[00:00:00] Speaker A: I now know that I have a job where I can inspire other people to believe in their dreams, whatever that may be, to inspire other kids especially to keep going and what it is they want to do and instill that same inspiration that I had when I saw my first show in the the.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: Welcome back everyone to another episode of the DCL Duo Podcast brought to you by my Path Unwinding Travel. Today's episode is a really, really special one. We had the amazing opportunity on board the Disney Destiny preview cruise to speak to some folks from Disney Live Entertainment at Disney Signature Experiences. In these interviews you're going to hear us talk to various cast and crew about the live entertainment offerings on board the Disney Destiny and even across the fleet. Specifically, we're going to talk quite a bit about Hercules, the new musical on ST Stage in the Walt Disney Theater on the Disney Destiny. You're also going to hear us talk about the Storyteller Ziya and Gamble. We're going to talk about Fireworks at sea. This is just a jam packed episode of interviews with a bunch of different people.
You're also going to hear I'm going to do some of the interviews, Brian's going to do some of the interviews. And then a couple of the interviews we actually did jointly with the folks at WDW and DCL magazine.
And then we also involved Adam Bankhurst from ign. He covers Disney parks, Disney entertainment, Disney history. And so we've got to give a special thanks to Tim from WDW and DCL Magazine and a special thanks to Adam from ign. We really enjoyed meeting you guys on board and collaborating with you in these interviews. So the first interview you all are going to hear is with Aaron Dale who is a producer for Hercules the Musical onboard the Disney Destiny.
Let's hear from Erin. Now, Erin, why don't you give us your name and your title here with Walt Disney Live Entertainment.
[00:02:04] Speaker C: Sure.
[00:02:04] Speaker D: I'm Erin Dale and I am the producer for Disney Hercules.
[00:02:07] Speaker C: Awesome.
[00:02:07] Speaker B: Now tell us how long does it take to produce a show like this from, you know, conception to bringing it here on the Walt Disney Theater stage.
[00:02:15] Speaker D: So it is about a three and a half year process.
It takes a long time to develop these shows, to make sure that they're right for our guests on board and to make sure that we have every element correct and fleshed out. So it's about three and a half years from workshops to Read Sings rehearsals in Toronto and then bringing it to rehearsal on the ship which is about another month long process just on board. So it takes an army it takes a village, and it takes a long time.
[00:02:42] Speaker B: Yeah, well, and that means you've got already in production, or at least Walt Disney Live Entertainment has already in production. Perhaps the feature show for Wish class ship number four.
Even the OLC ship.
[00:02:53] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. So they're already under.
Not sure what they are yet. Me personally, because I'm very focused on the Destiny at the moment, but we're already developing those shows and kind of making sure that we have the right fit for that.
[00:03:08] Speaker C: Right.
[00:03:08] Speaker D: Next ship.
[00:03:09] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:03:09] Speaker B: Can you tell me what the difference is in producing a show on land versus on sea?
[00:03:14] Speaker D: Sure, yeah. The difference is that you are on a moving vessel. Right.
You have a lot of different elements that happen on a moving ship than just something that's doesn't move. Right. So we have to make sure that our scenic elements, our performers are safe. Obviously, you saw last night, we have a lot of different things that move in this show. We have puppetry. We've got exoskeletons. We've got all these different things that we have to make sure that have gone through the process of safety. Right. To make sure that they're safe for sea when we're moving on a vessel. Lots of moving parts and pieces.
[00:03:49] Speaker B: Can you tell me, aside from Hercules, what your favorite Walt Disney Theater show across the fleet is?
[00:03:55] Speaker D: I'm biased because I worked on the Treasure. I love Moana.
I think it's got this beautiful story. It has so much heart to it, and it's just an incredible show.
[00:04:07] Speaker B: Yeah, it's fantastic. We love it. One of our favorites, of course.
Gotta ask.
You know, we've got very strong personalities in Moana. You've got the rock in the original film. Is it hard to translate the film to stage and worry about the audience maybe comparing the actors that we're seeing on stage to the characters from the original movies?
[00:04:29] Speaker D: Sure. Yeah. I think there's always gonna be that comparison. Right. But I think that's the great thing. And the beauty about theater is that we are able to do diverse casting and do something that's a little bit different. We don't have to stick exactly to the film because it's a theatrical interpretation of the show. So it doesn't have to be an exact.
It doesn't have to be exactly Maui.
So we can put a different performer in there that has a completely different take. And that's the beauty of theater, is that sometimes they bring that character to life in a different way than you even thought possible.
[00:05:00] Speaker B: Well, we love this reinterpretation. Of course. We Love all of the tweaks to the music, the updating, I mean, the dancing, the puppetry, everything. It was just such a fantastic production. Thank you so much for all you do and putting on these amazing performances.
[00:05:13] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:05:13] Speaker D: I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
[00:05:14] Speaker B: Wow. What an incredible opportunity to speak to Erin.
[00:05:17] Speaker F: Thank you.
[00:05:17] Speaker B: About everything it takes to put into production a live musical on a ship at sea. Now, our next interview is probably one of my favorites. It's with Jeff Conover, who is the creative director of Puppetry and Articulation for the Walt Disney Company. And he is just an incredible wealth of knowledge about all things puppetry. Of course, you all know I'm a huge fan of, you know, Jim Henson puppetry. I'm a huge fan of the Muppets. I'm a huge fan of any stage show that uses puppetry, whether that's Frozen, Hercules.
Seize the Adventure. Really, there's so much puppetry onboard Disney Cruise Line. So let's hear from Jeff now. Jeff, can you tell us your name and your title with Live Entertainment?
[00:06:02] Speaker E: My name is Jeff Conover. I am the creative director for Puppetry and Articulation with Walt Disney Imagineering, and I'm the designer of all of our puppets in the Hercules Show.
[00:06:12] Speaker B: Amazing. I gotta say, these Hydra puppets are just incredible.
[00:06:17] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:06:17] Speaker B: I'm curious what it takes and how long it takes from sort of conception to what we see here on the Walt Disney Theater stage.
