How ‘Tangled’ musical is being groomed for role on Disney Cruise Line

OTHER MUSICALS AT SEA

“We Will Rock You”

Royal Caribbean International

This cruise line holds the title as the first one in the industry to mount licensed, Tony Award-winning Broadway productions on board. The Olivier Award-winning musical “We Will Rock You,” based on 24 fist-pumping tunes by rock band Queen, can be caught in the Royal Theatre on the line’s Anthem of the Seas vessel. “We Will Rock You,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” and other popular cuts help steer the story and the soundtrack. The futuristic tale follows a group of Bohemians who fight to tear down the wall of homogenized oppression and strike a chord by building artistic expression back to its former glory. Other musicals found on Royal Caribbean International ships: “Cats” (Oasis of the Seas), “Mamma Mia” (Allure of the Seas) and “Saturday Night Fever” (Liberty of the Seas).

“Legally Blonde: The Musical”

Norwegian Cruise Line

Another musical based on a feature flick — this one being the 2001 Reese Witherspoon comedy, which was inspired by a book — showcases a hairstyle all its own. Sorority girl Elle Woods reacts to her boyfriend’s rejection by following him to Harvard Law School in hope of rebooting the relationship. Instead she learns some life lessons along the way in this family-friendly musical aboard the Norwegian Getaway. Additional Broadway-style options on Norwegian include “Rock of Ages” (Norwegian Breakaway) and “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” (Norwegian Epic).

ncl.com.

TORONTO — It’s early May, and the actors and actresses bustling about the spacious rehearsal room wear T-shirts, sneakers and casually comfy pants and dresses. Yet as they leap into the air, spin together in couples and release spirited songs from their lungs, it’s soon apparent this could be part of something bigger, magical. And that’s the plan.

As the creatives at Disney Cruise Line put the finishing touches on “Tangled: The Musical,” a concise, Broadway-style adaptation of Disney’s 2010 animated film based on the “Rapunzel” fairy tale, they prepare to unravel the production’s locks in early November aboard the Disney Magic cruise ship sailing out of Miami.

“Tangled: The Musical” joins the cruise company’s growing catalog of shows at sea. And if you were to ask Snow White’s magic mirror which of the mouse-owned properties might make a good fit, “Tangled” may just be the answer.

“It’s kind of a no-brainer,” said Dana Harrel, executive creative director of Walt Disney Imagineering. “If you’ve seen the film, you know it just lends itself to the stage.”

“Tangled” the movie crosses gender and age boundaries while tossing away the damsel-in-distress scenario. Yeah, the evil Mother Gothel keeps Rapunzel locked in a tower and the comedic rogue Flynn Rider aids her escape. But “Tangled” flows with the underlying theme of girl power as Rapunzel pushes the boundaries of exploration, freedom and self-sacrifice. The filmmakers gussy up “Tangled’s” theatrical coiffure with layers of swashbuckling action, humor and songs that tug at both heartstrings and inner whimsy.

While those qualities make “Tangled” seem stage-ready on paper, the task requires a serious brain trust of creators to nail down the script, lighting, puppetry, choreography, costuming and a host of other pieces of the production puzzle. They basically must roll a 96-minute film into a less-than-60-minute stage musical to fit into the overall programming of a multifaceted cruise.

To help pull the audience into the Bavarian setting, Harrel says they decided “to break the fourth wall” by using projection mapping on the theater walls. With puppetry techniques, the floating lanterns from the film hover above the audience’s heads.

Of course, the heart of every musical beats to the songs. Composer Alan Menken (“The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast”) and lyricist Glenn Slater, the dynamic songwriting duo behind the film version of “Tangled,” plopped the project back in the hairdresser chair, restyling it for the stage. The pair put a refreshing tint on the show by adding three new songs.

Having the team of Menken and Slater on board proved to be one of the big attractions for director Gordon Greenberg to set sail. Yet some challenging waters lie ahead.

“At the very beginning of the conception of a show like this,” Greenberg said, “the things that seem the most outlandish and most difficult end up being the most rewarding.”

One of the tougher hurdles would be creating a stage version of Maximus, the royal police horse with the regal personality. Although Greenberg says they could’ve saddled Maximus in a variety of ways, they tapped the talents of puppet designer Michael Curry to help tame the concept.

For Maximus, Curry and the creative team decided on what Greenberg describes as “a wedding cake version of ‘War Horse.’” With the horse’s puppeteer visibly operating the character, the audience not only sees its functionality but also the “confection, beauty and elegance,” Greenberg says, of the original animated counterpart.

The horse’s human co-stars have their own hills to climb. After all, countless kids and their parents have seen the film umpteen times, as evidenced by “Tangled” reportedly grossing more than $591 million in worldwide box office receipts. This means audience members know these characters like the back of their tiny hands.

“It’s a joy to get to inhabit those characters that everybody loves,” said Elisha Ainsley, who plays Rapunzel. “It’s different to bring them from the 2-D screen to real life. One of the big things that we wanted to do was make sure they weren’t stock characters. These are real people with their flaws, hopes and aspirations, and we wanted to make sure that connects with the audience and that people can relate to the humans on stage rather than the cartoon on the screen.”

Bringing a fairy tale to life also sometimes means living a fairy tale yourself. Katie Whetsell, who plays Mother Gothel, recalls the surreal moment of performing songs in front of Menken.

“To sing for the man who wrote the first melody I ever sung was sort of daunting but also very exciting,” she said. “I think it’s sort of a dream for all of us.”

In turn, these performers wind up bearing their own gift to audience members. When some folks step aboard a Disney Cruise Line vessel, they receive their first taste of live theater. According to Greenberg, the actors and actresses have a great privilege and responsibility as theatrical ambassadors.

“It’s sort of like the butterfly effect,” Greenberg said, “because if there are three kids in the audience that night who are inspired just a little bit to pick up a script one day and the next Meryl Streep happens, all of a sudden you’re cultivating new audiences and new artists.”