Adobe play goes behind the Disney magic
Drama explores the successes and failures of creative genius
Just before Walt Disney died of lung cancer in 1966, he shot a private film with his core animators.
Rumored to exist by several biographers, that footage has never surfaced.
“Wish Upon a Star … unauthorized intimate reflections with Walt Disney” imagines that film, exploring Disney the man, his successes and failures and the motivations behind his creative genius, and it offers a glimpse behind the veil of his personal life. Written by Andy Mayo and starring Vernon Poitras, the play runs this weekend at the Adobe Theater.
“The rumor was that he called his animators — the old-timers— and had a camera crew there and recorded and filmed a pep talk to them,” director James Cady said.
“They were a little tough on him,” Cady said. “He shot back as best he could. The thinking is he took one look at it and had it destroyed.”
In Mayo’s play, the lights go up to find Disney collapsed on the floor at home with a bottle in his hand.
“He smoked a lot and he drank a lot,” Cady said. “He lived a hard life, a very creative life, and he was frustrated with the studio.”
The action shifts to the great man’s home, where he ruminates on his family. Disney’s uncle was so locally popular that the train would stop on the tracks for him.
“So Disney’s saying, ‘I hear a train coming,’ ” Cady said. “He gets on board, and the ‘Go Fly a Kite’ music starts. His brain is taking him to animation heaven.
“His greatest achievement for him was ‘Mary Poppins,’ the last film he made.”
The play runs for 80 minutes without an intermission and is rated PG for adult language.