Disney just announced that a short one-act version of “Rogers: The Musical” will be coming to Hyperion Theater in Disney California Adventure for a limited time in Summer 2023. This post shares the teaser trailer and details about what to expect.
For those who are unfamiliar with it, “Rogers: The Musical” is a meta self-parody featured in a nearly five-minute segment in the first episode of the Disney+ series “Hawkeye.” The musical is based on the life of Steve Rogers, the first Captain America. The backstory in the Disney+ series is that “Rogers: The Musical” was produced at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City in 2024.
The Avengers were invited to see the premiere of the musical, but Clint Barton is the only Avenger who actually shows up. In the Disney+ series, the fictional musical features a show-stopping number called “Save the City,” which is based on The Battle of New York from the first Avengers film.
The award-winning songwriting team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman co-wrote the lyrics for “Save the City,” with Shaiman also producing the actual song recording in the original version of “Rogers: The Musical” seen in “Hawkeye.”
Disney already brought Rogers: The Musical to life once, during the Marvel panel at last year’s Disney’s D23 Expo. That featured an impressive performance of “Save The City” and was a huge hit with event attendees.
We were on hand for that, and it really felt like Disney put a huge amount of effort into a one-off performance. With the benefit of hindsight, now it seems like they were simply testing the waters for something even bigger at DCA.
Speaking of which, here’s the teaser for “Rogers: The Musical” that Disney Parks shared on social media:
A timeless story of a timeless hero! 🇺🇸 💫 A short one-act musical is coming for a limited time this summer to Disney California Adventure Park! Stay tuned for more details🤩 pic.twitter.com/N8Ugh54LsU
— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) February 23, 2023
According to Disneyland Resort, more details about the storyline, music, and the debut date will be shared at a later date. With Magic Happens Parade returning tomorrow (weather allowing), it’s possible there will be more news then.
With all of that said, we do have some additional insight into what “Rogers: The Musical” could contain thanks to a casting call that was posted late last month…
Disney Auditions has posted a casting call for a new limited-run musical at the Hyperion Theater. According to that audition posting, this will be an exciting new Broadway-caliber musical production that will come to life in partnership with Hunter Bell, and featuring music by Emmy-nominated and Grammy-winning composer Christopher Lennertz. The casting call is for the following:
Role #1/Featured Principal – 3 Female identifying roles, 20’s to 50’s. Vocal Range: All. Style: Proficient with harmonization and ability to sing in many styles from Destiny’s Child to Andrew Sisters. These three performers are a fun, energetic and musical sisterhood that acts as the occasional “Greek Chorus”.
Role #2/Featured Principal – Female identifying, mid 20’s to early 30’s. Vocal Range: Mezzo Soprano. Style: contemporary musical theatre. Brave, resourceful and intelligent. Must have a strong English accent.
Role #3/Featured Principal – Male identifying, 17 to 20. Vocal Range: Tenor. Style: contemporary musical theater. Young man coming into his greatness.
Role #4/Featured Principal – Male identifying, 30’s to 40’s. Vocal Range: Baritone/Tenor. Style: contemporary musical theatre. He is decisive, capable, principled and has a wry sense of humor. Leads others with attitude and swagger.
Role #5/Featured Principal – Male identifying, mid 20’s to early 30’s. Vocal Range: Baritone/Tenor. Style: contemporary musical theater. He is a noble, loyal, idealistic, and romantic do-gooder, who does not give up easily.
Singer/Chorus – Male and Female identifying, any age. Vocal Range: All. Style: contemporary musical theatre. These performers will play many roles and create the world for this story. Some roles will be required to dance.
The mention in Role #1 of it being for a fun, energetic and musical sisterhood that acts as the occasional “Greek Chorus” led to fan speculation that this would be a production of Hercules. There’s also the fact that Bell wrote “Villains Tonight!” for Disney Cruise Line, which further suggests it could be Hercules-related.
However, we thought those were red herrings and guessed that it would instead be a production of “Rogers: The Musical.” Turns out that was correct.
Our commentary then still applies today. The arguments in favor of Rogers: The Musical are that it’s right next to Avengers Campus and the listings mostly match characters from that (Steve, Peggy, Tony, etc).
Introducing Rogers: The Musical as a limited-run offering would be a low-stakes way to test out a parody production and see if it’s viable as a bona fide show. Fans loved Rogers: The Musical, and it has the sort of oddball and self-deprecating wit that could work.
Ultimately, we’re really looking forward to this for a few reasons. First, I love “Weird Disney.” I think way too many things the modern company does are risk-averse, perfectly-polished and crafted by committee. The end result is that they usually have a baseline minimum quality level, but are also predictable and have a manufactured feel.
Doing something different and a bit out there does yield some flops (KiteTails), but it also results in things that are funny and memorable and break the mold of what Disney normally does (also KiteTails; Merry Menagerie). “Rogers: The Musical” sounds like it’ll be another entertainment offering that fits the bill on the “Weird Disney” front. I can’t wait.
Beyond that, there’s the practical reality of what “Rogers: The Musical” brings to the table. Disney California Adventure needs more attractions and entertainment, and putting a production back into the Hyperion just makes sense. The Aladdin and Frozen musicals were world-class, and although this won’t be that, it should be a fun way to fill the day.
Plus, Avengers Campus needs room to grow, and this would be one way to accomplish that. Suffice to say, I’m a big fan of this decision, and hope the creative team is given breathing room to turn this into something fun and special that can evolve into a permanent production at the Hyperion.
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Your Thoughts
What do you think about “Rogers: The Musical” coming to Disney California Adventure in Summer 2023? Disappointed that it’s not Hercules or a montage show? Think this will be a good addition to Avengers Campus, or does the production sound too cheesy to you? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
