Disney Theatrical Productions

Founded in 1993 as Walt Disney Theatrical, the company staged its first musical, Beauty and the Beast . Having quickly gained popularity in the field of creating professional and popular (financially and critically) theater performances, the company launched several more projects into development.

Beauty and the Beast

The musical Beauty and the Beast, based on the animated film of the same name Disney, began its triumphant life on Broadway in 1993 (pre-shows from March 9; stationary rental - from April 18) at the Palace Theater . The performances continued without interruption until July 2007. The musical closed on July 29 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater , having played 5461 performances in 14 years. At present, Beauty and the Beast is in eighth place on the list of the longest running Broadway musicals and seventh at the box office.

The success of the musical on Broadway stimulated the desire of other countries to put it on their stage. So “Beauty and the Beast” appeared in the cities: Melbourne ( Australia ), London ( Great Britain ), Kyoto ( Japan ), Seoul ( South Korea ), Stuttgart ( Germany ), Sydney (Australia), Mexico City ( Mexico ), Guayaquil ( Ecuador ) , Johannesburg ( South Africa ), Madrid ( Spain ), Moscow ( Russia ), Milan ( Italy ), Sao Paulo ( Brazil ), Paris ( France ), etc. Tours were also organized in the cities of the USA and Great Britain.

The Lion King

The next major project of Disney Theatrical Productions was the musical The Lion King, based on the animated film of the same name . Even at the preliminary stages, the production won instant success. She was first seen in Minneapolis ( Minnesota ) at the Orpheus Theater on July 8, 1997. The official premiere on Broadway took place on November 19 of the same year at the New Amsterdam Theater. On June 13, 2006, the musical moved to the Minskoff Theater.

At the moment, “The Lion King” is the highest grossing theatrical production in the entire history of Broadway ^[1] and for the seventeenth year in a row almost every performance has been held with a full house. The musical is popular in other countries. The performances successfully went / go in London, Toronto, Hamburg (Germany), Seoul, Tokyo (Japan), Shanghai ( China ), Sydney and other cities.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The premiere of adaptation of the animated film of the same name “Disney” into the musical took place on June 5, 1999 in Berlin , becoming the first production of “Disney Theatrical Productions” outside the United States ^[2] . The musical went on for three years with success at the Musical Theater Berlin (now Theater am Potsdamer Platz ). In 2008, Stephen Schwartz (songwriter) said: “I hope next year we will launch the musical The Hunchback of Notre Dame on Broadway” ^[3] , but this did not happen. Later, in late 2010, in an interview with Alan Mencken (composer), confirmed that work on the Broadway version of the musical is underway ^[4] .

The pre-show phase will take place at the La Jolla Playhouse Theater in San Diego, California from October 28 to December 7, 2014 ^[5] . The team of creators of the production has already been appointed: Scott Schwartz (director), Peter Parnell (libretto), George Bergass (choreographer), Alexander Dodge (stage and stage design), Aleggio Vietti (costume designer) and others. After San Diego, the musical will pre-screen at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millbourne, New Jersey . ^[6]

Tarzan

The musical "Tarzan" (based on the animated film of the same name "Disney") began its rental on Broadway on May 10, 2006 at the Richard Rodgers Theater . The musical closed on July 8, 2007 ^[7] .

On April 15, 2007, the musical opened on the international stage: at the Circustheater Theater in Scheveningen ( Netherlands ), Tarzan replaced the Lion King . Then the musical was staged in Sweden , Germany and the Philippines . There was also a national tour of US cities.

The Little Mermaid

The Broadway premiere of the musical The Little Mermaid based on the animated film of the same name took place at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater on January 10, 2008 (after 50 pre-screenings in Denver ( Colorado ) and on Broadway itself). The poor reviews of critics ^[8] , which influenced the performance’s visit, forced the creators to close the musical after a year and a half due to possible financial risks ^[9] .

In 2012, Stage Entertainment presented a modified version of the musical (called “European” in the media and the theater world) in the Netherlands and Russia. The same version was delivered in Japan.

Aladdin

In November 2010, Alan Menken confirmed that the process of adapting the animated film “ Aladdin ” to the musical is working with Chad Beglin’s libretto ^[10] . The first premiere took place in Seattle at Fifth Avenue Theater on July 7, 2011. This rental lasted until July 31 ^[11] . Another version of the musical was at the St. Louis Municipal Theater ( July 5–13 , 2012) ^[12] . The premiere on Broadway took place on February 26 (a series of pre-shows). The stationary rental of Aladdin has been going on since March 20, 2014 at the New Amsterdam Theater, replacing the musical Mary Poppins , which closed on March 3 ^{[13] [14] [15]} .

Musicals in development

The Jungle Book

Variety stated that "there is the first preparation of the musical The Jungle Book, based on the animated film of the same name , Disney." The script and direction will be handled by Mary Zimmerman ^[16] . The first shows were held at the Goodman Theater ( Chicago ) and the Huntington Theater Company ( Boston ) in 2013.

One Hundred and One Dalmatians

Frozen

On January 13, 2014, The Director of The Walt Disney Company , Bob Iger, announced that work on the adaptation of the animated film Frozen into a musical was in its infancy ^[17] .

Mary Poppins

The musical “Mary Poppins” (based on the film of the same name ), directed by producer Cameron Mackintosh , opened with previews at the Bristol Hippodrome Theater ( Bristol , UK) on September 15, 2004. Since December 15, the production has been going on at the Prince Edward Theater ( West End , London, UK). The musical closed on January 12, 2008 after more than three years of rental ^[18] .

