Disney on Broadway is thrilled to return to D23 Expo, in Anaheim, California, to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Join Broadway’s brightest stars as they present an exclusive concert, Disney on Broadway: A 25th Anniversary Celebration, in Hall D23 on Saturday, August 24, at 3:30 p.m.
Hosted by Tony Award-nominee Gavin Lee (Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast), the 75-minute concert will feature Heidi Blickenstaff (Freaky Friday, The Little Mermaid), Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, On The Record), Kissy Simmons (The Lion King), Josh Strickland (Tarzan) and Alton Fitzgerald White (The Lion King). A six-piece band, led by Jim Abbott, will accompany performers as they lead the audience through Disney on Broadway’s Tony Award-winning catalogue. The performance will feature songs from Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aida, Tarzan, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, Newsies, Aladdin, Freaky Friday and Frozen. (Talent is subject to change)
Disney on Broadway fans can also celebrate this milestone anniversary by visiting the VR (virtual reality) theatre on the D23 Expo floor. The brand-new VR experience puts you center stage in Aladdin, Frozen and The Lion King’s biggest Broadway production numbers, featuring Broadway’s Caissie Levy (Elsa), Major Attaway (Genie), Telly Leung (Aladdin) and Tshidi Manye (Rafiki).
About Disney on Broadway: A 25th Anniversary Celebration performers:
(Talent is subject to change)
Heidi Blickenstaff most recently created the body-swapping role(s) of Katherine (and Ellie) in Disney’s Freaky Friday for Disney Channel and Disney Theatrical Productions (Helen Hayes and Outer Critics nominations). On Broadway, Heidi was most recently seen as Bea Bottom in the 10-time Tony-nominated Something Rotten! (Outer Critics and Grammy nominations). Disney on Broadway audiences might remember Heidi as Ursula from Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Other Broadway credits include The Addams Family (Alice Beineke), The Full Monty and Tony-nominated [title of show], the original Broadway musical Heidi and her friends made about four friends making an original Broadway musical. Some favorite regional shows include Next to Normal (Diana) at the Weston Playhouse and First You Dream: The Music of Kander & Ebb at the Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre and recorded for PBS. Heidi can be seen and heard on the DVDs of Freaky Friday and PBS’s First You Dream as well as on many Broadway and concert albums available wherever music and DVDs are sold. www.heidiblickenstaff.com
Ashley Brown originated the title role in Mary Poppins on Broadway for which she received Outer Critics, Drama League and Drama Desk nominations for “Best Actress.” Ms. Brown also starred as Mary Poppins in the national tour of Mary Poppins where she garnered a Garland Award for “Best Performance in a Musical.” Ms. Brown’s other Broadway credits include Belle in Beauty and the Beast, as well as starring in the national tours of Jack O’Brien’s The Sound of Music and Disney’s On the Record. Ms. Brown has starred in both Oklahoma! and Showboat at Chicago’s Lyric Opera and has performed with virtually all of the top orchestras in North America including the Boston Pops (twice), the New York Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at Disney Hall, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall (five times), Fort Worth Symphony, the Cincinnati Pops and Philadelphia Orchestra (twice). Ms. Brown’s PBS special called Ashley Brown: Call Me Irresponsible received a PBS Telly Award. Other television credits include NBC’s The Sound of Music. Ms. Brown is the voice of Disneyland celebrating its 60th anniversary singing the newly penned Richard Sherman song “A Kiss Goodnight.” Ms. Brown’s album of Broadway and American Songbook standards, Speak Low, and her newly recorded Christmas EP, The Secret of Christmas, are available on Ghostlight/Warner Brothers.
Gavin Lee just finished playing Lumière in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. In New York, he most recently played the Grinch at Madison Square Garden. Before this, he originated the role of Squidward in SpongeBob SquarePants the Broadway Musical (Drama Desk Award and Tony Award nomination). Before that, he played Thenadier in the Broadway revival of Les Misérables. He originated the role of Bert in the West End and Broadway productions of Mary Poppins (Drama Desk and Theatre World Awards, Olivier and Tony Award nominations). Gavin has appeared at Carnegie Hall in Showboat and in the world premiere of Holiday Inn at Goodspeed Opera House. TV credits include Law and Order: SVU, The Good Wife and White Collar. His favorite London theatre credits include Top Hat, Crazy for You, Peggy Sue Got Married, Me and My Girl, Over My Shoulder, Oklahoma!, Contact and Singin’ in the Rain. Gavin has performed his solo cabaret in New York, Chicago and on Disney Cruise Line.
