Disney's Future Plans

[loganp37]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 2:34pm

Some people on this board seem to be a fan of Disney's Broadway Musicals, some may not. But with the recent close of AIDA on Broadway, the new ON THE RECORD tour closing soon because of poor ticket sales, only two shows currently playing Broadway. I was wondering if anyone knows what Disney is planning or what shows there working on. Possibly a return, reworked tour of B&TB, I've heard there working on TARZAN?? Well if anyone knows anything or just has any thoughts, post away.

[Justice]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 2:36pm

Mary Poppins will be flying over here, and the Little Mermaid is also in the works of swimming to a Broadway theatre near you.

Let's not forget Chitty Chitty Bang Bang opening at the Ford.

Updated On: 2/18/05 at 02:36 PM

[Loge]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 2:37pm

Well Mary Poppins just opened in London - so that's the obvious answer. The Hunchback of Notre Dame was staged for years in Berlin and was absolutely FANTASTIC! Far better than BATB, TLK, and AIDA IMO. There was a slew of new material, and the stage show followed the book more closely - it was much more of a departure from the movie than TLK and BATB were. I don't know why they are not bringing Hunchback to the Broadway or West End stage. The entire show was written first in English, then translated to German. The cast learned their roles in English and were taught to sing them in German. I heard they are going to film it as a made for TV movie musical.

I also heard, as the previous poster did, that The Little Mermaid is going to find life on stage.

Updated On: 2/18/05 at 02:37 PM

[loganp37]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 2:39pm

Interesting, both shows have great potential. Even though MARRY POPPINS already opened. I wonder how they would do LITTLE MERMAID. I always thought that ALADIN would make a great stage musical, visually stunning, just like every other Disney stage show.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 2:47pm

CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG is not Disney.

MARY POPPINS has plans to put up a production on Broadway next Winter.

TARZAN is in development and has had workshops a few years ago. TARZAN will land Spring 2006.

THE LITTLE MERMAID will arrive 2007.

[loganp37]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 2:51pm

So no current plans to bring AIDA or B&TB back out on tour?

[Justice]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 2:51pm

I was always under the impression that Chitty was a Disney picture...

[Craig]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 2:55pm

With all due respect - the timetables for Tarzan and Little Mermaid are still very much in the air...

[Joshua488]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 2:56pm

I'm eager for THE LITTLE MERMAID's arrival on Broadway.

And let's all pray that Kerry Butler is cast as Ariel.

Maybe it would finally garner her a Tony nomination (at least), if THE OPPOSITE OF SEX doesn't get her one first. Updated On: 2/18/05 at 02:56 PM

[kates]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 2:57pm

Um I'm pretty sure Beauty and the Beast is on tour, I saw in Atlanta with the Christy Carlson Romano chick about 3 weeks ago. It actually filled up the Fox Theater more than anything else has in the past few years.

[loganp37]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 2:59pm

That was not a tour of B&TB at the FOX Theater in Atlanta. That was put on by Theater of the Stars or something like that.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:01pm

Yes, timetable is up in the air - but that was the status of their plans as of four months ago. Things do change.

CHITTY was Disney's film, yes, but the stage production is not.

[kates]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:02pm

my mistake, forgive me Logan...

[Adam Chris]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:02pm

If you go to California Adventure you can see the 45 minute Aladdin show that's done Broadway style at the Hyperion Theater. It contains an extra song written by Menken sung by Jasmine. It's really good for what it is. Updated On: 2/18/05 at 03:02 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:02pm

The new AIDA tour is NOT the Disney production. It's the Elton John/Time Rice score, and I'm almost sure it's the same book, but it's not the same physical production. The sets, staging, costumes, lights, etc. are different.

[loganp37]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:03pm

Kates, What did yout think about the production? Christy Carlson Ramono?

[CapnHook]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:04pm

Is there is a link for this AIDA tour? I heard about it but haven't seen any official press releases/info.

[joniray]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:06pm

Chitty was not a Disney film, it was MGM, although it's easy to understand why so many people assume it was Disney with Dick Van Dyke and a Sherman Brothers score.

