Last month, when the trailer for Marvel’s Hawkeye debuted, there was one thing that stood out to fans everywhere: the fictional Steve Rogers musical, which we glimpsed in just two short shots: skip to 0:06 and 1:20 to see for yourself:
As it happens, there actually was a Captain America musical in development in the ’80s, and it got quite far in production before it was scrapped. I’m here to say it’s time to revive the Steve Rogers musical, and I know the perfect way to do it.
Now, you might be thinking, “Right, the perfect way to showcase Rogers: The Musical is to put it on Broadway.” Well yes. But actually, no. That’s the easy way to do it: have the show be Disney’s next Tonys darling, opening in New York City for its first run and then setting up productions and tours around the world.
Yes, Disney could do that. And I certainly wouldn’t be mad if they did. But if there’s one way that Disney can help itself out with this, it’s to bring Rogers: The Musical to Disney California Adventure.
Avengers Campus is sorely lacking
Just this summer, Disneyland’s California Adventure opened up a brand new section of the theme park, Avengers Campus. The campus has been touted as being a completely unique experience and the only Marvel-themed Disney park in the United States. (We can attribute the lack of a Disney World Avengers Campus to Universal Studios’ hold on Marvel rights east of the Mississippi.) If you want to get your immersive, Disney-certified Avengers experience, you have to go to California Adventure.
The problem is, once the park opened, guests thought it was quite lackluster. It wasn’t as thrilling as Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge just across the way. The amount of entertainment in the park was mediocrely minimal.
You’re supposed to be walking around the California branch of the Avengers’ Campus. But nothing there necessarily screams that you’re in a Marvel movie. Heck, Universal Orlando’s Marvel Super Hero Island section may be a little kitsch and campy, but at least it pulls you into the world of Marvel Comics. It recalls Marvel’s earlier days, as if Jack Kirby himself had a say in the design.
What you get instead is one original ride based on Spider-Man that’s supremely inferior to Universal’s Spider-Man ride that’s still around from 1999. The new one is the kind of virtual point-and-shoot ride that has become Disney’s go-to whenever they need something quick and low effort to shove into a park. (Cough, Ant-Man & The Wasp Nano Battle and Toy Story Mania!)
There’s an additional ride that’s been grandfathered in the park via rebranding: Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout, formerly The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. But it feels out of place considering the theming of the rest of the Campus.
There are also outdoor shows, including the Spider-Man parkour…er, stunt show. Then there’s the Avengers fighting show on top of the headquarters building, as well as the lackluster Dora Milaje showcase. And finally, there’s the Doctor Strange Ancient Sanctum show, which is best described as an Avengers-themed birthday party magic show.
As YouTuber Poseidon Entertainment so excellently lays out in a video he made about Avengers Campus, Disney seems to be catering to the Instagram generation — hence the focus on outdoor shows and other new Instagrammable locations around the park. Why waste money building something grand when you can scale things down so guests can get all the social media pics their hearts desire?
But I ask, where’s the next Haunted Mansion? The next Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular? It’s time for Disney to go back to what it does best. Rev up that imagination. Think on a grander scale. And deliver something truly immersive, not flat and low-effort.
Avengers Campus needs Rogers: The Musical
Enter, Rogers: The Musical. While Disney itself has an excellent theater division for Broadway shows, the Parks division is also known for putting on some spectacular live shows. Think about Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom. Or Voyage of The Little Mermaid at Hollywood Studios. As a child, I remember being absolutely amazed at those shows. And while they weren’t necessarily an exact replica of their counterparts on Broadway, the level of production was still thrilling enough to keep the whole audience engaged.
For both shows, you had great songs, awesome props, and fun effects. And it’s that kind of thing that really pulls you into the magic of Disney Parks and makes you feel like a part of the experience.
Avengers Campus could use that kind of pizzazz. Let’s get fun with it. This in-universe musical is canon. So if Disney wanted to make an immersive experience of it, the idea of the show could be based around you (as a real-life person in the MCU) actually going to see this production based on Rogers’ life. There’s always a story to tell with a Disney attraction. So, for instance, what if the attraction revolves around opening night for the musical, and you’re one of the VIPs in attendance? A few real-life Avengers can show up in the audience (like Hawkeye and his family will in the series). And if they want to kick things up a notch, an infamous Marvel villain could interrupt the show halfway through, and the Avengers in attendance will be responsible for saving the audience.
Not to hearken back to Universal Studios again, but a walk-through adventure similar to Poseidon’s Fury would be interesting as well — where the entire show would be segmented into different physical locations. For example, what if we run with the VIP idea? You have a cast member acting as a guide to give you an exclusive first look at the musical before it debuts. You get a pre-show spiel in the lobby. Head to the theater to listen to a song or two. Then the villain shows up. The tour guide calls on an Avenger to save the day. And then you’re escorted backstage once the day is finally saved. To give Disney credit, they technically have done a walk-through attraction recently with Enchanted Tales with Belle, so it’s not an entirely foreign concept to them.
There are so many different avenues Disney could take with this idea. But at the end of the day, Avengers Campus just needs an extra bit of oomph. I want to be hopeful for the soon-to-come Quinjet attraction that will arrive in the area later. But the recent developments in Disney Parks have just not been inspiring hope.
Some have also been severely disappointed in the lack of extravagance that’s gone into Walt Disney World’s 50th-anniversary celebration this month, with many looking at new CEO Bob Chapek as the reason for the lack of pomp. Perhaps we can blame the cost-cutting measures on the financial hit the company took due to COVID. But as we begin to slowly but surely climb out of the pandemic, we’ll likely see what CEO and company are really made of as they make more creative decisions.
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