The cast of the Marvel series “Agatha All Along” unveiled the second trailer for the WandaVision sequel at the D23 Expo and brought a surprise live performance of the original song that “drives the show” – The Ballad of the Witches Road.
Star Kathryn Hahn was joined on stage at the Honda Center in Anaheim by costars Joe Locke, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn and Debra Jo Rupp to perform the spooky ballad, written by the Emmy- and Oscar-winning team of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Frozen, Coco), who also appeared on stage. The song’s title refers to a mystical path that Agatha must travel before she can regain her powers, which is the through line for the entire series.
Kathryn Hahn is better known as a comedian, yet has sung original songs on other shows like Central Park, and recapped the History of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Kimmel, sung to the tune of The Major-General’s Song (by Gilbert and Sullivan):
The new song was produced by Scott M. Riesett, who produces songs for many Disney movies and TV shows. We’ll update when we know more about the team, we know Christophe Beck is returning from WandaVision for scoring the series.
The upcoming series takes it’s title from the name of another song by the Lopez’s, from the WandaVision series. That song was in the style of comic-spooky 60s TV theme songs like The Munsters. Witches Road is more like chant or Sweeney Todd, still fun but darker.
The cast includes the great Patti LuPone, who is widely considered one of the most important stars in the history of Broadway, with multiple Tony and Grammy awards, including Evita, Sweeney Todd and Les Misérables. She also has an extensive film and TV filmography – Law and Order, 30 Rock, Glee, Penny Dreadful, etc. The producers would be missing a huge opportunity if they didn’t include a song that features her. She’s the first woman on the left of the chorus, wearing a leopard pattern. Her character is a witch named Lilia Calderu.
The premiere arrives September 18 on Disney plus.
David Raiklen wrote, directed and scored his first film at age 9. He began studying keyboard and composing at age 5. He attended, then taught at UCLA, USC and CalArts. Among his teachers are John Williams and Mel Powel.
He has worked for Fox, Disney and Sprint. David has received numerous awards for his work, including the 2004 American Music Center Award. Dr. Raiklen has composed music and sound design for theater (Death and the Maiden), dance (Russian Ballet), television (Sing Me a Story), cell phone (Spacey Movie), museums (Museum of Tolerance), concert (Violin Sonata ), and film (Appalachian Trail).
His compositions have been performed at the Hollywood Bowl and the first Disney Hall. David Raiken is also host of a successful radio program, Classical Fan Club.
