Opening on Friday June 30th, 2023 at the Hyperion Theater in Disney California Adventure, Rogers the Musical is the latest show to grace the stage of the theater, following previous engagements of Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular and Frozen – Live at the Hyperion. The musical, featuring 5 new songs and charting the story of Steve Rogers from the 1940s to the present day, is big, energetic, and surprisingly packs a lot of heart into its 30 minute runtime. Spoiler-filled review below.

Before we get into it, if you haven’t read my new trip report series focusing on my recent trip to Hong Kong Disneyland, you can find part one linked here. Also, don’t forget to like me on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Tiktok!

Pre-Show Things

I attended the D23 preview of the show on June 29th, 2023. I had planned on attending opening day on June 30 but after learning of this preview, which would come with cool goodies and the chance to see the show before its opening date, I knew I had to be there. I’m a huge marvel buff and have seen all the shows and movies and was particularly excited for this show as my favorite superhero of all time is Captain America.

I got to the redemption desk at 3pm and quickly got in line. The redemption area was by the Hollywood Lounge located next to Monsters Inc: Mike and Sully to the Rescue. It was there that my ticket was scanned, I was given a swag bag, and I was ushered to line up for a photo opportunity with a Rogers the Musical picture set-up. The whole process took about 20 minutes and it was fun waiting in line and seeing everyone’s Marvel and Captain America-inspired outfits. I would assume that this area is where you can buy the premium viewing package that Disney is selling, as well as where the lounge for premium viewing buyers will be as they had chairs and tables set up by the Hollywood Lounge as well.

As part of the D23 experience, we were given a Rogers the Musical notebook, a Rogers the Musical ornament, a Secret Invasion beanie, and a D23 tote bag. We were also given a collectible Rogers the Musical popcorn bucket, some red, white, and blue kettle corn, and a beverage of our choice (I don’t drink soda so I just got a bottle of water). 

They started letting people into the Hyperion Theater waiting area at around 4:40pm. Our show was at 5:30 and they started letting people in art around 5:20. It was a mad dash into the theater to get a good seat and I ended up scoring some pretty good seats to the right side of the theater. The show started a little late at around 5:35 but soon enough the curtain rose and the show began. 

And man, what a fantastic show it was. I’ll recap the entire show first before going into my thoughts on it. 

Rogers the Musical Recap

The 30-minute extravaganza starts with a single old-timey radio onstage. Soon, this show’s equivalent of the muses from Hercules took the stage, nicknamed the Starkettes. Soon they jump into a rousing opening number all about the war effort in the 40s. We’re introduced to our protagonist Steve Rogers and his efforts to enlist in the army, despite his many rejections. He then sings his “I Want” song, a moving, chilling ballad that ended up being tied for my favorite song of the show (I’ll get to the other one in a bit). The scrawny, rejected Steve gets introduced to Peggy Carter and is then taken to the famous SSR transformation center where he gets turned into a super soldier. At this point, a different actor plays Steve as he transitions into becoming a super soldier, but that’s not the last time we get to see the first Steve actor in the show. 

The next scenes detail Steven’s stint as Captain America in the 40s. From being used as propaganda for the war to Steve’s eventual crash into the freezing Arctic. The show then picks up 70 years later with Steve waking up in modern-day New York City. Nick Fury, in probably the most fun song in the lineup of tunes, gives Steve a rundown of what he missed through song, complete with a rap that could have belonged in Hamilton about all the different superheroes currently existing on Earth. 

After this comes the iconic “Save the City’ number that was featured in the Disney+ series Hawkeye. This was probably the most energetic number in the show, albeit not as moving as the “I Want” song and the next song in the show. The Avengers appear in their costumes which are similar to the ones featured on the tv show. “Save the City” compresses several movie plotlines into one, depicting Steve fighting Hydra, Ultron, and Thanos as seen in the movies “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, and “Avengers: Endgame”. 

The story then picks up after Endgame and shows scrawny Steve, now playing Steve from the future, holding the time stone and offering it to the younger Steve. The song at this point in the show is probably the best song in the entire repertoire (tied with the earlier song I mentioned). Steve now has an opportunity to travel back in time and be with Peggy, a choice that he expresses through song as he talks to the older version of himself. The song adds emotional weight and heft to the entire piece, showing the heart that this show has which will undoubtedly make it a hit among fans. Steve then travels back in time, reuniting with Peggy in the past as the entire cast sings of Steve’s heroic efforts.

Review

Like I mentioned above, this show has enormous heart. From Steve’s first solo song all the way till the end of the show, there was just an emotionality that you could feel with every performance, set piece, and musical number. How the team behind this show was able to shorten Steve’s story to fit its 30 minute runtime without sacrificing any of the important beats is nothing short of a miracle. The pacing never felt rushed, with each scene being purposely used to advance Steve’s story in a quick and efficient manner. The actors were all show-stopping, each of them embodying the spirit of the characters they portray. Chief among them were the two Steves and Peggy. The singing of the cast was also top notch, with the additional 5 songs all being memorable and worthy additions to the pantheon of Disney songs. The writers of both the script and music really rose to the occasion and captured all of Steve’s struggles in an entertaining way. 

In addition, the direction was great, the choreography was lively, and the set and lighting designers went above and beyond to illustrate the different moments in Steve’s life vividly onstage. This was a classic, Broadway style show that you cannot miss when you’re at Disney California Adventure. It’s only scheduled to run until August 31st, although given the response from fans and guests, I’m guessing it’ll run in the park for years to come, and DCA is better off for it. This is a great addition to the park, and will go down as one of the best Disney Parks stage shows in history. Now we can only hope that a cast album gets released soon so we can all have a copy of the incredible music. Before the show, the director came onstage and said that live entertainment is the life-blood of theme parks. After seeing Rogers the Musical, I have a feeling he’s right.