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Hi, hows it going?Im actually at the gym right now.
That has been my home away from home.
Im like, Ive got to justify this!
I cant make them look like fools saying that.
Lets start at the beginning withHercules.
Whats your relationship to the original film?I guess I didnt really grow up watching the film.
The version ofHerculesbyGoodtimes Entertainment, thats the VHS we had at my house.
And that is when I think I decided to go see the movie.
I actually appreciate the movie more as an adult than I did as a kid.
Its like, sure, the goal of this right now is not for a big budget multimillion-dollar project.
Working with the community offers a kind of hidden jewel.
There arent chorus boys and chorus girls dressed up like townspeople or pretending to be shopkeepers.
Having 120 people to play off of gives it much more energy, much more life.
I remember standing in the circle that first day and being likeWow, look at this circle.
Alan Menken is the minority in this circle, too.
Who would have imagined?
I heard that director Lear DeBessonet wants to explore different ideas about what heroism means in this show.
Is that something you talked about in rehearsal?Its something we talk about every day.
Its actually about the people coming together because of the efforts of Hercules to save the day.
So the show is really about the community.
Its about a sort of strength in the unity, strength in love and compassion and empathy.
I think it really comes down to the vision of the director.
Michael Grandage [who directedFrozen] had a vision of saying this role can be open to whomever.
Otherwise, I dont know what story Im telling.
The song is for them.
Hes actually missed the mark 100 percent.
Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel are writing new music for this show.
What are those songs like?Alan haswritten new songsthat further deepen each characters intentions.
Hades has a new song.
Hercules and Meg have a new song.
Hercules has a new song.
The Muses have more to sing as well.
You have this epic battle to save the world, why not make that a huge musical number?
And they are all in the same vein of what the music in the movie was.
Theres a lot of up-tempo songs in this show, and its really fun.
You only have a short run.
Its basically only a week.
But if there was another life of this piece, I would love to still be involved with it.
It latched onto my heart, this role.
I was going to quit musical theater and it somehow came back and found me.
But why dont people start a Twitter campaign to get it to go to Broadway?
You know what I mean?
That seems to be working these days fora lotof shows.