Kissy Simmons is a native of Floral City, Florida, and graduated from the University of South Florida with a B.A. in Speech Communications. She was also a NCAA Division 1 Track and Field athlete. Kissy grew up playing the keyboard and singing in church, and was a State Champion high jumper at Citrus High School. After graduating from the University of South Florida, she got her professional theatre debut at the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts where she was seen in Little Shop of Horrors (Ronnette), Jacques Brel and other seasonal cabaret shows. Broadway credits include: The Lion King (Nala). First national tour: The Lion King (Nala). Las Vegas: The Lion King (Nala). TV credits include Smash, Hope & Faith, 30 Rock, 6 Degrees and many commercials, voiceovers and print. Thank you, God for your grace and to my biggest fans Anthony and Sadie!
Josh Strickland is a native of Charleston, South Carolina. In 2006, Strickland created the leading role of Tarzan in Disney’s musical Tarzan® on Broadway. In 2009, he made his starring Las Vegas debut in Peepshow at Planet Hollywood Casino & Resort while concurrently co-starring in the hit E! reality show Holly’s World. Strickland debuted his first single “Report to the Floor,” which skyrocketed to the top five on the iTunes Dance Charts the first week of its release, followed by “Last Dance.” In 2013, Strickland joined the cast of Vegas! The Show at the Planet Hollywood Casino & Resort in Las Vegas in a starring role. Strickland has also appeared internationally with the all-star cast of Disney’s Broadway Hits, including the Emmy -winning concert at Royal Albert Hall in London, England. He most recently reprised his role as Tarzan in Disney’s musical Tarzan® in Oberhausen, Germany at the Stage Metronom Theatre. Twitter & Instagram: @joshuajstrick
Alton Fitzgerald White performed a record-breaking 4,308 performances as King Mufasa in The Lion King on Broadway. Alton recently added author and keynote speaker to his list of titles. His book, My Pride: Mastering the Challenge of Daily Performance, filled with secrets to fulfillment and joy in work and life, was recently published by Disney Editions. Other Broadway starring roles include Mister in The Color Purple, Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Ragtime, Ken in Smokey Joe’s Cafe, John in Miss Saigon and The Hawker in The Who’s Tommy. Alton has performed concert dates all over the world. His best-selling CD Disney My Way!, along with autographed copies of his Disney book, are available at www.altonfitzgeraldwhite.com. Alton has had guest star roles on the hit TV series Law & Order, Bull, The Blacklist, The Good Fight, Code Black, Elementary, Mindhunter and Madam Secretary. He was most recently featured in the Pulitzer Prize-winning production of Rent which was performed live on Fox television. Please join him on his Facebook fan page, @WhiteAlton on Twitter, and @Alton2459 on Instagram.
His Three Daughters, Netflix’s emotional family drama, explores the strained relationships between three estranged sisters who are reunited by their father’s terminal illness. Set in a small, intimate family home, the film follows Katie, the eldest daughter and caretaker, Christina, the rebellious middle child, and Laura, the youngest, who carries the weight of family expectations. As they come together to care for their ailing father, old wounds resurface, leading to intense confrontations, moments of reconciliation, and ultimately, the rediscovery of familial bonds.
The narrative is a slow burn, focusing on the sisters’ personal journeys as they grapple with their father’s decline, unresolved issues from the past, and the impending loss of their patriarch. Director Azazel Jacobs captures these emotionally charged moments with precision, delivering a raw, honest portrayal of sibling dynamics, grief, and love. The performances are gripping, with each actress bringing depth and vulnerability to their roles, making the audience feel the weight of their complicated relationship.
The house, almost a character itself, is filled with memories, secrets, and tension. As the sisters sort through their father’s belongings, they also untangle their own emotional baggage, confronting their fears, regrets, and hopes for the future.
His Three Daughters is a powerful character-driven story that captures the complexities of family ties and the inevitability of loss. The film shines with its strong performances, subtle direction, and poignant dialogue. While its pacing may feel slow for some viewers, those who appreciate emotional depth and character development will find this drama deeply moving. The film’s realistic portrayal of sibling rivalry, grief, and reconciliation makes it relatable and impactful.
Rating: 4/5 – A deeply affecting family drama that hits all the right emotional notes.
Kingdom
What could be better than a beautifully realized Joseon-period K-Drama, starring the excellent actor Doona Bae, fresh off her grand success in Netflix’s ‘Sense8’? All of that, but with zombies!
