Thaddeus McWhinnie Phillips and Filipe Gamba Paredes
After drawing crowds across Buenos Aires, Johannesburg, Abu Dhabi, and Doha, Disney’s Magic Box is making its Macau debut, offering a live experience that reimagines a century of Disney storytelling through music, puppetry, and the power of imagination.
The show’s creators, who co-wrote the musical experience, sat down with the Times yesterday for an exclusive interview ahead of its Macau run.
“Audience reactions to the show have been extraordinary in all these places,” said Filipe Gamba Paredes, creative producer and co-writer of the Disney’s The Magic Box musical.
“Different audiences in different countries and cultures have their own relationship to Disney content. In Argentina, for example, there’s a long-standing connection – even Walt himself visited in the 1940s,” he added.
But for all its global reach, Magic Box is designed to be universally personal.
“Regardless of your relationship with Disney, once you enter the show, you find your own path through it,” he added.
Set within a literal white box on stage, the show presents itself not as a retelling of beloved films but as a theatrical collage of emotion, memory, and musical nostalgia.
“We didn’t want to tell the movies again – you can do that at home on Disney+,” explained the co-writer. “Instead, we wanted to celebrate the emotions the movies triggered when you first encountered them. That’s what the show is about.”
The show, five years in the making, originated as a creative response to the pandemic. With productions of The Lion King, Aladdin, and Frozen halted worldwide, the concept for Magic Box was born from the desire to craft something “more ambitious,” according to the creators.
“We wanted to create a total work of art that celebrates the Disney legacy. Maybe because of the pandemic, we felt like we didn’t have time to go title by title. So we put them all in a blender and gave the audience a unique experience.”
What emerges is a theatrical spectacle that merges contemporary and classic Disney. Audiences can expect to hear music from Encanto beside choral arrangements from Snow White, or see a visual nod to Aladdin interwoven with cues from Alice in Wonderland – all delivered by a South African cast using puppets designed by Michael Curry, famed for his work on The Lion King musical.
“You’re not watching literal recreations of characters,” said the director and co-writer of the show, Thaddeus McWhinnie Phillips.
“Instead, we suggest them – sometimes through costume, sometimes through music – and allow the audience’s imagination to fill in the rest,” he added.
Phillips further explained that one of the show’s most powerful sequences features a cabaret-style underworld, a mashup of Disney’s iconic villains presenting a dramatic interpretation of fear.
“Our protagonist, representing the audience, is surrounded by 16 poisoned apples, each held by a different villain. She begins to whisper ‘Let It Go,’ not just as a song but as a way to push back against fear and reclaim her power,” he said.
For the writers, the show continues to evolve with each performance.
“The version Macau’s audiences will see is not the same as what played in Doha two months ago. We refine it constantly,” said Paredes.
“When a movie’s done, it’s done, [but for the] theater, it keeps growing.”
Despite its Disney roots, Magic Box was also created with newcomers in mind.
“Even someone who doesn’t like Disney or has never seen a single film can enjoy it. We wanted it to stand as a piece of theater on its own merit,” said Phillips.
According to the writers, they are eager to witness how Macau’s multicultural audiences will respond. “This city is such a melting pot,” Paredes said. “We’re curious to see what people bring into the box, and what they carry out.”
Disney’s Magic Box opens tomorrow at the Venetian Theatre and will run on weekends through July 20.
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