The Hollywood Bowl celebrated the 100th birthday of Walt Disney Animation Studios last year. And this July 19 and 20, the LA Philharmonic will perform the ultimate throwback called Disney ‘80s-‘90s Celebration in Concert. The show features an all-star cast, including Corbin Bleu (High School Musical), who shares why performing is so important to him.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Steve Chiotakis: From your childhood to now, how has Disney and the characters from those animated films affected your life?
Corbin Bleu: In so many ways. I grew up in California, so in proximity to Disneyland. This concert that we're doing at the Hollywood Bowl, it's all 80s and 90s, which, to me, is like the golden era of Disney animated movies. It's Hercules, Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Tarzan, Toy Story, and A Goofy Movie. I mean, the list goes on and on, and I had all of those movies on VHS growing up. Those are the movies that made my childhood.
This particular concert, for me, is just bringing up all the nostalgia goodness from Disney, not only from the songs that we're getting to perform, but who I'm performing alongside. I mean, we have Disney legends. We have Jodi Benson, who is the voice of Ariel in the movie The Little Mermaid. We have Susan Egan, who was the singing voice of Meg in Hercules. Bill Farmer, the voice of Goofy since 87. And then, of course, alongside the incredible Hollywood Bowl orchestra.
You do a lot of singing, dancing, and acting on stage. What do you like to do the most in front of an audience?
It’s theater for me. There is nothing like bringing together all those performing arts of singing, dancing, acting, but doing it in front of a live crowd. … Over the last several years, I'm playing a character, and this, I get to actually geek out as myself throughout the show, which is really exciting.
What are some of your favorite Disney songs, and which ones are you performing?
I'm doing several songs. One of my favorites has always been “Beauty and the Beast.” Another really fun one for me is “Nightmare Before Christmas.” And then, of course, I think the ultimate for me for this concert is going to be the music from A Goofy Movie.