[kates]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:08pm

Ok, I have read and do believe that the Disney shows (with the exception of Aida) were shows that were very successful and attracted a crowd as shows at their theme parks. My family used to go to Disney World in Orlando all the time. Both Beauty and the Beast and the (Festival of the)Lion King were great hour long shows and it was apparent that they could be made into longer productions. However, I also saw the Little Mermaid show. That was painful. Unless there is some serious costume ingenuity (which I wouldn't doubt of Disney) the mermaid is absolutely stationary while she's a mermaid. If this show were to work, I think it will be quite a challenge. Personally, I would rather see a revival of Once on This Island (the same story, a little more mature though) but I think that's a personal bias.

[joniray]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:15pm

Kates, glad you enjoyed B&B and Festival of the Lion King. Just a slight correction though. These were/are far from being hour long shows. I believe they ran closer to 20 or 25 minutes. The Little Mermade show ran around 15 minutes.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:16pm

The Mermaid wouldn't be stationary at all! All the scenes under the water - they couldn't possibly do that. The costume, I would imagine, would allow the actress to walk.

Just look at what Disney did with their current adaptations:

Rugs, silverware, clocks, candlesticks, brooms, dresser drawers, beasts, teapots, napkins, lions, baboons, hyenas, elephants, antelope, giraffes, etc. - they all have great mobility on stage.

Now it will be fish, mermaids, octopus, eels, crabs, etc.

[kates]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:19pm

Logan, honestly I wasn't that impressed with Carlson-Romano. I went with my 6 year old sister who is a huge fan of both the show and Carlson-Romano (and actually went dressed as Belle and carried a rose the entire time) and she loved her. Romano sang on an Atlanta morning show a few days before we went and I remember thinking it could be a long show. I felt like she tried entirely too hard to sound like Belle from the movie and she just looked really akward at times. But, every little girl in the audience loved her, she could have stood there and converted oxygen to carbon dioxide and they would have loved her. So I guess casting her was a pretty smart move by Theater of the Stars since the majority of the audience was little girls (obviously fans of Romano) and the parents who brought them.

However, I thought the worst thing of the production was the fact that they decided to put a children's chorus in it. It was a big Macy's PR/talent search in Atlanta this summer and they were just distracting. They were fine as towns kids in the opening scenes, but then they tried to incorporate them in "Be Our Guest" as well. They sat on the front of the stage with these huge head pieces and considerable blocked my view from the 5th row. They also had costumes (leotards and cheap headpieces) that were not up to par with the rest of the wardrobe in the production. They looked like they should have been in a middle school dance recital but got lost.

Overall, it was nothing special, but financially, it did incredibly well for a city like Atlanta.

[Joshua488]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:25pm

That piece-of-crap 15-minute LITTLE MERMAID show at Disney World is definitely NOT what they are planning on bringing to Broadway, so don't worry!

Disney is in talks with a variety of directors, designers, etc. to try and find the best idea of how to make an underwater show work onstage. So it's almost guaranteed to be a decent production. I don't think that they will have Ariel and the other mermaids and mermen sitting the entire production.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:30pm

I loved the Hunchback book and score in Berlin, but they staging and choreography (especially Topsy-Turvy) was rather dull. It was mostly projections on blocks that rose up from the stage at various levels. After 10 minutes, you'd pretty much seen it all and it grew tiresome. The costumes were gorgeous, though, and I loved the new music. I was also thrilled to see that it retained the ending from the original story, not the animated film. Curiously, the actress who opened the production as Esmerelda was a famous German pop star. The day after her scathing reviews were published, she mysteriously disappeared from the production and never returned.

On the same trip, I found the German production of Nine at the Theater des Westens far superior. It was a beautiful and thrilling production that sadly went almost entirely unrecorded. There was a CD released that only contained about 4 tracks. The Germans at the Spa was so exciting and fun. I couldn't understand why it was cut from the Broadway revival.

[loganp37]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 3:31pm

What a horrible idea to create a childrens chorus for a somewhat professional show that does not need it. Oh, I guess it was good for ticket sales because everyone who knew the local children would come to see the show, but honestly that sounds like a terrible idea. I really would like to see B&TB again, hope the Disney produced version does go back on tour.