We Don't Talk About How Lin-Manuel Miranda Just Teased A Possible Broadway Adaptation Of Encanto
Since opening its doors in 1993, the stage play and musical production company wing of the House of Mouse known as Disney Theatrical Productions Limited (or Disney On Broadway for short) has taken some of the most beloved offerings from the Disney catalogue and adapted them into larger-than-life stage musical extravaganzas. They got the ball rolling with "Beauty and the Beast" in 1994 and carried that momentum to create incredibly innovative presentations of "The Lion King," "Mary Poppins," "Newsies," "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," and more.
Most recently, they found success with their adaptation of "Frozen" and they have potentially exciting productions of "Hercules," "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," and "The Princess Bride" in various stages of development. But could "Encanto" be the next animated feature to jump from the screen to the stage and get the Playbill treatment? Broadway veteran and current Disney cash cow Lin-Manuel Miranda might have something to say about that.
¡Hola Casita!
After the latest round of Academy Awards nominations revealed that he has another shot at the coveted EGOT (despite the smash hit "We Don't Talk About Bruno" not being nominated), the songsmith behind "Hamilton" spoke to E! News about the Family Madrigal moving their magical casita to the Great White Way. While he doesn't really give us any concrete confirmation, Miranda does think that it's possible and that if it does happen, he's ready.
"I think it weirdly lends itself well. They don't always, you know? Like, I can't picture a 'Moana' Broadway musical. I don't know how you'd do the ocean. [For 'Encanto,' my] first draft of the last song in the movie, 'All of You,' was like seven minutes long. It was so late in production that they were like, 'Lin, we won't make the movie in time. You actually have to cut this down.' So I've got the Broadway finale like in the chamber."
First, if the dude that looked at the Rancho Carne Toros and the United States' first Secretary of the Treasury and saw their potential for (separate) musical adaptations doesn't think that something can be a proper musical, it's probably going to be pretty hard (but not entirely impossible) to turn that thing into a musical. Second, he's totally right about "Encanto" being ripe with potential for a stage version. The story largely takes place in one location, the vibrant colors and music could be turned way up, and Disney on Broadway could use their bag of tricks built up from past productions to innovate stagecraft yet again. Plus, the elaborate dance numbers would be dope.
In the interview, Miranda goes on to say that there are still a bunch of stories from "Encanto" that could be expanded on in a different medium. I'm definitely inclined to agree because Pepa and Felix's side of the family barely got a spotlight, particularly their older son Camilo. However, since a character constantly using shapeshifting powers might be a challenge for a theatrical wardrobe department, it might be as practical to give this character an expanded role in a stage version of this story. But the Imagineers would have a ball with the powers possessed by the rest of the family tree's branches for sure. I can already see Isabela swinging onto the stage on flowered vines à la "Tarzan" or Antonio being surrounded by elaborate puppets like the ones in "The Lion King" or "Frozen."
Until this inevitably comes to fruition, whether it be a full blown Broadway level musical or a scaled down, yet still incredibly impressive presentation in one of the Disney theme parks, we'll just have to revisit the magical Madrigals via their fantastic film on Disney+.