What Does Disney+ Have For the Musical Fan?

The launch of Disney+ had a few snags during its initial rollout, with more subscribers signing on to the new steaming platform than were initially expected. As the kinks begin to be ironed out, it looks as though Disney+ will provide a host of wonderful options from the worlds of classic and contemporary Disney, Star Wars, Marvel, National Geographic, including many original films and series to enjoy. For those of us who love musicals (film, television, and stage), there are also plentiful offerings, some newer, but most that hold a place of nostalgia in our hearts. Here are some standouts that you can hope to find!

Encore!
The new series Encore!, hosted by Kristen Bell, is an original on the Disney+ platform that takes us back to our high school years, participating in the drama club musical. Told in documentary form, the show reunites the casts of high school productions, years after they have graduated, and recreates the shows where these young thespians bonded and came into their own. Under the direction of professional theatre directors, music directors, choreographers, and designers, they relive the memories of what that process meant to them while simultaneously firing up their talents and taking them for a spin in a new production. The premiere episode sees a cast of Annie go back to the orphanage and the home of Daddy Warbucks, touchingly getting reacquainted and fondly remembering both their drama teacher and memories they created together.  

Newsies
The stage production of the musical Newsies, with most of the Broadway cast intact, was filmed live at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre and played in cinemas as a special event. That musical, with a score by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman, and a book by Harvey Fierstein, is a lively event, captured perfectly on film with all of its high-kicking, Tony-winning Christopher Gattelli choreography. The story of the 1899 New York City newsboy strike is adapted from the 1992 musical film of the same name. The cast includes such Broadway favorites as Jeremy Jordan, Kara Lindsay, Ben Fankhauser, and Andrew Keenan-Bolger. 

Once Upon a Mattress
This 2005 truncated version of the stage musical Once Upon a Mattress received a special production courtesy of The Wonderful World of Disney. Even with some adjustments made to the musical, including the excising of a few songs, this production is a worthwhile watch with comedienne Tracy Ullman playing the unconventional Princess Winnifred, and Carol Burnett (Broadway’s original Winnifred in 1959) stepping into the role of the meddling villain Queen Aggravain. The cast is truly delightful, with Dick Smothers, Matthew Morrison, Zooey Deschanel, Edward Hibbert, Michael Boatman, and a particularly hilarious Denis O’Hare bring to life this musical retelling on the fairytale “The Princess and the Pea,” Broadway stalwart Kathleen Marshall directs. 

Annie
Speaking of The Wonderful World of Disney, the 1999 made-for-TV version of the musical theatre classic Annie features a cast exploding with Broadway stars including Victor Garber as Daddy Warbucks, Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan, Audra McDonald as Grace, Alan Cumming as Rooster, and Kristin Chenoweth as Lily. This version also comes a lot closer (with some exceptions) to capturing the stage musical’s storyline and music (something that was mostly abandoned in the 1982 John Huston directed, big-budget treatment). During the Great Depression, the comic strip orphan of the musical’s title finds a new home and happiness with a lonely millionaire even as she becomes a pawn in an extortion scheme. The Charles Strouse/Martin Charnin score remains as catchy, poignant and nostalgia-inducing as it was when it first premiered on Broadway in 1977. 

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
An awkward title (to say the least), but one that builds on one of Disney’s most successful movie franchises, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series takes us back to the high school where the original High School Musical series started. Ah, but there is a twist. This (also) fictional tale has the East High drama club putting on a production of, you guessed it, High School Musical. A new array of high school characters, plagued with traditional teen issues of fitting in, romance, and planning for their future, are competing for the roles of Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Ryan, Chad, etc. Yes, there is singing, as well as the usual relatable teenage angst. For the record, Disney+ also has all of the original High School Musical films available for streaming on the platform. 

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story
An in-depth look at the partnership of two brothers who created a prolific output for Disney in terms of songs for animated and live-action musicals, The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story is a must-view for anyone interested in how songs for musicals are created. It also goes deeper than that, looking at the complicated relationship between the two brothers who created such iconic songs “It’s A Small World,” “The Bare Necessities,” and the scores for the Academy Award-winning Mary Poppins. Robert and Richard Sherman are an indelible part of the Disney music legacy and this documentary takes us through their journey. 

The Muppets
Disney had little to do with the creation of most of the classic Muppet films, but since acquiring rights to the franchise, they have done right by these audacious and loveable Jim Henson creations, including two new movies that are just as funny and the originals. However, two of the classics appear on Disney Plus: The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, with The Muppets Take Manhattan inexplicably absent. We also find the musical The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island here.

Disney Channel Original Musicals
High School Musical may be the highest profile of the Disney Channel film franchises, but the station has also produced others musical series that have enjoyed success (particularly with that pre-teen and teenage crowd. On Disney Plus you will find many of them including the Jonas Brothers/Demi Lovato vehicle Camp Rock and its sequel, the Ross Lynch/Maia Mitchell Teen Beach Movie and its follow-up, and the Dove Cameron/Cameron Boyce The Descendants series. They are all good, clean, family fun and you will occasionally find yourself humming a melody or two. 

The Disney Classics
Of course, Disney has created a plethora of movie musicals, animated, live-action, and a combination of the two. From early classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio and Cinderella, through Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and Pete’s Dragon, to more contemporary (relatively) entries like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Frozen, (almost) all the Disney classics are here. Though rumored to be a complete opening of the Disney vault, Disney+ does not give access to the racially insensitive Song of the South. More confusing are the absence of such film musicals as The Happiest Millionaire and The One and Only Genuine Original Family Band. Though neither of these were hit films, musical lovers will notice their omission from the streaming platform. Hopefully, this will be rectified. There are many other non-musical titles also missing as well. There is, however, so much to love about having access to the so many of the classics that are on there. 

And… for Some Reason…
…The Sound of Music. How Disney ended up with this property on their site is beyond me, but I am also not complaining. The film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music is both a visual feast and contains a memorable star turn by Julie Andrews. The score boasts such lovelies as “Edelweiss,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Climb Every Mountain,” “My Favorite Things,” and, of course, the sweeping title song. Disney also acquired the rights to The Simpsons for Disney Plus, so they must have struck a deal with Fox (did I miss something?). However it was achieved, it’s nice to find The Sound of Music here amongst many wonder family films.