful inferences into the material and what isn't working about it beyond just like pace and stuff, songs and jokes. Although speaking of the songs, Alan Menken and David Zippel have increased the song catalogue by some margin. There are 25 listed musical numbers. I believe a great many of these are reprises. That accounts for the increased running time, since it takes much longer to sing something than to say it. Sure, but the new numbers feel merely efficient because they're so generic. But all character potential is flattened by writing and direction. That allows for just one characteristic, a piece that means, as Hercules, buoyant Brady is asked to present little beyond a sweet natured naive hunk celebrated for his gym membership and gleaming dentistry. What is the deal with this man's teeth? That they have been mentioned in every single review? Every review has said, like pantomime, sassy muses Luke Brady's teeth. Happily, he is blessed with a well produced high tenor voice that winningly sails over the band. Curiously, given that Casey began as a choreographer, the lackluster dance is energetic but inexpressive. We haven't heard this before. The hard working cast notwithstanding, even a tap number doesn't raise the temperature. But then, in a show without tap attention and release, maybe expecting galloping excitement is foolish. And there are a great many more reviews that we could take a look at here. It's two stars from the Independent, who wrote like its demigod hero, Disney's Hercules musical loses its divine status in clumsy hands. The show is lit up by sinuous harmonies and heart melting ballads, but the war warmth evaporates when the music stops. Even a dish of angel delight wouldn't tremble at Steven Carlisle's telehost esque evocation of the ruler of the underworld. Carlisle feels as though he's trading in kitchen gadgets on qvc, not tormented human souls. Disappointingly, they've cut the original's crone tastic trio of fates. When will older women in musical theatre catch a break with Hades instead hacking away at ropes representing human lives while two silk scarves floating in a a pyramid of light inadequately represent the innumerable souls in his dominion? There is also mention of Luke Brady's white mesh mini toga that could win first prize in a gay bar costume contest. And having actually participated in a gay bar costume contest myself, I do have to tell you that there is an awful lot of politics involved with the awarding of prizes and you might find yourself disappointed. It has nothing to do with quality, I'm telling you. I believe that was Halloween of 2018 and evidently I'm not over it whatsoever. The script is peppered with one liners that feel like they're lifted from totally different shows. Meg has a whole song about how she doesn't need rescuing, then gets a dispiriting arc which teaches her to stop yapping and start letting strong armed Herc do his work. The retold story is not exactly calculated to thrill the hearts of the millennials who grew up with the film and the kids they'll bring along. And nor is designer Dane Laughrey's overly tasteful, faintly joyless aesthetic, which clutters the stage with projections of Greek mosaics and cumbersome joints. Giant columns, much talk of these columns, massive puppet monsters, much talk of them as well, romp around delivering much needed kid pleasing thrills in the first act, but the overly abstract final battle feels more Burning man rave than roaring fires of hell. I'm enjoying this read a lot. Disney has made many attempts at creating a West End hit to match director Julie Taymor's visionary take on the Lion King. Yes, Hercules has two things stopping it from going the distance. A lack of stagecraft to create moments of real awe and wonder. That's what I've been saying. And a lack of consistency in a script that doesn't really have a cohesive take on who these mythic figures are and why we should care about them. Interesting. Like its hero, this story has lost its divine status in clumsy hands. Wow, I really enjoyed reading that review. Alice Saville for the Independent There with a two star rating but really, really wittily and well written review, I thought you can go read Arifa Akbar's three star thoughts in the Guardian, you can read Stefan Kyriatsis's three star thoughts in the Express, you can read in Celebration, Mandwell's thoughts in Digital Spy. Do we have a star rating to go with that? I'm not sure that we do from that particular outlet. Oh we do and it's another three star. Patrick Marmion in the Daily Mail is a two star. Hercules lacks a punch in new take on Disney classic Broadway world from Kat McCrinsky, also a three star aphrodisiac. Theater News from Sophia A. Jackson is a four star. A little bit more positive there. So was Olivia Rook's thoughts for London Theatre and for London Theatre Direct. We have a review I believe, without a star rating, but there are plenty more reviews that you can read if you want an even more balanced overview of the situation. I'm hoping that I've pulled from enough different places to really get a fairly comprehensive guide as to how the show has been received, but we've heard so many of the same ideas over and over and over again. And critically, I think it feels as though this just wasn't a show that that Disney had ever planned on really investing in creatively, which is both perhaps a little bit surprising and a little bit disappointing. For whatever reason, it seems as though Disney don't believe in Hercules as a stage property. This run at Theatre Royal Drury Lane has only ever been a fixture in order to kill time until the Greatest Showman, which is having its regional world premiere in Bristol next year, eventually is ready to arrive at Theatre Royal Drury Lane and then oust Hercules. Apparently Disney have been taken aback by how well Hercules has sold. I don't think they thought this was going to be as popular as it was. I think Disney sometimes has the capacity to be a little bit foolish about the popularity of some of their previous nostalgic projects. But the ticket sales for stage shows like My Neighbor Totoro prove that if you can put something on stage that is simultaneously appealing to a family audience and nostalgic to a now older audience, to the millennials, to the Gen Z's, then you're actually reaching a very wider array of people. In any case, it will be interesting to see what happens with Hercules. I don't know whether the appeal of getting to see Hercules on stage is so great that it's going to reach out beyond those reviews. I feel like this is a show where the critical response might not necessarily wound it, and there's also the very real possibility that the majority of its target audience aren't people who engage with many reviews in the first place. But those of you who are waiting to hear my thoughts on it, perhaps you can be guided by the ones that I've shared in this video, even though they aren't my own. It'll be very intriguing to see what Hercules's life in the West End looks like. I don't anticipate changes being made to this production while it's still ongoing. I don't think Disney feels as though that's something that they need to implement. It'll be curious to see whether they do plan on taking this to Broadway. Like I said, it didn't seem like Disney had enormous faith in the project, but stranger things have happened before. But those have been my thoughts about some of the reviews of Disney's Hercules at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. I was will do my best, pending my schedule, to get along to see this production as soon as I can, at which point I will bring you my own thoughts and I'll be able to tell you how it has evolved from New Jersey, from Hamburg to this West End arrival. In the meantime, make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss that future video. Make sure you turn on notifications or go follow me on podcast platforms and of course, share all of your thoughts about Hercules in the West End in the comments down below. I hope that everyone's staying safe and that you have a stagey day for 10 more seconds. I'm Mickey Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day. Subscribe.
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