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this, Croiter opted for warmer tones – primarily oranges and golds. In contrast, the Underworld, home of Hades, is much cooler and darker, tinted with greens and blues for an eerie, almost sickly effect, fitting for the land of the dead. For what is essentially representing Hell, “red was too comfortable,” Croiter explains, “and too cheery. It wasn’t different enough from the hues of Mount Olympus.” Hercules is the first live show to use Disguise’s new Colour Management licence on the EX range, designed to improve the colour pipeline. With that tool in play, Reeve was able to tweak parameters and grade content in real time, making sure it blended with the rest of the set. Reeve created a video sequence for the prologue of the show. “There’s a godly voice, which explains the battle between Hades and Zeus,” describes Fisher. “George created some amazing visual elements, with shooting stars and
all sorts going on. I took that, thinking, ‘I can map some sounds to it,’” he shares. Matching what Reeve and Croiter had done, Fisher created hundreds of sound effects that sync with the show’s visual cues. “At the end of act one, Hercules fights a hydra, then he fights Hades. All that’s laid out, and a lot is time-coded, to help George and Jeff,” he explains. “I collaborated with those two departments to tie everything together timing-wise. They might cut two bars from a piece of music, which then changes everything for everyone,” Fisher continues. “It’s a lot of work because one little change can have a massive impact.” DANCING THROUGH LIFE Hercules comes complete with 25 musical numbers, some of which are brand new. “It’s such a well-known film – especially for its music,” Fisher argues. “Many people know the songs but don’t necessarily know the film, so we’re trying to deliver all these big gospel numbers in a fashion that people expect in 2025, and make it sound as impressive as we can.” Hades, for instance, now gets his own musical number ( Getting Even ), which is described by Croiter as ‘a tap number in Hell’. The lighting “starts off dark, with this blue-green motif, and builds from there. It’s a very different look from the rest of the show; side-lit and a little more sculptural, with beams of light through the air, and more punctuated too.” Because it’s a tap dance, Fisher had to ensure the music and vocals weren’t lost amid the stomping feet. “Thankfully, the music department helped us to deliver what we needed to deliver.” Compare this with Zero to Hero , sung by the Muses, who detail Hercules’s overnight transformation from scrawny teenager to hunky hero. Closing out act one, the number begins with a modular approach to lighting. “The space isn’t lit in expanse. It’s carved out – a small scene between Hercules and his followers happens in one place, then the light shifts and we’re focusing on Hercules interacting with people someplace else.” The scenery moves simultaneously, and eventually we are at the Colosseum for what Croiter describes as a ‘big Hercules celebration halftime show’. According to Croiter, there are 700 individual lighting looks throughout Hercules . “Every time any actor moves
more than four feet, the lights change,” he says. This is especially important during dance numbers, “because the choreographer has an idea of how a number is paced from beginning to end, and the lighting has to match that. Whatever story the choreographer is telling on a micro level, the lighting is a part of that, helping to tell the story.” CURTAINS UP! Croiter isn’t partial to any one scene or lighting configuration over another; he believes they all shine in their own way. “I hope it excels the whole time. There’s lots of variety to it; I love how the last scene of the show is lit in a totally different way from anything else.” “It’s difficult to recreate a Disney film on stage,” Fisher adds. “I hope we made something that offers a new slant on it, while being true to what the film was.” Fisher, Croiter and Reeve are just three of an enormous team, made up of cast, creative, production staff and orchestra, plus the Disney Theatrical Group and house employees at Drury Lane. “On any given day, there are hundreds of people involved, working hard,” Croiter explains. “I’m very happy audiences are enjoying it – that’s number one.”
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