Disney’s Moana JR. is a 60-minute musical based on the 2016 Disney animated movie Moana, about the strong-willed daughter of the chief of a Polynesian village, who is chosen by the ocean itself to reunite a mystical relic with a goddess. When a blight strikes her island, Moana sets sail in search of Maui, a legendary demigod, in the hope of returning the heart of Te Fiti and saving her people. The musical features songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Opetaia Foa'i.
I'm shocked that Moana got a show before Tangled and even Coco. I guess the hair logistics for Tangled is very complicated to solve for schools. Hopefully, this will lead to a full Broadway show.
disneyprincess11 wrote:I'm shocked that Moana got a show before Tangled and even Coco. I guess the hair logistics for Tangled is very complicated to solve for schools. Hopefully, this will lead to a full Broadway show.
This is not the first time a stage adaptation of Moana has been planned. Moana was one of several films on the table for a potential stage musical in the theme parks. The Magic Kingdom was supposed to get an expansion of Main Street USA with a large "Main Street Theater", capable of hosting live shows. Disneyland has a theater like this which currently houses a short version of Frozen (and before that, Aladdin). It would have been nice to have a house that could eat a thousand people in Magic Kingdom several times a day. But just as land clearing began, the Main Street Theater project was abruptly cancelled (well, officially "put on indefinite hold"). Most people point to the deteriorating monorails as the culprit that sank the project (an EPCOT monorail door opened mid-ride, and a video circulated the web. So suddenly new monorail trains became a much bigger priority for Disney and their money). Moana (along with Mary Poppins, and a "Disney hits" concert) was one of the top considerations for the Main Street Theater, but we may never get to see it come to life.