[00:06:25] Speaker E: Yeah, I think, again, going back through my iphoto archive last night, you know, been working on this for about a year and a half. You know, it starts with a napkin sketch and just sort of throwing around some ideas, and then it goes to an illustrator. Because I am not the best illustrator on the world. I do want to present something that looks semi professional, but I send all of my napkin sketches to an illustrator. And in this case, our illustrator was Lon Smart, who was one of our animators, and he's now working at Imagineering, and he helped me create sort of the look of. Of these guys. But it all started really with, you know, what is the requirement of these characters in the show. And one of the big requirements, of course, with the Hydra was that they have to eat our Hercules performer.
[00:07:20] Speaker G: Right.
[00:07:21] Speaker B: And he's not a small guy.
[00:07:22] Speaker E: No, Corey is. He's got to be 6, 2, and he's broad and he's built.
[00:07:29] Speaker B: I mean, he is Hercules.
[00:07:30] Speaker H: Of course.
[00:07:31] Speaker I: That's the expectation.
[00:07:32] Speaker H: Right.
[00:07:33] Speaker E: So, yeah, the. The spirit scale of these and sort of the. The overall character design was developed around that need and that requirement. So that is kind of where it all started. And then you just iterate from there. You know, we go from, from that idea and those illustrations to a what we call a flat Stanley, which is sometimes a dimensional bit of foam core, or it's just a flat piece of foam core, just to double check scale. And we look at that, we tape out a stage, usually in a rehearsal room, or we'll bring that flat Stanley to the actual stage in one of our ships and just look at that scale and how it blends in with the rest of the stage.
Then we go another step further and we do a pattern drafted foam version of that head just so we can finally see something dimensional. Oftentimes that is also articulated so we can get a little bit of like mouth movement in this case to see what the mouth looks like and is it big enough? And then we continue to iterate from there.
The next version of that usually ends up being something that is a little bit more performable. And we do a puppet workshop. And that is where we get all of our puppet ideas in some type of dimensional form, whether it was Nessus or the Hydras or our large Titan puppets. And we get them on their feet and we do just a puppet workshop and try to figure out what's the physical vocabulary of these characters, how do they perform with other performers on stage. And in this case we had a Corey type performer come into this puppet workshop. We did a lot of stage combat just to see what the characters were capable of.
Then we'd go to Toronto with the next version of the puppets because there's a lot we learned from that puppet workshop. And we go to Toronto, we put the whole show together and we are simultaneously building the show puppet while we're in rehearsals. But it's just lagging behind a little bit and it allows us to make changes to those puppets along the way. So that's the process.
[00:09:49] Speaker B: Now, was there any consideration for doing, let's say miniature puppets? Kind of like we see, you know, the Frozen show. At the very beginning of the show you have this AM scene where Kristoff is young and he's doing the whole ice thing and you have a little.
[00:10:04] Speaker C: Sven.
[00:10:04] Speaker B: Was there any thought to doing something on like a smaller scale without real live performers in costume or in a puppet? For example, for the Hydra scene or for the Titan scene. Cause this is super complex. I mean, you guys went with, I think, the more difficult version. Right.
[00:10:20] Speaker C: To put on.
[00:10:21] Speaker E: We like to make things hard on our show.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, visually it's stunning, of course. But I'm just curious, was there any thought to doing that sort of miniature version for Eve?
[00:10:30] Speaker E: Not for this show. Mainly because, you know, all of the characters that we're trying to recreate, these titans, all of the monsters in the film, they're massive. They're huge.
So immediately we had to go big. And that was the challenge for the whole show is how do we create scale, make it that we can perform it, but also store it backstage? That's the big challenge always is, where do you store this stuff? So, yeah, everything that I had to worry about was massive scale.
[00:11:06] Speaker B: Well, thank you so much, Jeff. We so appreciate your time.
[00:11:09] Speaker C: Pleasure to be here.
[00:11:10] Speaker E: Nice to meet you guys.
[00:11:11] Speaker B: Our next interview is with Michael Cerna. He's the executive creative director for the musical onboard Disney Cruise line. We got to talk to him about Hercules, but also about some of his other favorites across the fleet. Let's listen now. I am here with the executive creative director for Hercules the Musical here at the Walt Disney Theater on the Disney Destiny. I'm Samantha Kenner from the DCL Duo Podcast. It's lovely to meet you, Michael.
[00:11:34] Speaker H: Nice to meet you too.
[00:11:35] Speaker B: Michael. How long does it take from conception to the production that we saw last night here on the stage?
[00:11:42] Speaker H: It's a long process. It's about three and a half years. Almost four years.
[00:11:45] Speaker B: Wow. Now, tell me when you are creating a musical like this inspired by, of course, a classic Disney film. One of my favorites.
[00:11:55] Speaker H: Mine too.
[00:11:56] Speaker B: As a young teen, I must admit, if I am aging myself.
[00:12:00] Speaker H: You're 12 or 11.
[00:12:02] Speaker B: Absolutely. So, you know, how does one decide how to reinterpret a animated film and put it here on the stage?
[00:12:10] Speaker H: Well, I mean, first of all, we all love the story as well. So I think that started with the right team that loves the story, wanted to see it come to life in a really fresh, unique way. And so for us, it was really starting with the of going back to the film itself, not worrying about any version that had been done before. Let's look at the film. And our writer, Sarah Wordsworth, sort of went back right to the script and said, what are the parts that we need to do that we have to do that everyone's gonna expect to see on stage?
[00:12:36] Speaker B: Of course.
[00:12:36] Speaker H: How do we start with that? Music was the key. Every song has to stay in.
[00:12:39] Speaker C: Right.
[00:12:39] Speaker H: And so she sort of said, how do we break that down into a 55 minute musical, which is a super big challenge, but still try to keep in characters like Pegasus and Pain and Panic, characters People love not try to lose too much of that fun stuff.
[00:12:51] Speaker B: And you added a song and then add a song.
[00:12:54] Speaker H: So in doing that, she realized we actually are missing a beat in the film. No shade to the team that made the film. But we don't really get to see Megan Hurk fall in love.
[00:13:02] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:13:03] Speaker H: So she was one who said, hey, why don't we salvage Shooting Star? Try to see if that can be used as a duet to sort of bring their romance to a head. And that's sort of how we got that pathway of making that song, sort of. That really reinventing the song into a really fun, romantic beat.
[00:13:17] Speaker B: Who was supposed to sing it? Originally?
[00:13:19] Speaker H: It was Herc's song.
[00:13:20] Speaker B: It was just Herc.
[00:13:20] Speaker H: Instead of Go the Distance, it was Shooting Star.
[00:13:23] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness.
[00:13:25] Speaker H: Very different.
[00:13:25] Speaker B: Yes, Very. Well, I loved the song, I have to tell you. It was just beautiful.
[00:13:30] Speaker H: Thank you.
[00:13:31] Speaker B: I've got to ask about Pegasus.
[00:13:33] Speaker H: Yes.
[00:13:33] Speaker B: Now you have the choice. You have a choice with Pegasus of doing puppetry like we've done with Maximus in Rapunzel or Sven in Frozen.
But you guys went with the choice of. I'm going to call it the Magic Carpet. An Aladdin.
An acrobat, really, but somebody who is making, you know, vocal noises to sound like a Pegasus. A horse.
You know, what was that creative or what went into that creative decision?
[00:13:59] Speaker H: Well, that, you know, that is really showing how imaginative our directors are, because we basically went into rehearsals in New York City for the workshop of Putting on its feet. And in that workshop, we actually just had an actor fill in to sort of be Pegasus, knowing that we hadn't figured out, was it going to be a puppet, was it going to be a fusion of a puppet and whatever, a person holding a marionette. And then this actor came in and just started playing a horse, this really great gymnast. And he sort of just you know, made his hands into hooves and started acting it out. And we all fell in love immediately with this idea of almost this sidekick, this little, you know, almost a dog type character, his little best friend. And we thought, oh, this is a whole different way to think of this character. And we immediately fel.
Our designer came up with an amazing costume design for him. And we just said, let's lean into the kind of fun weirdness of all of it. And similar thing happened with pain and panic, to be honest.
[00:14:52] Speaker B: Oh, really?
[00:14:53] Speaker H: We had them originally as more scaled puppets.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: Oh, like in Frozen, those puppets. Okay.
[00:14:58] Speaker G: Yeah.
[00:14:59] Speaker H: And then the two actors came in and they were just so good. And we gave them a puppet and it wasn't as good. And I said, I think the puppet's getting in the way. Let's let the actors be the characters.
[00:15:09] Speaker B: I love that choice. I will say I was surprised by the Pegasus choice. I was expecting a similar to Maximus, I'll be perfectly honest.
But by, like, a few moments into seeing that actor on stage, I was just enthralled and amazing. His body movement is just incredible. I don't know how one teaches that. I don't know how one learns that.
[00:15:28] Speaker H: I think you're just gifted in a certain physical sphere.
[00:15:30] Speaker F: Absolutely.
[00:15:31] Speaker B: I've got to ask what your favorite song or favorite musical scene is in the show.
[00:15:40] Speaker H: You know, I think there's so many. I mean, I'm so lucky that I get to watch it so many times and fall in love with different parts every time. But I think what I think where we have landed on the director's vision and the arranger, Bradley Knight, who's our music arranger, Bradley Knight is from the world of gospel music. And so he infused our finale, Star Is Born, with this really amazing amount of gospel energy. And so, to me, the rethinking of that song and the sort of continuation, because it doesn't just end where it normally ends, it continues on. That, to me, is sort of the highlight for me. It's, again, a beautiful finale, but also just so energy, and it's so authentic to our directors, and it represents their background and what they wanted to bring to the stage. And I love seeing it because of that.
[00:16:24] Speaker B: Yeah. The vocal syncopation with Starring is born.
[00:16:27] Speaker C: So great.
[00:16:28] Speaker H: Right?
[00:16:28] Speaker B: I was enthralled.
[00:16:29] Speaker H: It's constantly in my head.
[00:16:30] Speaker C: I'll be honest.
[00:16:31] Speaker B: I'm singing it in my head right now, I must admit to you. Michael, thank you so much for putting on just an incredible production. This is like a dream come true for me to see it on this stage. I tell people all the time on our podcast, if I can transport myself anywhere in the world, it's in, like, the fourth row center of the Walt Disney Theater. On any of the Disney ships.
[00:16:51] Speaker H: It's a good seat.
[00:16:51] Speaker B: It is a great seat. I've got to ask you, aside from Hercules, what's your favorite production on Disney Cruise Line?
[00:16:59] Speaker F: On any of.
[00:17:00] Speaker B: The. The fleet. Any of the ships.
[00:17:02] Speaker H: That's a tough one. We have amazing shows.
[00:17:05] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:17:06] Speaker H: I think I'll be biased because, again, I worked on Moana last year, so I also got to spend a lot of time living in the world of Moana.
[00:17:12] Speaker I: Absolutely.
[00:17:12] Speaker H: And I really love what we did with that show. If I cannot pick a show I worked on, I'll do that.
[00:17:17] Speaker B: Yeah, do that.
[00:17:18] Speaker H: I would say Beauty and the Beast. I think Beauty and the Beast is constantly a winner of a show. It's just a great story.
I have such a personal connection to the story, and I think that production is stunning.
[00:17:30] Speaker C: It is.
[00:17:31] Speaker B: I would agree.
[00:17:32] Speaker I: Thank you.
[00:17:32] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Michael. Really appreciate you. Nice to meet you as well.
[00:17:36] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:17:37] Speaker B: Thanks so much, Michael. Really appreciated chatting with you on board.
Now let's head over to our star of Hercules, Corey J. Bradford. Good morning, Corey. I'm Samantha Cantor from the DCL Duo podcast. I'm also here with friends from the WDW magazine and Adam Banghurst as well. And so we wanted to kind of talk to you about what it means to be Hercules in this wonderful production on the Walt Disney Theater stage.
