Wayne’s world: Brady and family return to Disney
Orlando’s Wayne Brady and company recently made the rounds at Walt Disney World, shooting promotional videos for the Freeform series “Wayne Brady: The Family Remix.” In one scene, Brady performs with the Dapper Dans, an a cappella group on Magic Kingdom’s Main Street U.S.A.
The visual results of their trip have been popping up on social media with scenes featuring Brady, his ex-wife Mandie Taketa, their 21-year-old daughter Maile Brady and Taketa’s current partner Jason Fordham in the theme parks. They’re frequently dancing.
One clip edits together several snippets of the reality show’s “core four” doing dance steps near Cinderella Castle and Tron Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom, near the Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, outside Minnie & Mickey’s Runaway Railway, at Toy Story Land and near the Millennium Falcon at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and at the base of Spaceship Earth and inside The Seas with Nemo and Friends ride at Epcot.
There are costume changes, mouse-ear headbands, evidence of a thunderstorm and the sudden appearance of lightsabers.
“I always wanted to sing with the Dapper Dans,” Brady says in another clip out of Magic Kingdom. He immediately gets that wish and sings “Bye Bye Blues” in four-or-five-part harmony with the group all decked out in colorfully striped vests and straw hats.
“I’m not giving the costume back,” Brady jokes.
Their show debuted on ABC-owned Freeform in July, and all eight episodes can be seen on Hulu. The program delves into the personal lives of Brady and family. A continuing thread is the process of him “coming out as pansexual,” which coincides with a People magazine interview this summer.
One episode shows Brady and Taketa traveling to Orlando and visiting the home he grew up in in Tangelo Park. He is a graduate of Dr. Phillips High School, and he performed at Disney World, Universal Studios, SAK Comedy Lab, Sleuths Mystery Dinner Shows and elsewhere.
His post-Orlando career has been varied. His Broadway credits include “Chicago,” “Kinky Boots” and a recent turn as the Wiz in “The Wiz.” On television, he has been a regular on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and hosted “Let’s Make a Deal.” Adding to his reality-show resume are stints on “Dancing With the Stars” and the second-season winner of “The Masked Singer.” He has made dozens of guest appearances on TV shows, ranging from “Mixed-ish” to “How I Met Your Mother” to “Stargate SG-1” to “Superboy,” which was produced in Orlando.