DISNEY ON BROADWAY & WICKED TH 497 American Musical Theatre May 2015

DISNEY THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS Disney Theatrical Productions Limited, also known as Disney on Broadway, is the flagship stage play and musical production company of the Disney Theatrical Group, a self-contained division of The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1993, as Walt Disney Theatrical, the division has gained a reputation within the industry for creating professional and popular (both critically and financially) performances, starting with the acclaimed Beauty and the Beast in 1994.

At the end of the 20 th century, the Disney Corporation made a big investment on Broadway and they continue to be a major player on Broadway to this day. The Lion King continues its record-breaking run and Newsies, originally scheduled for a limited run, recently closed its three-year run on Broadway and is currently on tour. Aladdin opened on Broadway in 2014 and is still playing in the flagship New Amsterdam Theatre.

Thomas Schumacher is the director of Disney Theatricals. He oversees all Disney stage properties in New York, on tour and in other venues throughout the world.

History

Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical. Beauty ran on Broadway for 5,461 performances between 1994 and 2007, the eighth longest-running production in history.Alan MenkenTim Rice eighth longest-running production BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

King David is a musical, sometimes described as a modern oratorio, with a book and lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Alan Menken. The musical is based on Biblical tales from the Books of Samuel and 1 Chronicles, as well as text from David's Psalms. A concert version directed by Mike Ockrent was staged at the New Amsterdam for a limited run in 1997 to officially re-open the remodelled theatre.

The New Amsterdam Theatre Located at 214 West 42nd Street Built in 1903 (Restored in 1997) Capacity 1,702 - now 1,793 Owners/Managers: Erlanger & Klaw (1903-??) The Nederlanders ( ) The Disney Corporation (1993-now) Architects: Herts & Tallant Restored by Hugh Hardy (1994)

The New Amsterdam Theatre The flagship of Klaw and Erlanger's theatrical empire, the New Amsterdam (New York City's original Dutch colonial name) remains one of America's most outstanding examples of art nouveau architecture. When the Great Depression made tenants scarce in the 1930s, the New Amsterdam became a studio for Ed Wynn's radio series. The main theatre served as a movie grind house from 1937 to 1983, at which time the theatre closed for "renovations." Delays and ownership battles stretched over a decade, until Disney took over the property in 1996 and invested $34 million in a sumptuous restoration. After more than a century, The New Amsterdam is once again Broadway's grandest theatre, and is designated an official New York City landmark. A 693 seat rooftop theatre housed Ziegfeld's Frolics, and served as a radio studio and rehearsal space through the 1950s -- unfortunately, it was too far gone to be part of the restoration.

Noteworthy Musicals: Forty Five Minutes From Broadway (1906), The Merry Widow (1907), Sweethearts (1913), Ziegfeld Follies ( ), Watch Your Step (1914), Sally (1920), Sunny (1925), Rosalie (1928), The Bandwagon (1931), Face the Music (1932), The Lion King (1997), Mary Poppins (2006), Aladdin (2014)

Auditorium of the refurbished New Amsterdam Theatre

From 2006 through early 2013, The New Amsterdam was home to the Disney Mackintosh production of MARY POPPINS.

The Lion King debuted July 8, 1997, at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota before premiering on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theater on November 13, On June 13, 2006, the show moved to the Minskoff Theatre to make way for the musical version of Mary Poppins, where it is still running. It is now Broadway's seventh longest-running show. The show uses a range of theatrical techniques, and is not a conventional musical, yet is probably the most popular production Disney Theatrical have ever conceived and one of the most loved productions in the world. The production won the Tony Award for Best Musical at the 1998 Tony Awards.Minskoff Theatre

