'Encore' premiere on Disney + is musical therapy that will be a hit among fans

The Disney+ show reunites castmates who performed together in their high school musicals and have them recreate the same for the show.
PUBLISHED NOV 12, 2019

Ever felt like you miss high school and would give anything to go back there again as it was amongst the most monumental parts of your life? Well, then you will relate to Disney+'s new series 'Encore' that has been co-created by Kristen Bell. 

The new streaming giant launched on November 12, with a slew of shows. Among them is 'Encore', a series that reunites castmates who performed together in their high school musicals and have them recreate the same for the show.

This is not the first time that Encore has been brought to the screen, as back in 2017, Bell reunited the castmates from 'Into The Woods', a production that was staged in 1997. At first glance, you might think that the show might be similar to 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series', but there's more to 'Encore' than what meets the eye. 

The first episode of Encore, castmates from 1996 recreate their highschool production of Annie. (Disney+/Eric McCandless)

The first episode of 'Encore' reunites the students from Santana High School who belonged to the class of 1996 and staged a production of 'Annie'. The main characters from the play come together all these years later to recreate the original production once again.

The play was directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge, the director of Ragtime, a 2009 Broadway production. 

But, it's not all rainbow and roses for these former castmates who reunite after almost a quarter of a century. They have gotten involved in their own lives, and have never performed since their high school production.

Now back again together, they learn a lot about their past and present, and everything that happened after school. Though there is no jealously that flows through them, the drama still lingers around. 

Kristen Bell is the co-creator of Encore. (Disney+/Eric McCandless)

The drama from their past, emotional memories, rekindled relationships all simultaneously brew along with the stress to perform with just five days to re-learn their lines, songs, and choreography.

The biggest surprise is Kristen's time on screen. Apart from being the face of the series, we get to see very little of her - apart from the beginning, during the introduction, and in the end when the castmates stage the play. 

Overall, in the end, the series will leave you inspired, but it still doesn't reach the heights of other unscripted series like 'Queer Eye', but it will get to your heart. It's also fun to get a peek into the past and present lives of these castmates. To see them rekindle their memories and have fun as they did during their high school. 

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