[00:18:01] Speaker A: Oh, thank you so much.
It really. I can't talk about it without getting emotional sometimes, because I.
When they first announced that Hercules was coming to the Disney Destiny, I was quick to get on my email and be like, okay, how do I be a part of this? How to. And I. Hercules was there. But just anything. How do I be a part of this production? And so getting Hercules, honestly, of course, really made me a starting to believe in myself. At 27, you know, I started to really believe in myself. I've been here for a long time. I've been in the Broadway industry for a long time, in the theater industry for a long time. And so now to get here and to know that, oh, wait, I can believe in my dreams. I have this goal. I went out for it. I said it was gonna happen for me, and now here I am. I'm still pinching myself to this day, if you can believe it or not.
But I now know that I have a job where I can inspire other people to believe in their dreams, whatever that may be, to inspire other kids, especially to keep going and what it is they want to do and instill that same inspiration that I had when I saw my first show in the theater and saying, that's what I want to do. I want to be on stage doing that, making how I feel right now, which is joy, which is happiness, which is that, you know, you come to the theater to escape. And so you leave inspired, feeling a bit better about life, yourself, the people around you.
And so that's just, you know, what I hope and that's what it means to me to be Hercules. Yeah.
[00:19:37] Speaker H: So you're playing such an iconic role, especially for millennials, your portrayal of Hercules.
[00:19:44] Speaker G: Though, is distinct from the one in the film. So how did you toe that line.
[00:19:48] Speaker H: Of, you know, respecting the animated version.
[00:19:50] Speaker A: But also really making for Heelys, your own. Yeah, well, I know that also, too. You know, with this company, we always want to, you know, improve on what we've done. We don't want to do anything the same way we've done it the last time. And so with this production, you know, they. I was really, you know, I approached with such a.
What is the word I'm looking for? Just, I wanted to take it very.
[00:20:13] Speaker I: Careful, especially for Millennials, you know, just.
[00:20:15] Speaker A: Because I'm a big fan. Even if it is distinct, the movie.
[00:20:20] Speaker I: Fantastic animated version, but also really making.
[00:20:26] Speaker A: And so to answer your question, you know, the team really told me they're like, corey, want to see you in this. And I'm like, okay, well, you know, I'm going to be riffing. You know, I'm going to be dancing. I'm going to be giving it a little bit of a spin. And I think they wanted to bring it more so into the modern day. I mean, you saw last night where we have, you know, certain characters saying, you know, well, what's the tea? And stuff like that. And so it's really set in 2025, and we want to be current. You know, we want to stay up to date, we want to stay trendy. And I think that, you know, when Hercules originally came out, it was very ahead of its time. It was very trendy, it was very.
This is different than what we've seen before.
And so we just want to kind of keep that same feel on it as what the 1997 film did. We want to do that as well in 2025.
[00:21:15] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:15] Speaker G: And Corey, you know, speaking of Hercules, obviously jumping off what they were talking about, how it's such an iconic role and it's a big thing to be a part of. But I'm curious, what was that one moment? Whether it was rehearsal, whether it was on stage, whether it was a small moment that made you say, I'm Hercules. And instead of kind of telling us, how would you tell a young Corey about that moment?
[00:21:34] Speaker A: Oh, gosh, well, you're making me cry.
I think that it was when we did our first table read of it.
You know, I originally got the role in March of this year, and then we did a promo event on the. On the Wish for It, where I met the team in April.
But it wasn't until, like, I knew I got it right, but it wasn't until we had Our first table read in July to where I was like, look at how far we've come. Look at what we've gone through.
And it feels right, you know, I don't want to get too cheesy, but it feels like I was destined to play this just in, without getting into too much detail, just in the trajectory of where my life has gone, what I've had to go through. And we've, you know, we all had to jump through hoops and obstacles and challenges arise that we don't necessarily know while we're in them, you know, how we're going to get through them, but we do. And so now to bring it, you know, here to where we are today, I'm just super thankful. I always, like, before I get on the stage, I'm like, okay, little Corey, like, we want this. We dreamed of this. So let's not, you know, let's go out there and do what we've always wanted to do if we dreamed of it. Now we're here. Let's take it 100% and give it a good show.
[00:22:56] Speaker B: So, yeah, I wanted to ask you, what does it mean to be a diverse cast and a diverse Hercules, different from what people are used to seeing, or in the film version, the animated version? I mean, this cast is so richly diverse and wonderful. And I want to understand what. What does that mean to you?
[00:23:14] Speaker A: I mean, it's what I've always, you know, I think it's what I've always wanted to see, especially being a black man. And in seeing, you know, sometimes we don't see enough of it.
And watching, I wish I could watch it. I haven't watched it. I sometimes say I want to sit in the audience and watch our show, but seeing, you know, videos of it and it's such a rich and beautiful show, especially with, you know, I love our muses, right? And, you know, in the film, we have all female muse. With our production, you know, we have two male presenting muses. And so even seeing that, too, not just it being about this meeting black people or this meeting white people, we also have. Well, no, this is a muse. Muse can be anything. This is also a Greek, you know, mythology. So, you know, we're going to make it this person. We're going to make it who fits the bill. We're going to make it people and storytellers who can give us a great story, who can give us the vision that, you know, they've been looking for. And so being up here and knowing that there might be someone else who looks like me out there who may have thought that they can't do you know that? Well, you can. You know, you're seeing it. It can happen. And I'm happy that the doors are being open in that sense, space. So it's a really big honor, and I don't take it lightly.
[00:24:39] Speaker B: Well, congratulations on all your success. We so appreciate you.
