First introduced in the Marvel miniseries Hawkeye, Rogers: The Musical originated as a fictional Broadway show within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. An Affectionate Parody of musical adaptations, this campy, theatrical retelling of Captain America's story immediately took fans by storm, and its popularity convinced Marvel to turn it into an actual live show two years later, at Disney's California Adventure.
Thus, this five-minute joke musical was expanded into a 30-minute, one-act production, with new songs composed by Christopher Lennertz and a book penned by Hunter Bell. It premiered on June 30, 2023 at the Hyperion Theaternote for a limited summer engagement, lasting until August 31, 2023. An official cast album was released a few weeks after the show's closure.
Also see Avengers C.A.M.P.U.S., the land in California Adventure based on the MCU. Rogers: The Musical wasn't part of this land, but the Hyperion is literally just outside its borders.
Rogers: The Musical provides examples of:
- Adaptation Distillation: Captain America's adventures from The Avengers to Avengers: Endgame are quickly covered in the Time-Compression Montage song, "Save the City".
- Adaptation Expansion: This production takes a funny Running Gag from the MCU and expands it into a half hour show. Characters like Peggy Carter, Bucky Barnes, and Nick Fury are included, the events of The First Avenger are reenacted in the first half, and there are many references to characters and events from later MCU phases.
- Adapted Out: Loki's Chitauri backup dancers (yes, really) no longer appear in "Save the City".
- Arc Words: "I can do this all day." It's sung at least once in almost every song.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: The USO opening has the Starkettes note that they have to tell the story "in thirty minutes or less", which is the run-time of the show.
- Call-Forward:
- Nick Fury mentions several superheroes who won't come into play until much later in the timeline. This includes the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Dr. Strange, and even Daredevil.
- During "At the End of the Line", elderly Steve uses the Time Stone to conjure up a vision of Sam Wilson as Captain America III, reassuring his younger self that their legacy is in good hands.
- Canon Foreigner: The show introduces a trio of singers named The Starkettes, who serve as the main narrators of the story.
- Catching Up on History: The point of "What You Missed" is Nick Fury updating Steve on what happened in the 70 years since World War II.
- Comically Missing the Point: Elderly Steve jokes about keeping his hair well into his old age. When young Steve asks "How is this possible?" (for them to meet), the former (thinking he's asking about the hair) answers, "I dunno, maybe the super serum? Conditioner?"
- Company Cross References:
- The Times Square backdrop features advertisements for both Walt Disney World and the Lion King musical. Nick Fury also mentions Star Wars (particularly Darth Vader) during "What You Missed".
- In the closing performance, Nick Fury sings a bit of "Friend Like Me", which doubles as an homage to one of the Hyperion's previous shows, Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular.
- Continuity Snarl: Invoked. In the spirit of the original show, several creative liberties are made to condense Cap's entire history into a single show. On top of Ant-Man being being portrayed as a founding Avenger, other superheroes that weren't active during Phase One are blatantly mentioned here, like Spider-Man, Vision, Falcon, and Scarlet Witch. Perhaps the most drastic change happens at the end, when Steve encounters none other than his older self, who takes him back in time to reunite with Peggy via the Time Stone.
- Cross-Cast Role: Unlike in the original musical, Ant-Man is portrayed by a female cast member.
- Death Glare: As Steve rants about how he's not on the front lines, he's about to state that the doctors are full of crap... only for three spotlights to shine on the doctors, looking at Steve as if daring him to finish that sentence.
- Demoted to Extra:
- As the title implies, this is Steve Rogers' story, so the rest of the Avengers are relegated to small supporting roles.
- Bucky Barnes only appears in two scenes and becomes the Winter Soldier offstage. This is justified, since his actor also plays one of the Lead New Yorkers in "Save the City".
- Loki briefly appears in "Save the City" as a non-speaking part. Since he's played by Nick Fury's actor (who has to make a quick change in-between songs), he only has time to fight the Avengers for a few seconds.
- Famed In-Story: Steve Rogers is so famous that he has a Broadway musical about his life.