Oh this is a great one ya’ll. Adapted from a webcomic known as The Kingdom of the Gods, the show addresses the huge gap between the high and low classes plaguing (sorry) our Kingdom and of course has several engaging mysteries running throughout, but also happens to be a monster mash in the fantastic new zombie way reminiscent of Train to Busan! The show got not one but two well deserved seasons and even spawned (very sorry) a Netflix special, Kingdom: Ashin of the North, that yes, spoilers, features a zombie tiger. And it is absolutely amazingly rendered too.
Kingdom on Netflix gives us a breathtakingly possible story from long ago, both lovely and terrifying in equal measure, that should get a view from everyone!
Goblin: The Lonely and Great God
Whatever other great supernatural romance KDrama you think is awesome, Goblin did it first. Also known as Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, the show graces us with outstanding performances from Gong Yoo as our Lead and Lee Dong-wook as the Grim Reaper, and is a romance with a supernatural twist for the ages. Like, literal ages. So Ji Eun-tak (Kim Go-eun), a bubbly high school student despite her tragic family history and her ability to see ghosts, who knows diddly about fate and the machinations of destiny, is skeptical in the beginning. But as the supernatural of the Goblin and the Grim Reapers and the search for a destined bride across space and time catches everyone in its clutches, love in all its messy, gloriously alive splendor may just save the souls of everyone involved!
Catch Goblin or Guardian whatever you want to call it, on Amazon Prime now!
Squid Game
This choice is obvious, though honestly it’s kind of sad at the same time. The main reason most of us enjoyed Squid Game quite that much, was because it was entirely possible, for pretty much all of it, to happen tomorrow. The show was so engaging in its many different portrayals of the lowest, pettiest, and darkest parts of humanity that were given to us by these actors like it was pulled out of their very souls and offered up to us the audience on a platter, and we ate, we consumed, with relish. Hell, we demanded a sequel series, which should be coming out soonish.
It says a fair bit about us as a species as we watch these poor, both literally and figuratively if you think about it, people participate in what are actual Games of Death. The show launched another wave of interest in large-stakes games, Korean culinary culture (ask me about the dalgona crack!), and became iconic with the jumpsuit and the blank mask with a shape on it. Have you seen the tinies who wear the jumpsuit and shape-mask to go trick-or-treating? They’re five years old. Did you let them watch the show?! Wow.
We all know Squid Game is a Netflix show, right? Right.
Tale of the 9 Tailed
Plenty has been said about the kitsune, the magical Japanese 9-tailed fox, while the Korean version is known as a gumiho, and is similar-ish in nature and magical powers. Like their other Asian counterparts, the gumiho is known to be otherworldly and long-lived, snarky and arrogant when it comes to humans, unless the prospective human love interest happens to come entangled in the threads of fate and destiny. … Well, guess what!
Celebrated lead Lee Dong-wook is our Korean fox main character Lee Yeon, former mountain spirit and guardian who now spends his earthly time carrying out missions from the Afterlife Immigrations Office while looking for the reincarnation of his former love, the exiled 7th daughter of the former King of Joseon, she who carries the fox bead, Yi Ah-eum, or Nam Ji-ah (Jo Bo-ah) as she’s known here in the modern era.
We’ve got Spirits of Darkness, shamans and Dragon Kings, shapeshifters and turning-humans-into-trees type curses, long-standing grudges and the binding if not choking ties of fate and destiny, all bound together with great love that spans lifetimes! Chase those nine tails of the gumiho on Netflix!
Bulgasal Immortal Souls
This is a hard one ya’ll – featuring pretty constant violent death-and-rebirth, a craptastic ton of guilt everywhere, actual physical and emotional abuse from trusted authority figures and family, no sexual abuse but it sure is strongly threatened and implied, and the equivalent of a vampire crossed with a demon for the supernatural element to tie it all together, Bulgasal Immortal Souls is not for the faint of heart, or stomach.
However, the show is a gorgeous read and wonderfully shot, finding beauty in the (eventual) redemption of its characters, but boy do they take awhile to get there. And the constant, if unintentional, betrayal can start to get on your nerves. And they do, the characters do manage to find their way across fate and lifetimes to be together for a few precious moments, which is great. Be warned though, Bulgasal believes in playing things out to the final, often very bitter but in theory deserved, very end. Treasure those few precious moments, the show says, they will be gone before you know it. Not only a great horror, the show also works as an anti-valentine’s day Bulgasal Immortal Souls on Netflix now!
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