Review: DISNEY 80S – 90S CELEBRATION IN CONCERT at Wolf Trap

Over the decades, Disney music has brought much joy to generations of fans. The 80s and 90s were a particularly important time for Disney as a company because it was that period when the company came back from a creative slump with powerhouse animated features such as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.

YOUR National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is in residence at Wolf Trap for the summer and this past weekend presented Disney 80s – 90s Celebration in Concert which featured music from the aforementioned films and much more. The concert boasted Susan Egan (Broadway’s original Belle from Beauty and the Beast,) Lissa deGuzman (Broadway’s Aladdin and Elphaba in Wicked,) Nasia Thomas (Broadway’s Six,) Bradley Gibson (Hercules,) and Adam J. Levy (Broadway’s Aladdin.)

The mighty NSO was conducted with much energy by Maestra Sarah Hicks with music director/arranger Benjamin Rauhala conducting the vocalists from his seat at the keyboard.

This concert focused on the big Disney features that came out in the 80s and 90s and much of material was penned by composer Alan Menken. The concert started out with our cast of singers performing the “Ashman-Menken Opener” which was made up of three songs written by Menken and the late great lyricist Howard Ashman. The songs performed were “Be Our Guest”, “Under the Sea”, and “Prince Ali” and featured orchestrations by the original orchestrators Danny Troob (“Be Our Guest” and “Prince Ali”) and Thomas Pasatieri (“Under the Sea”).

It wasn’t just the group numbers that made this concert so enjoyable. The soloists each made their features truly memorable. Here are a few of my favorites.

I first saw Lissa deGuzman as part of the ensemble of King Kong on Broadway, but I really got to hear her perform full throttle a few year ago when the tour of Wicked came to Kennedy Center. Her Elphaba stands as one of the best I’ve ever seen. De Guzman held me and the audience at Wolf Trap spellbound with her haunting performance of Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz’s “God Help the Outcasts” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. There has never been a more moving performance and Michael Starobin’s orchestration punctuated it even further.

The same can be said for deGuzman’s performance of another Menken/Schwartz classic “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas. Her vocal was just stunning. It was also great to hear Danny Troob’s orchestration played by the mighty NSO to audible perfection.

Adan J. Levy’s “Out There” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame” was another highlight. Levy’s performance captured the wanting of Quasimodo perfectly. This was another place where Michael Starobin’s orchestration enhanced what was being conveyed in the vocal performance.

Bradley Gibson tore the house down with his knockout performance of Menken and David Zippel’s “Go the Distance” from Hercules. With Bruce Healy’s arrangement and Greg Prechel’s orchestration backing Gibson, it reminded me what a great song this is and here’s hoping Hercules makes it from the West End to Broadway so Gibson can once again sing this stirring anthem for the masses.

Susan Egan reprised her performance of “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love) from Hercules and it sounded as good as it did in the movie. You might recall Egan voiced Megara or Meg if you prefer. Bruce Healy’s arrangement and Greg Prechel’s orchestration were again used.

Nasia Thomas stunned us all with her killer rendition of Matthew Wilder and David Zippel’s “Reflection” from Mulan. A good choice was made to use the pop version of the song which was arranged by Aaron Zigman and then adapted by Ted Ricketts. It gave Thomas a chance to use her pop vocal sound to full advantage which made for a truly memorable performance.

It isn’t often you get see a true Disney legend in the flesh so having Bill Farmer grace Wolf Trap’s stage was an awe inspiring moment in this concert. Farmer has been the voice of Goofy for 38 years and to put the face to the voice left many audience members speechless. They were in that much awe. Farmer performed On the Open Road from A Goofy Movie with Bradley Gibson and with Michael Starobin’s orchestration backing them, it made for a super spectacular performance. Farmer also joined the cast for the concert’s finale also from A Goofy Movie “I 2 I”. Andy Thompson’s orchestration sent us out on high to be sure.

Maestra Sarah Hicks conducted the NSO through orchestral suites from Randy Newman’s Toy Story 2 and A Bug’s Life complete with film footage. Both suites were orchestrated by Mark Watters and Brad Dechter. Also included was the music from the Disney parks attraction Fantasmic. Bruce Healy’s arrangement and orchestration reminded me of how magical Disney can be and how music really triggers something within all of us. I was not surprised that the NSO played these and everything else heard in the evening with their usual bravura and superb musicianship.

Benjamin Rauhala sporting two very snazzy wardrobe’s proved why he is so sought after as a musical director and arranger with his mashup of “A Whole New World” from Aladdin and the title song from Beauty and the Beast for deGuzman/Levy and Thomas/Gibson respectively. It just doesn’t get any better than that. Rauhala’s arrangement was bought to full orchestral realization by Andy Thompson.

Elton John and Tim Rice’s “Circle of Life” from The Lion King summed up what Disney has done for generations. You can start enjoying their stuff at a very young age and continue to do so into your later years. Our cast of performers put this across in the concert’s penultimate song with Hans Zimmer’s stirring orchestration in tow.

Disney 80s – 90s Celebration in Concert was truly a wonderful evening of memories for those of us who grew up during that time. It is wonderful to see how the youngest audience members were enjoying the concert just as much. Walt Disney would have been proud.

Running Time: Two hours with one intermission.

Disney 80s – 90s Celebration in Concert was a one night only event at Wolf Traps’s Filene Center on July 26th, 2025.