Based on the opera by Giuseppe Verdi, Aida tells the story of a Nubian slave who falls in love with an Egyptian captain. It was written by Elton John and Tim Rice and began previews on February 25, 2000 before officially opening at the Palace Theatre on March 23, Aida closed on September 5, 2004 and ran for a total of 30 previews and 1852 performances. The Broadway production won four Tony Awards including Best Actress (Heather Headley), Best Scenic Design, Best Lighting Design and Best Music. Since its run on Broadway, it has had a U.S. national tour and productions around the world. Elton JohnTim Rice

Tarzan was based on the movie of the same name and the novel Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It debuted on Broadway on May 10, 2006 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. The show was heavily publicized with Phil Collins and the lead actors promoting the new musical on several media shows including Today and Good Morning America. After playing for over a year the show closed on July 8, 2007.Richard Rodgers Theatre

The musical began Broadway previews on November 3, 2007 and opened on January 10, 2008 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, despite a stagehands strike (which ended on November 28, 2007). The world premiere took place at the Denver Center of the Performing Arts in Denver, Colorado. The show features all the songs in the movie and nine new songs written by Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater. The book is by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Doug Wright. The musical opened to mixed reviews and featured Sierra Boggess as Ariel, Norm Lewis as Triton, Sherie Rene Scott as Ursula and Tituss Burgess as Sebastian. It closed on August 30, 2009 after 685 performances and 50 previews.Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

Cameron Mackintosh's stage adaptation of Mary Poppins had its world premiere at Bristol in 2004 before officially opening on September 18. The production then moved to the Prince Edward Theatre on December 15, A UK tour of Mary Poppins commenced in June 2008 and ended in April The Broadway production opened on November 16, 2006, following a month of previews in the New Amsterdam Theater. The production closed on March 3, 2013 after 2,619 performances.

Bob Crowley, one of today’s most celebrated scene designers was responsible for the settings for Mary Poppins.

Disney Theatrical Productions and La Jolla Playhouse (California) adapted Peter and the Starcatchers --a prequel to the Peter Pan story--into a play with music. The new play is written by Rick Elice, co-directed by Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, and is based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. It was produced as part of La Jolla Playhouse's Page to Stage program, and ran from February 13, 2009 through March 8, An off-Broadway production opened at New York Theatre Workshop before transferring March 28, 2012 to Broadway.

Newsies The Musical is a Disney Theatrical Productions stage musical based on the 1992 film Newsies, which in turn was inspired by the real-life Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City. The show has music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman, and a book by Harvey Fierstein. The musical premiered at the Paper Mill Playhouse in 2011 and made its Broadway debut in 2012.

Aladdin Musical BlogAladdin Musical Blog - fansite

Featuring the songs of Stephen Schwartz, whose earlier credits include: Musicals:Godspell The Bakers Wife Pippin Children of Eden Working Collaborations: Bernstein’s MASS Films:Pocahontas The Hunchback of Notre Dame The Prince of Egypt Enchanted Stephen Schwartz

“Popular” Wicked (2003), is based upon the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire that re-tells Baum's Wizard of Oz from the Wicked Witch's point of view -- a reminder that history is often told (and distorted) by the so- called "winners.” The screenplay was written by Winnie Holzman. Maguire

Produced by Universal Pictures by Marc Platt and David Stone, the Joe Mantello–directed and Wayne Cilento–choreographed production of Wicked premiered on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre in October 2003, after tryouts at San Francisco's Curran Theatre in May 2003.Gershwin Theatre Marc PlattJoe MantelloWayne Cilento

Defying Gravity

Its original stars included Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero and Joel Grey as the Wizard. The original Broadway production won three Tony Awards and six Drama Desk Awards and its cast album received a Grammy Award. It celebrated its ninth anniversary on October 30, 2012 making Wicked the 12th longest-running Broadway show in history (almost 4,000 performances). Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero and Idina Menzel as Elphaba in the original production.

WICKED Producer Affirms 'There Will be a Movie’ RUMORS: Amy Adams? Leah Michele? Julie Stiles? Jennifer Hudson? A TV mini-series?