CASTAWAY CAY, THE BAHAMAS – The live shows aboard the Disney Destiny include moments that feel more like family reunions or church services than simply actors, actresses, musicians, and singers plying their respective trades. The physical representation of Blackness in the performers on the Disney Cruise line isn’t new, for what is music and theater without Black artists? What is refreshing, however, is to see how Regina LeVert and Corey Bradford, for example, have taken the live viewing performance aboard the Disney Destiny and made it their own.
LeVert is one of the leads in “Feast of the Lion King” at the Pride Lands restaurant, which is located on deck five. Bradford plays Hercules in the live performance in the Walt Disney Theater. The Disney Destiny is better for having both performers involved in its live performances.
The Atlanta Voice had time to interview both LeVert and Bradford on Wednesday, Nov. 12, as the Destiny was preparing to dock at Castaway Cay.
LeVert, a native of Los Angeles and member of the world-famous LeVert family tree, was a part of the very first all-Black show at Disneyland. She was part of the cast for “Feast of the Lion King” from the very beginning, rehearsing with the current cast in Toronto, Canada, in August 2025, after booking the role in August 2024.
“We were all very much aware of the impact and how important that was,” LeVert said. “When you do this, you just want to do it right.”
LeVert recalled one showing of Frozen, in which she plays the mother of Anna and Elsa, and locked eyes with a young girl in the audience. The stars of Frozen, arguably the biggest Disney movie in decades, are Anna and Elsa, but on this night in 2019, LeVert said the girl was focused on her and she on the girl.
“She was not about Anna or Elsa at all; she was looking straight at me. And I knew that what she was feeling was that she saw herself up there,” said LeVert, who added that she had to hold herself together when she got backstage.
LeVert remembers feeling the same way when she was “The Wiz” on stage in her native Los Angeles during her youth. She says that moment was foundational for her career, which spans many years around the world.
“There’s space for us up here, we can do this, and we can show up in a way in which we lift each other and tell our story in the way in which it is meant to be told.”
Bradford, a native of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, with over 300,000 Instagram followers, shares a similar story of representation. Seeing himself in performers like Leslie Odom, Jr. and actor/singer Jordan Fisher helped keep him encouraged as he moved from gig to gig, ultimately leading to his role as Hercules aboard the Disney Destiny. There hasn’t been a Black Hercules before him, and he understands the significance of that.
“No matter who you are, no matter what you have been through, keep going,” Bradford said about his career.
Following the premiere of “Hercules” on Tuesday night, Bradford received roaring applause during the curtain call. During the performance, Hercules is considered an outcast by the people in his village due to his exceptional strength, speed, and uniqueness. When Hercules began saving the village from monsters, he became accepted by everyone. Whether he knows it or not, Bradford is representing so many Black men who don’t fit into society’s box for them.
“That’s how I want to carry myself in this industry,” said Bradford, who has been training in the theater arts since he was five years old.
LeVert added about the amount of representation that is beautifully displayed on stage and live on the Disney Destiny, “This is something that should be happening.”
A mutual appreciation society is growing between the two performers. LeVert called Bradford “amazing” and said of the Hercules show, “I love how they reimagined the muses.”
On live performances and why they still feel so important in a world full of screens and apps, LeVert said that they can’t be duplicated. Every performance is one of one.
“You can’t replace it,” she said. “You can’t replace our engagement with each other.”
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