What an honor it was to speak with Corey. He is a staple in the Disney Cruise Line community. He is just a fantastic singer, actor, dancer. What a talented guy. We look forward to seeing his future success at Disney and beyond. Now, my next interview is with Matthew Patrick Quinn. I apologize. I stated his name as Matthew Patrick in the interview, but I left off his last name Quinn. He is the Broadway visiting artist on board the Disney Destiny, and he plays Hades. He has starred on Broadway as Hades as well as in the national tour as Hades. He's just a fantastically talented guy, and it's a treat to see him on stage in this production. Let's hear from him now. All right, we are here with Matthew Patrick, who plays Hades in the amazing performance of Hercules on the Walt Disney Theater stage here on the Disney Destiny. I'm Samantha Kenner from the DCL Duo Podcast. I'm also here with Tim from WDW magazine and also with Adam Bankhurst here as well. And we are so excited to see you perform last night. It was just incredible. What does it mean to you to play Hades on the Walt Disney Theater stage? To originate Hades on the Walt Disney Theater stage?
[00:25:54] Speaker G: I mean, I think you just said it right there. Having the opportunity to say that I originated the role of Hades in Disney Cruise Lines. Hercules is something that nobody else will ever have the ability to say, and it is so. I don't know if you heard me just speaking to the girl before you. I grew up going to Disneyland as a child, and I have been inspired by Disney since being, like, 8 years old.
I remember watching Fantasmic in Anaheim when it opened, and that was coming off of the heels of Hook, the movie, which opened just the winter prior and. And I would say was 8 years old. And that moment where the music, you know, kind of crescendos and then there's a blackout and then a cannon, and then the Jolly Roger gets hit with the spotlights.
That took my breath away as a child. And I knew in that moment that I wanted to be a part of something as epic as Disney creates something so immersive that creates a memory that even as I'm standing here talking to you, like, I feel It, I can smell it. I'm brought right back there.
[00:27:08] Speaker C: And.
[00:27:09] Speaker G: And so I was given the opportunity to originate Captain Hook in Villains Tonight, which was a full circle moment, and then go on to make my Broadway touring debut in Finding Neverland, getting to play Captain Hook. So now, having just done Hades in Hadestown on Broadway, then coming here to originate Hades, it's just like these full circle moments just keep happening and Disney is always a part of it and it's extremely fulfilling.
And as cheesy as this may sound, you know, here at Disney we say that we're in the business of creating happiness and creating magic.
And when I think about little 8 year old me being so inspired to follow the path of being in live entertainment, I think of the kids that are coming here that this might be their first time seeing a show and knowing that they could be here in 20 years, in 10, 15, whatever, however many years they could be on this stage. And that's so special.
[00:28:12] Speaker H: So, Captain Hook, Hades, what is it you find so compelling about playing the bad guy?
[00:28:18] Speaker G: I think that there was a great line in Villains tonight, which was, without a villain in your story, your hero has nothing to do. And I think that it's just like the duality of any story. You have to have a hero, you have to have a villain. That's the theme of the ship. And I personally as an actor love playing the villains because they have a backstory too. And so there's something that got them to the point of donning the title of villain. So I love digging into that and finding out, well, what brought them to the moment, the point of being so angry or so vicious or having that.
And I don't know, I think they're just fun. They are, they're just fun characters. Especially the way Disney writes them. They always seem to have these quirky, sort of humorous, especially with Hades, that's been such a great joy is that Hades in Hadestown was so tortured and so heavy. And this version of Hades, he's lighter, he's comedic, he's fast talking, he's slick. And so it just completely dips into a different skill set as an actor, which is extremely fulfilling. Yeah. And you know, jumping off some of the points you talked about, you know, obviously becoming Hades, making such a big role in a big, big moment for becoming the villain. But like, personally, what was that moment for you where you, you were like, I am Hades. Like, is it whether it was a small moment on stage or with a co star or with something like, what was that special moment? Behind the scenes where you're like, I'm Hades and this is Hercules, I think a lot of times, and I would probably not be the first actor to say this is when you finally see yourself with all the makeup and the costume, and you take that first moment stepping on stage and you hear the audience's reaction.
There are many moments when I'm standing upstage, my first reveal, and I turn around and there's applause. And, you know, this character has a reputation. This character means something to people. And that's when you, you feel sort of the weight of responsibility to, to bring this character to life for people. And that's that moment where you just know, oh, okay, this is happening. I am the guy for these people. I am that character.
[00:30:47] Speaker B: I gotta ask, how long does the makeup take? Because you're, you're a blue Hades, just like in the animated film. How long does that take?
[00:30:55] Speaker G: So at this point now, I think I've gotten. I do it myself and I've gotten it to about 45 minutes.
[00:31:03] Speaker B: That's incredible. That's incredible.
[00:31:04] Speaker G: And a lot of the time actually goes to this. Committing to putting the makeup into the beard. The rest of it is. I love makeup. I mean, I'm, I'm an actor. We love every aspect of the process. But, but makeup in general for me is always such a transformative moment in the process, and so I really enjoy it.
[00:31:23] Speaker H: So you mentioned, you know, feeling the weight of this character. And, you know, not only is there James Wood's portrayal from the film, but you've played Hadestown in a very different, you know, a different kind of show. How did you toe the line of.
[00:31:36] Speaker I: You know, respecting what we know from.
[00:31:39] Speaker H: The animated film, but also really making.
[00:31:41] Speaker A: This Hades your own?
[00:31:44] Speaker G: Yeah, I would say it really came to working together with the creative team and discussing what their end goal was with the character because they, from the get go, continued to tell us, you know, we're trying to reimagine this show. We're trying to make a. It's a fresh, new approach. And so I always just go back to the source material. I do use interviews that James woods did sort of as a guidepost as to how he approached the character. And so I looked at, you know, he said in interviews he sort of viewed him as a, like a fast talking Hollywood agent. And I thought, oh, well, I'm very familiar with that. So you use that sort of as your grounding and then just work from there in terms of, well, okay, well, how does a fast talking Hollywood agent, like, carry himself Physically.
And also just using his vocal speech pattern as inspiration.
Taking all that.
Taking all that together and then mixing it in with a little bit of my own personality, because I also can have a tendency to be a little bit, like, you know, sarcastic and, you know, quirky. And so they. They were really. The creative team was really amazing at inspiring us to sort of just kind of pull from ourselves, from our backgrounds, from our own lives, and I think we've brought it to a place that's extremely fresh and exciting.
