Hercules on Broadway

I know this is a repost but I worked so hard on it that I don’t want to hide it behind a read more tag. I was just thinking that a Broadway production of Hercules would be the best thing to ever happen on this earth and it would have to have so many more songs than the film. So here is my proposal for what songs would be added to make this a Broadway show. Alan Menken listen up. I literally want to help write this lol. Warning: this post is VERY LONG

Act I:

Prologue: The Gospel Truth part I

The Muses This would be basically just like the movie. I can imagine it now… a disembodied voice speaking over the darkened set “Long ago in the faraway land of ancient Greece” and then the Muses come out and interrupt him and the lights go up when they sing ugh yes

Mount Olympus

The Gods The scene where Zeus and Hera are introducing baby Hercules to all the Gods should DEFINITELY be a group number! All of the Gods can have lines and the great jokes like “is this an audience or a mosaic” and “I haven’t seen this much love in a room since Narcissus discovered himself” would be set to music and when Hades comes in he can sing his musical letimotif!

The Gospel Truth part II

The Muses This is the part where the Muses sing about Hades in the underworld, could basically be the same but it would be nice if Hades had some lines too.

The Fates/The Prophecy

The Fates, Hades Idk man the fates giving Hades the prophecy just needs to be a song, and this would segue into a musical version Hades telling Pain and Panic to turn Hercules mortal. We would also hear the leitmotif for “Every last drop” later when Pain and Panic are actually giving Hercules the potion.

The Answer to Our Prayers

Alcmene and Amphitryon duet Alcmene and Amphitryon NEED to have a duet about how they’ve always wanted a child but have never been able to conceive and they’re now so happy to have found baby Hercules. Tender duet punctuated by absurd snake-fighting scene.

The Gospel Truth part III

Fine as is

The Last Straw

Company Can’t come up with a great title for this but I think after Hercules accidentally destroys the Agora it would be appropriate for the crowd to sing an angry group number about how he’s a freak and “Jercules” and Amphitryon’s all like boo he can’t control his own strength and it would really set up the finale of act I

Act I Finale: Go the Distance/Oh Mighty Zeus/Go the Distance Reprise

Hercules, Zeus In the film, Go the Distance is split by a dialogue scene between Zeus (in rock form) and Hercules.THIS NEEDS TO BE ONE CONTINUOUS MUSICAL SCENE with the baritone Zeus revealing Hercules’s identity to him IN SONG and then it leads straight in to the reprise omg I am crying just picturing it

END OF ACT I

ACT II

Phil’s Island: I like the dialogue and the funny scene chasing the Nymphs. No musical number

That’s Phil’s Boy/One Last Hope

Phil I feel the intro of this should be extended to also include the scene where Phil is listing all of the heroes he trained who did not succeed.

Damsel in Distress

Meg, Phil, Hercules, River Guardian This scene should be a free-form lengthy musical scene with comical/onomatopoeic musical sounds from the pit punctuated with dialogue and recitative from the characters.

The following scene with Meg and Herc chatting does well as dialogue I think

Speak of the Devil

Hades solo After Herc, Phil, and Pegasus leave this is when Meg meets Hades in the forest. This is the perfect opportunity for Hades villain song. I am so sad that he didn’t have a villain song in the movie. In this song he would basically line out his plan: kill Hercules, release the Titans, capture Olympus. Staging can include Hades taunting Pain, Panic and Meg with dark magic.

The Big Olive/A Professional Hero

Company, Hercules A group number introducing the Big Olive (Thebes) but the main singers should be the quintet (or is it quartet? I forget right now) of people who complain about the flood and the fire and the cat Snowball. I would love for Hercules to enter by joining the song and saying “What you folks need is a hero” and then the quartet taunts him in song also.

Hydra fight scene does definitely not need singing

Act II Finale: Zero to Hero

Company, The Muses This song needs to be LONGER and BIGGER!! Full company on stage! A firecracker of a finale!

END OF ACT II, Intermission

Act III

Wonderboy

Hades/Meg duet The scene where Hades tells Meg she has to seduce Hercules and we learn a little bit about her past.

Look Inside Your Heart

Hercules solo I like the dialogue between Zeus and Hercules when Hercules is saying “I’m famous” and Zeus says “That’s great but you’re not a hero yet” and it would be ideal if by the end of that conversation Zeus was singing so that the line “Look inside your heart…” is sung and it leads into another solo for Hercules about him being disappointed that he hasn’t succeeded yet. He’s the title character and needs more than one solo song!!!

Hercules Villa scene good as dialogue

People Do Crazy Things

Hercules/Meg duet These characters NEED A DUET TOGETHER. I won’t call it a love duet because that would then kind of mess up “I Won’t Say I’m In Love” but they need to have some sort of musical dialogue in the garden scene omggggg

I Won’t Say (I’m In Love)

Meg, The Muses Like the movie

Speak of the Devil (Reprise)

Hades solo When Hades emerges from the statue and tells Meg that he now knows Hercules’ weakness this is ABSOLUTELY the time for a reprise of his villain song.

Gym scene “she’s a fraud” good as dialogue

Shake on It

Hercules/Hades duet This is actually the first time Hades and Hercules meet in the film (don’t count the scene where baby Herc is being presented to the gods because Herc doesn’t remember that and at this point in the story he doesn’t know who Hades is) so clearly they must take this opportunity to sing together. I’m feeling a “Poor Unfortunate Souls” kind of vibe.

Release the Titans

Hades/Titans This can be very short just basically the same dialogue from the film but sung. I would love to hear Hades sing “And what is the first thing you are going to do?” etc and have the Titans sing back to him. They should also sing their little catch phrases later (blow him away, freeze him, melt him etc)

All Time Chump

Meg, Phil, Hercules This extended musical scene would start from the point where Meg intercepts Phil at the dock and end with Phil’s pep talk to Hercules before he defeats the cyclops.

People Do Crazy Things (Reprise)

Hercules solo Meg lays dying, and Hercules sings a more heartfelt version of “People Do Crazy Things (When They’re in Love)”

Titan fight scene is great w/ dialogue and the film score is so intense under this, the score is what drives this scene.

Likewise with the Cutting the Thread scene. This is my single favorite part in the score. Does not need vocals.

Right Where I Belong

Hercules, Meg, Gods heh, get it? It’s a line from Go the Distance… yeah you got it. The Gods welcome Hercules and Meg to Olympus in song, Hercules takes a solo to say how he loves Meg and wants to stay on Earth with her, they close with a duet about being happy that they found each other etc

Act III Finale/Curtain Call: A Star is Born

Company Like the movie. This song is flawless

END OF ACT III