Disney on Broadway... What's next?

[jonmbway4652]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 7:33pm

So after Tarzan and Little Mermaid what do you thing Disney has in mind for its next production. I do not think Mary Poppins will be around much longer with its recent grosses and the New Amsterdam will be open.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 7:44pm

As I've said before, I think if Disney is smart and wants to put more of their stories on stage, than they'll go with something that is sure to sell, something pre Lion King. Cinderella and Aladdin are two that come to mind as things that have the story and spectacle factor that are needed to rival Beauty & the Beast.

Disney's problem lately is that they think anything will work on stage and Tarzan, Mary Poppins and Mermaid have proven that isn't the case. Things like Hunchback or Hercules which a lot of people say they want have a few fans but aren't as widely known (or nearly as good) as their classic titles up through 1992.

The other problem is that whatever title they choose, they will need someone to write a score for it. Disney films have music but nowhere near the amount needed for a Broadway show. Choosing a classic film, they'll need someone able to write a score that matches what already exists which I see as a problem for a lot of people working today.

Just my two cents.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 7:45pm

Posted...twice!

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardid=1&boardname=bway&thread=984704

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardid=1&boardname=bway&thread=928965

Updated On: 10/26/09 at 07:45 PM

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 7:45pm

I never saw Tarzan or Little Mermaid but I saw Mary Poppins in London and thought it was really good.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 8:08pm

Aladdin was post-Beauty and the Beast...

Has the project with Andrew LIppa fallen through?

[HollyGolightly2]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 8:16pm

I'd love Hunchback or Aladdin.

Disney's problem lately is that they think anything will work on stage and Tarzan, Mary Poppins and Mermaid have proven that isn't the case. Things like Hunchback or Hercules which a lot of people say they want have a few fans but aren't as widely known (or nearly as good) as their classic titles up through 1992.


Tarzan has practically zero fan following. I go to Disney World quite a lot, and kids recognize Hercules and Esmeralda more easily than Terk. Kids do know about HoND and Hercules. (Oh, and Lion King came out in 1994, so... Yeah, there's that.)


I know for a fact that both the shows I'd like to see, Aladdin and HoND, work onstage. California Adventure has a fabulous, lavish, and very well done Aladdin show, and Disney's Hollywood Studios used to have a well-loved and extremely popular HoND show, and then there's also Der Glockner von Notre Dame. It had a very successful three year run in Berlin.)




Updated On: 10/26/09 at 08:16 PM

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 8:18pm

I thought someone here said that Aladdin was Disney's next crack at Broadway.

[jonmbway4652]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 8:24pm

I can definitely see Hunchback and Hercules working. But Disney's past few shows have been less than acceptable...

[HollyGolightly2]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 8:30pm

I don't think Hercules would work. They had a Hercules musical on the Disney Cruise Line a few years back, and (yes, I know it was a cruise ship musical, but still) the story just didn't really work onstage. Hades, Pain, and Panic had probably the most awkward screen-to-stage translations. It was just... Odd.


(And whoo, my 500th post. I just happened to look at my settings just before posting this and my count was at 499.) Updated On: 10/26/09 at 08:30 PM

[James885]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 8:40pm

I liked Beauty, Lion King, and Poppins, but Tarzan was a hot mess and The Little Mermaid, while not as bad as Tarzan due to its score, still managed to be pretty awful.

I would love to see the same creative team of the German production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame mount the show over here, but I doubt it'll come to fruition as it's one of Disney's darker properties and deals with some very adult themes. But I definitely think it's one of Menken's best scores, and Schwartz's lyrics are superb. "Hellfire" is one of the most chilling Disney songs IMO.

Updated On: 10/26/09 at 08:40 PM

[musicalbluemirror]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 8:43pm

Hunchback, Newsies, & Peter and the Starcatchers

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 8:45pm

I personally loved Tarzan and was so sad to see it close...

Now, if it's done right, I would love to see Enchanted on stage. Someone here had a great idea of the show opening with an actual animation on a screen and when it goes into the real world the actual show starts.

[bway1261]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 8:46pm

I would also like to see Hunchback come to Broadway.

[NeoNormal]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 8:47pm

Isn't Regina Spektor making some musical called 'Beauty'? I wouldn't be surprised if Disney wanted to buy that. (I want to see it, if she makes this musical because I'm a huge fan of Spektor)

Papermill Playhouse is doing 'Peter Pan', I don't see why they don't revive that on B'way?

[James885]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 8:54pm

The musical version of Peter Pan isn't based on the Disney movie. It's based on James Barrie's play of the same name and has different music.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 9:08pm

I loved Tarzan, but I'd like any musical starring a guy in a loincloth. I'd really like to see them take a chance on Hunchback as I think it's the most theatrical of all their animated movies, but I wouldn't mind Aladdin either. I really like the new song Alan Menken wrote for Jasmine in the California Adventure show. I think he also wrote the lyrics for that too, correct? I'd like it if he wrote the lyrics for the new songs instead of Glenn Slater though, I suppose the obvious choice would be Tim Rice since he wrote the additional lyrics for the film.

[jonmbway4652]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 9:13pm

"Now, if it's done right, I would love to see Enchanted on stage. Someone here had a great idea of the show opening with an actual animation on a screen and when it goes into the real world the actual show starts."

That would be awesome. Even if Disney just did a Broadway Holiday run or a national tour, Enchanted would do well

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 9:16pm

I personally loved Hercules and really want it to be Disney's next project.

[musicalbluemirror]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 9:36pm

Danny i agree!
for many years i have wished this would happen

[HollyGolightly2]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 9:42pm

I really like the new song Alan Menken wrote for Jasmine in the California Adventure show. I think he also wrote the lyrics for that too, correct?

I don't think To Be Free is a new song so much as it is background music that got lyrics (like parts of One Step Closer from Mermaid). I'm a nerd and I love Disney background music as much as the songs. You can hear the melody of To Be Free throughout the movie.


Like in this. Updated On: 10/26/09 at 09:42 PM

[B3TA07]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 9:47pm

^Something about the music in this clip is very "Beauty and the Beast" to me.


So, if they did Aladdin: Should they put "Call Me A Princess" in it? What about "Proud of Your Boy?"

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 9:51pm

I like Proud of Your Boy. I just don't understand how it would work without the mother character being reinstated as in the early drafts.

[HollyGolightly2]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 9:51pm

Something about the music in this clip is very "Beauty and the Beast" to me.


Well, it is the same composer, of course.

I love Proud of Your Boy, but they'd have to come up with new lyrics, unless they somehow were able to work Aladdin's parents back in.


I'm not really too fond of Call Me a Princess. If they did include it, I could see the melody working as a Genie song. The song as it is is all wrong for the Jasmine that was in the final version of the movie.

Updated On: 10/26/09 at 09:51 PM

[B3TA07]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 10:19pm

I would like adding the plot about Aladdin's parents, perhaps in a large prologue number that would start the show. But, it depends on where they want to take the stage production. I can also see them adding it but then cutting it because it took up too much time.

The lyrics in "Call Me A Princess" are too "Tim Rice." Sardonic and detached from the character and plot, at least if you're looking at it from the perspective of the film's final draft.

Posted: 10/27/09 at 2:43am

I heard that Toy Story is in the works. Same with Hercules, and they want SJB as Meg..