After the successful rental of the musical in the West End, it was decided to put it on Broadway. The premiere took place at the New Amsterdam Theater on November 16, 2006 (after a month of pre-screenings). Some of the actors of the Broadway troupe came from a London production. The Broadway version of the musical received mixed reviews from critics: from enthusiastic ^[19] to mediocre ^[20] . Many critics praised the technical characteristics of the production ^[21] . The musical fell in love with the audience and was well attended; the budget paid off for the first year of stationary rental ^[22] . The last performance of Mary Poppins took place on March 3, 2013, losing the stage for the new musical - Aladdin .

The musical “Mary Poppins” was also staged in Melbourne ( Australia ), Scheveningen ( Netherlands ), Brno ( Czech Republic ), Mexico City ( Mexico ), Reykjavik ( Iceland ). The Icelandic production, which opened in February 2013, has become the most expensive, complex and successful musical in the history of the country.

Cool Musical

The hit hit Disney Channel , Cool Musical , was adapted for the scene in 2007. His premiere took place in the "Theater of Stars" in Atlanta , Georgia . After the creators of the musical staged a national tour of the United States, which lasted from August 1, 2007 to August 3, 2008. Their performances were in the UK , Japan , Spain , Italy , South Africa , Australia , the Netherlands and South Korea .

The licensing of the productions is done by the Music Theater International company, which has sold the rights to the performance to more than 5,000 theaters around the world. There are three versions of the musical: full version, one-act and one-hour (special for performers of secondary school age).

Cool Musical 2

The sequel to the film as a stage version was launched in October 2008. Like The Cool Musical , it has three versions for productions on various stages and for artists of any age.

Camp Rock: A Musical Vacation

The stage version for the most part is based on the second part of the film - “ Camp Rock 2: Reporting Concert ”, but there are songs from the first . The musical was staged in 2010.

News Sellers

The musical, based on the film of the same name , was created on the libretto of Harvey Firestin , music by Alan Mencken and Jack Feldman . The premiere of the production took place in September 2011 at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millbourne, New Jersey . The musical was originally planned only for licensing ^[23] , but after rave reviews it was staged on Broadway at the Nederlander Theater , where it has been going on since March 29, 2012. ^[24] The musical became the winner of three Tony awards: the best musical, the best music and the best choreography.

Musicals in development

The Muppets

In 2013, Disney Theatrical Productions reported that work was underway to adapt the Muppets to the musical. A fifteen-minute performance by Thomas Schumacher was held , which showed how the show would look on stage in technical terms ^[25] .

“Alice in Wonderland”

Disney Theatrical Productions is in talks with Tim Burton (director of the film) and Linda Wolverton (screenwriter of the film) about adapting the 2010 film of the same name into a musical. Burton supported the idea, and Wolverton had already agreed to rework the script for the production. However, neither the composer, nor the author of the lyrics, nor the director of the musical are defined. It is known that Matt West will stage the choreography ^[16] . He has already worked with Linda Wolverton in the musical Beauty and the Beast .

“Father of the Bride”

A musical version of the film of the same name is under development. It is expected that the director will be Bartlett Sher ^[16] .

Freaky Friday

The libretto of the musical “Freaky Friday” based on the 2003 film motif is written by Bridget Carpenter. The director of the production may be Christopher Ashley ^[16] .

"King David"

The musical “King David” was created to the music of Alan Mencken and the libretto and lyrics of Tim Rice . It was staged on Broadway in 1997. The plot of the production is based on the biblical tales of the Book of Samuel and Chronicles , as well as texts from the psalms of David .

Aida

Based on the plot of the opera of the same name by Giuseppe Verdi , the musical Aida tells the story of a slave from Nubia who falls in love with an Egyptian captain. The music for the production was written by Elton John , and the lyrics by Tim Rice . The musical opened on March 23, 2000 (after a month of pre-screenings) at the Palace Theater . Stationary rental lasted until September 5, 2004 and closed after 1852 performances. The musical won four Tony Awards (Best Actress, Best Stage Design, Best Light and Best Music) and was staged in several countries around the world, and also had a tour of US cities ^{[26] [27] [28]} .

“On record”

"On record" debuted at the National Theater in Washington in 2004. After the production, the country went on a national tour. The musical consists of 60 different Disney songs from the 30s of the last century until 2004. These songs are freely intertwined in the course of the plot, which develops around the love rectangle - four artists recording the album “Disney” in the recording studio ^[29] . According to the idea of ​​the creators of the song, they help the characters express emotions and build relationships between themselves.

Peter and the Dreamcatcher

Disney Theatrical Productions and La Jolla Playhouse ( California ) adapted Peter and the Dream Catcher (prequel of Peter Pan ) to a piece of music. It is based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson . The script was written by Rick Alice and co-directed by Roger Rhys . The premiere of the play took place in San Diego on February 13, 2009 ^[30] . In New York, the production was in Off Broadway status at the New York Theater Workshop ^[31] . On Broadway, Peter and the Dreamcatcher walked from April 15, 2012 to January 20, 2013. The play returned to the stage in March 2013 at the New World Stages Theater (in Off Broadway status).

• Disney Theatrical Productions Official Website
• Disney Theatrical Productions on the Internet Broadway Database
• Disney Theatrical Productions on Playbill Vault