[00:33:15] Speaker B: Well, thank you so much for your time, Matthew, and congratulations on all of your success both on the Broadway stage and here on the Walt Disney Theater stage.
[00:33:22] Speaker G: It's very nice to meet you. Thank you so much.
[00:33:24] Speaker B: Thank you. Wow. Matthew is a really incredibly dynamic person to talk to. I could have talked to him for hours and hours on end. What a great interview. Thanks so much, Matthew. Next up is Jenny Winebloom, the vice president of Disney Live Entertainment for Disney Signature Experiences. Brian got to talk to her about live entertainment across the fleet and specifically about our storytellers on board the Disney Destiny, the Disney Treasure, and of course, the Disney Wish, where they originated. Let's listen in now, Jenny, can you.
[00:33:53] Speaker I: Introduce yourself to our audience and what you do with the cruise line?
[00:33:56] Speaker F: Absolutely. I'm Jenny Weinblum, Vice president, Disney Live Entertainment for Disney Signature Experiences.
[00:34:00] Speaker I: Jeffrey R. Amazing. I overheard you talking earlier. Your remit sounds very broad in terms of all of the entertainment on board.
[00:34:07] Speaker B: Yes, indeed.
[00:34:08] Speaker A: Indeed.
[00:34:09] Speaker I: I am super curious. We are huge fans of what they did on the Treasure and now brought to the Destiny with Sage and Coriander and now Gamble and Zaya. I'm so curious, like, where did the inspiration for that come from? Because it's so unique, kind of amongst some of the entertainment offerings on Meeper's Line.
[00:34:26] Speaker F: Absolutely.
Our Treasure Seekers on the Treasure and Destiny, Seekers here on the Destiny and their predecessors on the Wish as well. We kind of have the original DNA of that idea did come to fruition on the Wish and then develop more fully with subsequent ships. The storytelling duos have roots in a lot of different places in the larger Disney canon.
As we were developing them, things that come up in conversation, of course, are the Adventurers Club, the World Showcase Players.
[00:35:03] Speaker C: The.
[00:35:05] Speaker F: Citizens of Hollywood. You know, we have other kind of atmosphere performance throughout our kind of larger Disney worlds today, and even more so in the past, we felt really strongly that here at DCL we have the opportunity to create characters who guests can really build a relationship with, who we'll see over and over day in and day out throughout our sailing in multiple offerings and can really fall in love with. And we're so fortunate here. Zaya and Gamble, these are phenomenal, phenomenal comic actors who are being led beautifully by our creative director Jen Bascom, as well as show director Ben Schrader and Phillip Kelly. And we're so proud of everything that.
[00:35:49] Speaker I: These characters can do with the heroes and villains interactions on board. These meet and play or greet and play moments. You know, there's been a lot of speculation that there was some inspiration drawn from the starcruiser experience.
Is that.
Was there some inspiration there?
[00:36:06] Speaker F: I think that's absolutely fair. You know, we.
Disney Cruise Line's a really exciting site in that we have a. We have a captive audience on our ships for a specific period of time that allows us to build relationships with those guests over the time that we spend together. They see us, but we see them too. And we can respond to the ways that they engage with our story worlds and with our characters.
We also have a limited number of guests on board our partner sites around the world where guests are coming to each park, maybe one day on that vacation, not necessarily multiple. And they're one of many, many thousands, versus here we have this opportunity for intimacy. It gives us an opportunity to. To play with our stories and our characters in a way that isn't as easy to do at some other sites. I will say, within our own Disney Live entertainment team for Disney Cruise Line, we have a lot of individuals who come from the world of deep immersive storytelling.
Our creative director, Jen Bascom was resident director on Galactic Starcruiser. I myself was part of the producing team of Sleep no More in New York.
We have a lot of. We have a lot of passion on our team for deep story immersion. And I think the destiny represents a step in that direction.
[00:37:34] Speaker I: It shows. It definitely shows the grand hall such an amazing space. The lighting effects.
Do you feel like.
Do you feel like the vision of what you want to accomplish in the grand hall is really there and fully captured? And what are some of your favorite parts about that space?
[00:37:53] Speaker F: I love this grand hall because it is responsive. The most exciting feature of it is this incredible dynamic lighting that allows us to have what we call state changes. Where an entertainment moment happens, a character moment happens, a story moment happens, and the space itself can transform in response.
That is something that is still in our preview period being additionally refined and programmed. So there will be even more of that in the future, which is exciting, but there's so much of it happening on Board now as well. I just love this notion that not only within a show experience that is in your navigator aft that you know is coming where you'll come into the grand hall and see a story come to life and that story will have a 360 degree takeover of the Grand Hall. That's exciting. But even more exciting to me is the notion of totally surprise and delight. A character can sweep through the grand hall and the grand hall will respond. It knows that they're there. And in audio and lighting, we get that response for that character and then poof. It's like they were never here. Everything's back to normal. I love that. Gives me chills. I'm excited.
[00:39:09] Speaker I: Nice, nice. Talk to me about the Dr. Facilier kind of pull aside.
You know, what went into that. Like, it's really well done. We didn't get to do the card experience yet, but we did do.
[00:39:22] Speaker E: Oh, we have to.
[00:39:23] Speaker I: Oh, we were going to.
We did do the meet the other bit. He is a fabulous. He is fabulous character. And so where did the inspiration for that come from and what went into the thinking behind that experience?
[00:39:37] Speaker F: Our villains invite a different way of engaging than our hero characters, our princess characters.
Villains, they're not really huggable, right? You don't necessarily want to put your arm around them and take a photo.
I think you want to play with them more than that, I think you want to be played with by them.
Villains are mysterious and eerie and seductive. And we love the notion of the villains drawing you into their world and making you maybe a little bit of an accomplice in their world as well, which really excites us. And something I'm so proud of with our villains content on the ship is is each villain encounter is totally unique from one another. The Facilier's Parlor experience that you mentioned is intimate and mysterious and maybe a little bit seductive and totally distinct from troublemaking with Cruella in Deville's, which is fabulous and over the top and funny and melodramatic because Cruella's Cruella and Dr. Facilier is Dr. Facilier. But we love that there's these different ways to play with the villains.
