Take a seat in the 2,000-seat Hyperion Theater for The Power of Blast!—an abbreviated version of the high-energy Broadway show Blast! Instead of a repertoire of 16 musical numbers in two acts, The Power of Blast! has five musical numbers in a single, half-hour act:

• Boléro by Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937)
• Battery Battle by Thom Hannum, Jeff Lee, and Paul Rennick
• Lemontech by Jonathan Vanderkolff
• Land of Make Believe by Chuck Mangione (1940 - )
• Malagueña by Ernesto Lecuona (1896 - 1963)

Don’t expect an ordinary concert. These aren’t musicians who sit in chairs staring at their music stands. This is a highly choreographed extravaganza, with 40 highly skilled performers. Trumpets and trombones blare. Sabers fly above the stage. Banners swirl in the air. Drumbeats radiate energy throughout the theater.

The Power of BLAST! is based on the tradition of drum and bugle corps pageantry—but this is not a traditional drum and bugle corps pageant.

The Power of BLAST! was presented at the Hyperion Theater at Disney’s California Adventure from November 22, 2001, through September 2, 2002.

When Disney’s California Adventure opened on February 8, 2001, the official opening show at the Hyperion Theater was a song-and-dance musical, Steps in Time. Even before the park’s grand opening, the reaction from preview audiences was so negative that Disney executives quickly approved funds to rework the show. Unfortunately, the reworked show still failed to impress audiences, despite (or perhaps because of) the addition of a storyline involving a weird, mini-skirted Fairy Godmother and two little boys. Steps in Time limped along until October 14, 2001. At least the talented cast worked hard, and the theater was air-conditioned.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the continent, Epcot audiences were applauding wildly for The Power of BLAST! which ran at the outdoor America Gardens Theatre from June 16 through August 23, 2001.

California Adventure desperately needed a new show for the Hyperion Theater. With some tweaking for the indoor theater, The Power of BLAST! moved west. Because The Power of BLAST! would be in a fully enclosed theater, the dramatic lighting effects and creative staging could be even better than at Epcot.

California Adventure audiences applauded wildly. The Hyperion Theater had a hit.

Sure, it was a costly show purchased from an outside company. And, at a Disney park that was lacking enough “Disney” as far as many guests were concerned, the show had nothing to with the creative legacy of Disney or Pixar. But it was a terrific show, and it gave Disneyland Entertainment enough time to develop a new musical that would not suffer the same reaction as Steps in Time.

After running more than nine months, The Power of BLAST! closed to make room for a new stage musical based on the successful 1992 Disney animated feature Aladdin.

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Updated August 4, 2007.

Photo of front of Hyperion Theater: 2002 by Werner Weiss.
Photo of stage for The Power of BLAST!: 2001 by Allen Huffman.
Photo of two drummers at The Power of BLAST!: 2001 by Allen Huffman.
Photo of dramatic lighting at The Power of BLAST!: 2001 by Allen Huffman.
Photo of “Land of Make Believe” at The Power of BLAST!: 2002 by Werner Weiss.
Photo of the finale with swirling and flying flags at The Power of BLAST!: 2001 by Allen Huffman.
Photo of the Hyperion Theater “tower” facade: 2002 by Werner Weiss.