‘Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical’ will premiere online on Friday, Jan. 1 with proceeds from the community-written, Broadway-caliber special event benefiting the Actor’s Fund.
The idea of the social media-fueled Ratatouille musical making the leap from 15-second TikTok video to the Broadway stage might seem impossible, but Disneyland could serve as the final stepping stone for the improbable journey of the crowd-sourced online production. “Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical” will premiere online on Friday, Jan.1 with proceeds from the community-written, Broadway-caliber special event benefiting the Actor’s Fund. SEE ALSO: What will replace ‘Frozen Live’ in Disney’s Hyperion Theater? Handicapping the contenders The idea for a Ratatouille musical was born in August when New York school teacher and Broadway fan Emily Jacobsen posted a two-line couplet of her song “Ode to Remy” on TikTok. Other TikTokers contributed their own ideas for songs, choreography, costumes and set designs inspired by scenes from the 2007 Pixar film and soon a full-fledged musical began to take shape. The A-list cast now includes “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” star Tituss Burgess as Remy, Queen singer Adam Lambert as Emile and “Emily in Paris” star Ashley Park as Colette. Rather than squash the fledgling theatrical project, Disney has hopped on the bandwagon of the viral sensation that has been viewed by more than 200 million TikTok users. The official Disney Parks TikTok account offered up an unofficial audition for the #ratatouillemusical with a “Hamilton”-inspired rap from inside Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at Walt Disney World. Then Disney World took self-proclaimed “Rat Queen” Jacobsen on a tour inside the upcoming Epcot trackless dark ride.