It would have been easy for it to become a formula where, well, there's the Facilier version and then there's the Cruella version. And it's not that. Instead, every program is totally distinct and responds to the unique nature of that villain and that character. But when we create a Facilier's Parlor, we're thoughtful about it's Kind of exciting. Like, can we do this? Could we create something this small and this intimate here?
Well, why not? After all, a character greeting is a one on one encounter between a singular guest and a singular character, however brief.
Our senior leader at Disney Live Entertainment, David Lightbody, he always says that the character greeting is the smallest form of theater. And that's right. It's this incredible little intimate moment of connection in theater.
What if it can do more?
What if that character greeting can be in service of a story, can give you a sense of. Can have a strong sense of purpose associated with it? That's the stuff that really feels exciting to me and to our team. We've been thinking a lot lately about, yes, it's amazing to hug a character, to take a photo with a character, to have that moment.
What else can we do with them?
[00:42:05] Speaker I: Yeah. Well, I love the pulling you into kind of a private space where it really makes the interaction feel more intimate.
[00:42:11] Speaker F: Absolutely.
[00:42:12] Speaker I: One last question for you. And it's just. It was on my mind with the With Great Power show.
[00:42:19] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:42:19] Speaker I: How hard of a sell was it to get Deadpool into the end of that show? Because it is. It is hysterical, unexpected.
It really elevated the show in a way that I just did not anticipate. So how hard was that of a seller?
[00:42:33] Speaker F: You know, it wasn't that hard to sell, actually, because who doesn't love Deadpool?
The hard part, though, is how do we have Deadpool and still have.
And still have everyone feel like, whoop, this is still Disney Cruise Line.
Let's not get too crazy.
Deadpool's so fun and so naughty. But of course, the show itself is fun and naughty. Ziya and Gamble are fun and naughty.
Deadpool felt like the perfect scene partner for them, and it was exciting to bring him into the mix.
[00:43:06] Speaker I: Yeah. Well, you've done an outstanding job. This is just an amazing, amazing experience. Thank you for taking some time.
[00:43:10] Speaker F: Thanks so much. Such a pleasure.
[00:43:12] Speaker I: Nice to meet you. Thank you.
[00:43:13] Speaker B: Thanks so much, Jenny. It's so great to hear how Disney Cruise Line is integrating all of these interactive experiences into the guest experience on board.
All right, next up is Rachel Quinn, the Vice President of entertainment operations and Port adventures with Disney Cruise Line. And she has been with the cruise line since its inception, since the Magic was first launched in 1998. Let's hear from her now.
[00:43:35] Speaker I: Can you tell our audience who you are and what you do with the cruise line?
[00:43:39] Speaker C: Absolutely. So my name is Rachel Quinn. I'm the Vice president of Entertainment Operations and Port Adventures.
So in a nutshell to explain that everything that's on board, how the Walt Disney Theater shows the fireworks to youth activities, port adventures, characters, all the activities on board and the cruise director, they're all part of entertainment operations.
[00:44:06] Speaker I: Since you mentioned it, I'm so curious, I wanted to ask about the fireworks for a second because Disney Cruise Line is the only cruise line that does fireworks at sea.
[00:44:15] Speaker C: That is correct.
[00:44:16] Speaker I: I'm curious, why do you think that is? Why haven't we always hear stories of other cruise ships kind of trailing Disney and announcing, oh, there's going to be fireworks off the side of the ship? What sets Disney apart here? What keeps you guys as the only ones doing this?
[00:44:30] Speaker C: Well, you know, we have a very long history with pyrotechnics as a Disney company, so our larger infrastructure. And I was Cruise director for 13 years on the ship, so I was on board when we introduced it. And the safety rigor that we place and the oversight that we have is incredible. And as I say, a lot of history.
But to actually, you know, every single cruise across our fleet, with the exception of if we're in Alaska, of course, and Europe, that we don't do fireworks for all the other reasons that we know.
But, yeah, it's a really proud moment. I remember standing there that first time and I'm like, I can't even comprehend what I'm seeing right now. And we saw lots of.
I remember in Barcelona when we were arriving, there were a lot of ships. All their guests were watching, watching our fireworks. But as to the reason why, it's part of our core entertainment identity now. But I think having been part of a bigger company like Disney, the Walt Disney Company, having that support, oversight, safety is why we are the only cruise line in the world.
[00:45:53] Speaker I: Well, they're spectacular and they've gotten bigger with the wish class shape. So it's amazing. It's amazing. What was the biggest challenge staging this Hercules production for you?
[00:46:04] Speaker C: You know what it's like any new show production, right? It's first and foremost creating a show like this.
And I will say that, you know, Disney Live Entertainment partners. So Jenny's somebody that I work closely with, you know, getting the writers, getting there, picking the right show directors. And I think, you know, Kevin and Marcel Wilson, who created this wonderful show, are very cool guys, like, and they're very contemporary in what they do.
And intentionally, our DLE partners wanted to redo reimagine a show we did many, many moons about Hercules.
And it's just a joy to watch. And then you've got to find your talent.
[00:47:01] Speaker I: Yes. Well, I mean, you certainly found the talent of Cory Bradford.
[00:47:05] Speaker C: We found the talent. I mean, we've got Matt and Corey out there. Right.
Matt, for example, was also leading Hades Ti. Right. So.
And he's our Broadway guest artist and that we bring on board. And then Corrie has been with us for many years and he's come up through the ranks. And then here he is. I mean, he is a star, like an absolute star.
Such a great guy as well.
So we're excited. You know, even the costume design is so different.
[00:47:39] Speaker I: The portion of the show with the projection mapping onto those costumes is unbelievable.
[00:47:44] Speaker C: Unbelievable. You know, and this is what I love about being part of this company.
