The first piece of Disney鈥檚 Hercules that Chase Brock choreographed was 鈥淭he Gospel Truth Part 1鈥濃€攖he very top of the show. And then he choreographed it again. And then four more times. From the six versions Brock created, audiences will see the ultimate sequence when the Public Works production of Hercules bows August 31 at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park.
鈥淲hen we said, 鈥楬ow are we going to translate this to the stage?鈥� there鈥檚 Greek pottery in the film telling the backstory鈥攚hat would probably be a shadow play if we were doing this indoors,鈥� Brock explains. 鈥淏ut doing it at eight o鈥檆lock in late August, it鈥檚 not completely dark at that point and we don鈥檛 have full control of the lights, so we really had to find what is our vase. So I came up with six versions.鈥�
When it comes to the beloved Disney animated film about the Greek god turned mortal and his quest to become a 鈥渢rue hero,鈥� Brock aimed to preserve the energy of the original movie and the need to tell this new musical version鈥攏o matter how many versions it took. 鈥淥n a number that our generation has been singing for 20 years [like 鈥淶ero to Hero鈥漖, you have expectations and ideas of what it鈥檚 going to be when it comes to life in three dimensions right in front of you,鈥� says Brock. 鈥淎 new song, we have a responsibility to make sure the audience hears every lyric because usually there is some sort of narrative point we鈥檙e trying to make clearer or depart from the film. Every audience is only going to have one time to hear it and catch it.鈥� Brock won鈥檛 be pulling out the physical pyrotechnics when you need to absorb new words, but all bets are off with Alan Menken and David Zippel鈥檚 familiar tunes.
READ: Meet The Muses Leading Disney鈥檚 Hercules at the Public Theater
With 鈥淶ero to Hero,鈥� Brock was looking for 鈥渁ll the things we could do to honor what the animated feature did and take it a step further for the stage,鈥� he says, which led him to lean into the gospel tradition of that particular song. 鈥淚t felt like tambourines were too delicious to ignore鈥� (as you can see in the video above where Brock teaches the full choreography to the song鈥檚 dance break).
But this production of Hercules also presented different challenges than any other screen to stage musical adaptation. 鈥淲e鈥檙e doing a brand new Disney musical comedy on stage in live action and we鈥檙e doing a 200-member community pageant鈥攐utdoors,鈥� says Brock. As part of the Public Theater鈥檚 Public Works program, Hercules, like all Public Works shows, 鈥渨idens the idea of who we view as an artist and who we think can be on our stages and what we think community is.鈥�
And Brock鈥檚 choreography capitalizes on the talent in his cast, integrating styles into a mash-up 鈥渨here ancient Greece meets New York City today meets Mars.鈥�
鈥淭here may be a number in which you see the Passaic High School marching band鈥攚hich is one of our cameo groups鈥攁longside eight Equity Broadway stars, alongside 120 members of a community ensemble,鈥� says Brock. Community members seamlessly weave into the cast; two of the five Muses are community members, as is Pain (while Hades and his other henchman Panic are Broadway鈥檚 Roger Bart and Jeff Hiller, respectively). Six community members make up a dance group called The Cosmos and 14 comprise the puppet corps, nine play Greek gods and dozens play the inhabitants of Thebes.
When Brock steps back to observe his creation, it鈥檚 the blur between professional and amateur that feels like success. 鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of having 200 New Yorkers doing the same steps under the same stars in the last piece of the evening, 鈥楢 Star Is Born,鈥欌€� he says. 鈥淭hat moment feels like the transcendent moment, really proving the mission of Public Works.鈥�
Watch the video above to learn the choreography from Hercules鈥� 鈥淶ero to Hero.鈥�
