Written by Bruce Bennett
In a pre-show announcement at the world premiere of Disney’s “When You Wish,” director Scott Anderson informed the Tuacahn audience that this new show is still evolving, and he elicited feedback from the crowd.
“Let us know if we should change anything,” he said.
So, Mr. Anderson, here is the simple answer: don’t change a thing.
Presenting a revue-type show is rife with potentially major artistic problems, including performing numbers out of context of the full production. However, Tuacahn’s latest spectacular show benefits from access to the world’s most extensive catalog of beloved music, its own ability to select the nearly perfect groupings of songs that flow together seamlessly, and—perhaps most importantly—a strong cast of singers and dancers who without question live up to the Disney quality standard.
The outdoor amphitheater is the perfect setting for Tuacahn’s creativity in presenting selections from “Tarzan” and “The Jungle Book.” And of course, having already presented “Aladdin,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Mary Poppins” for an entire season, selections from those shows are executed confidently and expertly. Particularly refreshing are numbers presented from the underrated Disney movie, “Hercules,” and a terrific mash-up of “Snow White” and “Enchanted” that soars.
The choreography by Jeffry Denman and assistant Daryl Getman is creative and efficient, with quick transitions designed with obvious care to keep the pace upbeat and lag-free. There shouldn’t be any complaints about a show with a brisk, 50-minute first act and a total running time of about two hours. Bravo.
However, there’s much more to “When You Wish” than a mere perfunctory presentation of Disney’s greatest hits. The cornerstone of the show’s success arrives in the form of 12-year-old Bridgette Biggers, whose petite prowess positively shines as the little girl whose bedroom dreams spark the plethora of Disney characters that come to life. Biggers is often a central character in the individual vignettes that serves to humanize the polished production values in beautiful and heartfelt moments, none of which is sweeter than when she’s being trained as one of the warriors in the “Mulan” number “I’ll Make a Man Out of You.” She is a joy to behold.
The costumes are delightful, and the orchestra handled a wide variety of music with verve. Though “When You Wish” is performed by an ensemble—in this case, featuring many performers who would be leads in the full versions of these shows—special props must be given to actress Katie Mariko Murray who gracefully handles the iconic yet diverse singing duties of characters Jasmine, Mulan, and Pocahontas.
So what’s to complain about? Inserting “A Whole New World” from “Aladdin” between the similarly themed dance numbers “Step in Time” and the “Newsies” is a little clunky. And while the choreography is a little loose, it should get tighter as the production rolls out.
Noticeably absent are numbers from Disney’s most successful stage musical, “The Lion King” (possibly a licensing issue since Elton John is involved), and Disney’s mega-successful movie musical “Frozen.” With the latter, I can only assume that the company is waiting on that material until its own production arrives. However, these exclusions are hardly significant.
Disney has obviously come to trust Tuacahn, and based on “When You Wish,” that trust is fully warranted with a wonderful stage production that delivers a Disney theme park-quality attraction right here in our own backyard.
Grade: A