We are always pushing the boundaries of what we can do, but we remain true to who we are.
Like, we are Disney and at all costs, we protect our brand.
And it's wonderful to see, having been here from the beginning, since 98. So that was on the Disney Magic when it came out. Right.
Shows like Disney Dreams still resonate with, I guess.
[00:48:17] Speaker I: Do you have a favorite scene in the Hercules show?
[00:48:20] Speaker C: In the Hercules show, I will tell you, I am up and out of my seat.
Starry Book, you know, Hero. Zero to hero. I love it all. I love, you know, the puppetry in this show.
[00:48:36] Speaker I: The puppets are astounding.
[00:48:37] Speaker C: Outstanding. Right. And so I just honestly, and I know it sounds a bit cliche, but I do love it all and I enjoy knowing the performers.
I'm in awe of what they do up there. But then, you know, the lighting is something and it takes a long time. And we have world class designers, you know, that are out here for a long time programming before the cast even arrive. And then part of the entertainment operations is the Toronto rehearsal facility.
[00:49:19] Speaker I: Yes.
[00:49:19] Speaker C: So Ed Whitlow runs that. He's part of Entertainment Arps. And so once DLE have created something, it's our job then to continue to sustain and make sure that show quality remains where it was and where it needs to stay.
[00:49:37] Speaker I: So maybe, maybe two more quick questions for you. One is, is there a show at the fleet right now that just resonates with you the most that, that you just enjoy seeing every time you're on?
[00:49:50] Speaker C: Oh, that's a tough one. You know, that's like, do you have a favorite child? Right. Do you know what?
I.
I do believe Hercules is gonna be one of my all time favorites. And my family got to see it and they said the same thing.
[00:50:08] Speaker I: Nice.
[00:50:08] Speaker C: But then I'll go back and Beauty and the Beast is.
It's A great, great show. Right. But I love Disney Dreams and I have, obviously it's an emotional attachment to that show because it's as old as I am with Disney Cruise Line. Right.
So I just think when guests sail with us, many have never been to the theatre.
So if we can introduce guests to this world and whether it's that they have more interest in local theatre or Broadway or watching, participating, curious, you know, what a privilege.
What an absolute privilege that is.
[00:50:52] Speaker I: Yes. The cruise director last night when she introduced our Showtime, she mentioned, it's just so fabulous we have the ability to introduce young guests.
And I think that is. That is so cool.
[00:51:03] Speaker C: It just honestly gives me goosebumps too. And then. Sad but true.
Having been here so long, there's like guests who were sailing with me as children and they're either working for us now.
[00:51:16] Speaker I: Yeah.
[00:51:16] Speaker C: Or bringing their children. Right. And what a joy. And they're like, we just. We don't want to go anywhere else. Like, we know we can come.
We have time. Kids can be in the amazing kid spaces. Right. And then we can do things as a family together. But then the adults can escape to the spa, to Palo's, to Saga. Right. And watch things like, with great power. Right. Which is hysterical. Right? Hysterical.
[00:51:46] Speaker I: It was wonderful.
[00:51:47] Speaker C: And it's definitely adult, but it's still Disney and that balance, we want to make sure we have something for everyone of all ages and multi generational families have been sailing with us forever, so. But it's nice to see every. So much is evolving from a technology standpoint. You know, Frozen is a beautiful show. We're excited for that tonight. Hope you are as well. Yes, yes.
And it's still that great show, that great story.
[00:52:18] Speaker I: Yeah.
[00:52:19] Speaker C: What a great story.
The technology's evolving.
[00:52:22] Speaker I: Yeah.
[00:52:23] Speaker C: And it's a little bit more immersive. You'll see tonight.
[00:52:27] Speaker G: All right. All right.
[00:52:28] Speaker I: We're looking forward to it. One last question for you. Not asking you to reveal anything state secret, just your personal. Just a personal question for you. What Disney property show would you like to see turned into a stage production?
[00:52:41] Speaker H: One.
[00:52:43] Speaker C: You know, it's funny.
What I really am loving is.
And we wouldn't. It's unlikely we'd do it on a main theater show, but having Lion King in Pride Lands, that music for me is just.
It fills me with joy.
And so I'm loving that. While right now, again, not planning at this moment. Right. But to see that on our ships is fantastic.
It's so iconic. Right. And who doesn't love that music? Right. And so let's see. Like, honestly, I'm like, with our D Elite partners, like, bring it on. I'm like, I am open because they just do such a great job with these shows and then we get the, you know, to be able to sustain them and bring them to our guests. I mean, I think we get the best part right, so. But yeah, yeah. Well, let's see. Let's see what comes in the future.
[00:53:45] Speaker I: We will be watching eagerly. My wife is a huge Broadway fan. You do such.
[00:53:50] Speaker C: Thank you so much.
[00:53:51] Speaker I: Thank you for taking some time with us.
[00:53:52] Speaker C: Absolutely. Thank you.
[00:53:54] Speaker B: Oh, the stories I bet Rachel could tell us. Thanks to Disney Cruise Line and Disney Live Entertainment for allowing us to speak to all these amazing folks from Disney Live Entertainment on board the Disney Destiny about Hercules and about the offerings across the fleet. We so appreciate this opportunity. We were fan, I was fangirling out the entire time and Brian was as well. We really just love this opportunity. For all of those listening, we hope you enjoyed this very special episode of the DCL Duo podcast. And stay tuned. We've got more coming.
[00:54:31] Speaker I: Well, thanks everyone out there for listening this week. We really, really appreciate it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast. You can keep getting great content from us every week. In fact, twice, twice a week we publish shows. So be sure to hit the subscribe button to get all of those great episodes. And if you want to watch us live, we have a live show now every week, Monday nights, 5:30pm Pacific, 8:30pm Eastern over on YouTube.com DCLDUO so be sure to head over and check that out. If you want help support the show, be sure to hit those five stars on Apple podcasts. And if you leave us a written review, a five star written review, we will read it at the top of one of our main episodes. So please head over there and hit those five stars.
[00:55:05] Speaker H: Five stars.
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