Disney AND Broadway - The Survival of the Musical — Page 2

"Also, CapnHook. Peter Pan is onstage with Kathy Rigby (It will be here in Denver for the second time in January). It has enjoyed a successful tour for a few years now. And I read that they want her to finish her very long run in the part on Broadway. Just my thoughts."

uncageg,

Not sure what you meant by this. I know about the tour and was there for Opening Night in La Mirdada, CA. (I own PeterPanFan.com ...shameless plug.)

I don't really have an issue with Disney adapting its animated musicals to the Broadway stage. Like any other show that comes to Broadway, it may be good or bad. It might be a success, or it may flop.

BEAUTY & THE BEAST was Disney's first try on Broadway. Their shows got better and better, LION KING then AIDA. (I, too, enjoyed AIDA more than the other two. But LION KING was better production-wise whereas AIDA was better story-wise, and IMHO, better songs.)

MARY POPPINS, I read, is the best thing to happen to theatre in a very long time. Can't wait for the wind to carry it to New York.

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Great Post!

Just want to say, I love Lion King movie. It is my all time favorite animated movie. But, I don't like Lion King musical that much. It is fun. The music is still good. (of course, the music is the same in the movie). The stage scene is quite beautiful. There is something spetacular, like Mufasa's face, etc.
However, it cannot compete with movie. The movie is too good. The huge African plain, the river, the sky, all the huge animals...that is too much for small stage. The death of Mufasa in the movie is so overwhelming. I admit the stage version is quite smart. But smart is not enough.

Disney has a direct-to-DVD/video release of MULAN II planned for early next year. Has Alan Menken written songs for this, or is it another cheapquel?

Special Edition DVDs of THE LION KING, MULAN, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and ALADDIN are already out. THE LITTLE MERMAID and HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME are planned for the same treatment.

I highly recommend these DVDs. They have 1-2 hour length documentaries on the making of the films. Alan Menken was interviewed for his work in them. Lots of tears when referring to Howard Ashman.

Also on the ALADDIN DVD are songs cut from the film, including "Proud of Your Boy" - a song written by Menken & Ashman. Ashman pleaded for Disney not to remove it and try to find a way to keep it in, but he knew the film was better off without it. Its a beautiful song, too. They also talk about their work on BEAUTY & THE BEAST on the BATB DVD. Eisner says why he didn't want to bring it to Broadway, and others why they did.

I hope those MTI Disney shows are of quality. Has anyone read any scripts yet? I'd be interested to see what Disney has done with these shows.

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I believe Jeneane Tesori wrote the music for Mulan II, i don't know who wrote the lyrcis, though

"Disney has a direct-to-DVD/video release of MULAN II planned for early next year. Has Alan Menken written songs for this, or is it another cheapquel?"

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post. I have seen all three of Disney's Broadway musicals as well as the theme park shows.

-Beauty and the Beast-This was the first I saw of the three. I really liked it. The transition from "musical movie" to Broadway musical was well done(new songs and all).

-The Lion King-I didn't really like. After hearing everyone praise it for so long, I was a little disappointed with what I saw. It was good, just not as good as everyone made it seem.

-Aida-My favorite of the three! Really loved it. I think Disney made a smart move by producing a show that wasn't a Disney movie first. The adult/teen theme was also a good/bad move. I think it opened it up to more of an audience because it wasn't just a kiddy show. It could also be considered bad because when people see the name Disney, they think family/kids. I'm not saying Aida isn't a family show, but it's for more of a mature audience. I would hate to see Aida be cleaned up and made into an animated movie musical. IMO, it would ruin the show and the magic in the story.

-Tarzan-Ugh...not looking forward into this one. I don't think the music and the story are strong enough to make it a hit on Broadway. I thought the theme park show was awful because they made it into a stunt show instead of a normal Broadway style show like their other hit theme park shows(Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King). It's good for the theme park because it offers variety in their shows, but I don't think it belongs on Broadway.

-The Little Mermaid-Really looking forward into this! The movie did so much for Disney! I think the Broadway musical will do the same.

These are just my opinions. I'm sure whatever Disney puts on Broadway will do fine. I (being a lover of Broadway as well as owning Disney stock)want to keep seeing Disney do well on Broadway.

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Of all the Disney animated musicals, I think MULAN would be the hardest to do on stage. They would have to go in either of two directions: comedy or dramatic. Either have it be a funny adventure tale, as the film was, or change it to really focus on the need for Mulan to pretend to be a man, join the army, and fight for the Emporer. They would really need to focus on the seriousness of what Mulan is trying to accomplish. Possibly cut the cricket. Mushu is needed, but GET RID OF THE EDDIE MURPHY style humour. He can be funny, but not Eddie Murphy funny. That only worked on film.

Its difficult to say what I am thinking. Let's just leave it at this: it would be very difficult to do.

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Broadway IS a tourist attraction - and has been for many years. When people go to NY - they know they can see unique theatre they can't see anywhere else.

Sometimes, a show may draw people to NY JUST for a show, ie LION KING, THE PRODUCERS, or WICKED (I am referring to people who vacation, not theatre-lovers).

If a show fails, its because of its artistry or failure in publicity. Simply not good enough to compete.

Think about it - if Disney did a BAD show...horrific in every way possible - I don't think it would be open too long. They could advertise it to death, but word will get out and audiences will not come.

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rockfenris2005: Ummm, where do you think a lot of original composers look to find work so they can continue to eat while they work on other pieces? Your post appears rather disrespectful to Messrs. Mencken and Schwartz, who have written for both the animated musical and musical theatre itself...

"CATSNY - Actually, the gargoyles were the most beautiful part of Hunchback in Germany. Their staging and costumes were the most inspired part of the production and their costumes were gorgeous. One of them was female, which added a new dynamic to the trio in both characterization and voice. And their new music, a quintet with Quasimodo and Esmerelda, was one of the best songs of the evening. Without them, the show would lose a lot of the sympathy for Quasimodo as well as seriously alter the emotional balance of the entire production."

One was female in the film as well, unless it was supposed to be a male that was voiced by a female. But at the stage show in MGM Studios, it was acted by a female?

Were the original Menken songs from the animated musical also in Notre Dame de Paris? Was were they all new?

(Is the Paris production different from the one in Berlin?)

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