- Greek Chorus: The Starkettes. They are first introduced as USO singers, but later weave themselves into different scenes to represent other characters, like scientists or S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
- Heroic Fatigue: Steve undergoes one during the Dark Reprise of "Save the City". Dealing with Ultron, the Winter Soldier, and especially Thanos leaves the captain feeling exhausted, defeated, and hopeless. It takes a surprise visit from his future self to really pull him out of his rut.
- Incredibly Long Note: Captain America gets the bulk of these in “Save the City”.Cap: "I could do this all... DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!"
- "I Want" Song: The appropriately-titled "I Want You", which has the young and frail Steve singing to a poster of Uncle Sam, eager for his chance to defend his country and stand up for "the little guy".
- Large Ham: In a show that's already over-the-top, Nick Fury definitely stands out. His comical personality and "Uptown Funk"-inspired song really allow him to devour the scenery.
- Last-Second Word Swap: Steve's rant about taking part in the war effort ends with him complaining at how he should be at the front line, "not pulling covered wagons filled so full of scraps".Steve: These doctors think I'm crazy/but they're all full of... [the spotlights show three doctors glaring at Steve as if to finish that sentence] Terrible advice!
- Musicalis Interruptus:
- As Steve and Peggy duet during his fateful final mission, the stage suddenly blacks out, signifying that his plane has hit the ice.
- During "What You Missed", Steve cuts off Nick Fury mid-song, right when he starts gushing about Nirvana.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: Just like in the original sequence, the show really doesn't give Hawkeye much credit. Nick Fury sings about each of the Avengers' amazing feats, and when he gets to Clint, he just says "Yeah, he's here as well".
- Mythology Gag:
- During a montage detailing Cap's many victories during the war, Steve steps into three large set pieces inspired by the classic Timely Comics covers, posing as if he was a comic book illustration himself. The second comic depicts him clocking an enemy soldier, mimicking the famous cover where he punched out Hitler.
- Nick Fury's song gives us this line:Nick Fury: They really are remarkable! And though they are dispersed, we'll call them The Avengers, of which you are the first!
- When Fury introduces Tony, he assures Steve that they'll get along just fine. Well...
- Nick Fury tells Steve to get a notebook at the beginning of "What You Missed" and the song mentions multiple items that were written in Steve's notebook in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
- The digital billboards in Times Square include ads for "Redwing Couriers" (based on the Falcon's drone) and Trust a Bro Moving Company.
- The duet between Cap and elderly Steve is called "At the End of the Line".
- No Song for the Wicked: Loki only has a small cameo in "Save the City", and doesn't have his own song.
- Patter Song: "What You Missed", in which Nick Fury rapidly catches Steve up on all the things that he missed within the last 70 years, from I Love Lucy to the moon landing to Steve Jobs.
- Pragmatic Adaptation:
- Invoked once again with the simpler, street-inspired costume designs for the Avengers, which were ripped straight from Hawkeye.
- Iron Man never flies into the air, as this production does not implement a rigging system.
- Nick Fury wears a beanie like in Secret Invasion (2023), to hide the fact that his actor isn't actually bald. This is similar to how Avengers Campus handles him as a meet-and-greet character.
- Precision F-Strike: When describing Ant-Man, Nick Fury sings, "Ant-Man's small, but gives 'em hell!" which is certainly a phrase that you don't normally hear in a Disney park show.
- Rose-Tinted Narrative: The events of Captain America: Civil War and Rogers's time as a fugitive are skipped over in "Save the City".
- Shout-Out: The Patter Song verses in "What You Missed" pay homage to The Pirates of Penzance, while the funky chorus takes inspiration from "Uptown Funk".
- Stylistic Suck: Downplayed. While the show fully embraces the silliness of its concept (plus the Avengers' costumes are as cheap and minimal as ever), it also isn't afraid to play things straight, particularly Steve and Peggy's relationship. The result is a stage show that is still campy and silly, but not as "intentionally bad" as the original.
- World of Ham: Imagine the MCU with campier characters, glittery costumes, and showstopping musical numbers. That's this show.
