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Disney’s Hercules is officially open in Hamburg

Well, bless my soul!

Tom Millward
Germany
Benét Monteiro (as Hercules) and Mae Ann Jorolan (as Meg) in a scene from Disney's Hercules in Hamburg
Benét Monteiro (as Hercules) and Mae Ann Jorolan (as Meg) in Disney’s Hercules, © Johan Persson

Last Sunday WhatsOnStage was invited to attend the opening night for the European premiere of Disney’s Hercules.

Previously presented in versions helmed by Lear deBessonet in New York and New Jersey, this brand-new production is directed and choreographed by two-time Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (Disney’s Aladdin) and is co-produced by Stage Entertainment and Disney Theatrical.

The new staging is up and running at Hamburg’s Stage Theater Neue Flora in the so-called “Musicalstadt” of Germany. Alongside Hercules, the city is also currently hosting Disney productions of Frozen (“Die Eiskönigin“) and The Lion King (“Der König der Löwen“), as well as cult favourite Der Tanz der Vampire. The German premiere of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (“Harry Potter und das verwunschene Kind‘) is also being mounted in Hamburg, while German premieres for & Juliet and MJ will hit the stage later this year.

Check out footage of our trip to Hamburg in the YouTube short below:

Disney’s Hercules features music by Alan Menken and lyrics by David Zippel, with a book by Robert Horn and Kwame Kwei-Armah. The European premiere is co-choreographed by Tanisha Scott, with set and additional video design by Dane Laffrey, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, sound design by Kai Harada, costume design by Gregg Barnes and Sky Switser and video design by George Reeve.

The creative team also includes puppet designer James Oritz, with hairstyles and wigs by Mia M Neal, makeup by Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche, special effects by Jeremy Chernick, music supervision and arrangements by Michael Kosarin, orchestrations by Danny Troob and Joseph Joubert and dance arrangements by David Chase.

Check out the trailer for the production here:

Whether a UK transfer is on the cards for Disney’s Hercules is still to be determined, but judging from the response to Sunday’s official opening in Hamburg, we’re hoping it can certainly “Go the Distance”!