Posted: 6/30/26 at 10:11am
I like the new song and soundtrack for the live action version... Has there been any talks about a stage adaption of this one?
Also, what's going on with the Greatest Showman?
Posted: 6/30/26 at 10:19am
The live action Moana is not looking like it's going to be very financially successful. I think Disney should put a pause on expanding the Moana franchise and explore Encanto or The Emperor's New Groove on stage. I would love to see Amber Gray as Yzma. She is our generational Eartha Kitt vocally.
Posted: 6/30/26 at 11:31am
Weren't they working on a COCO stage adaptation?
Posted: 6/30/26 at 11:57am
I won’t be too surprised if the Moana live action makes back its budget
Posted: 6/30/26 at 12:05pm
Every single one of Disney's live action remakes has done remarkably well, particularly overseas (except for Mulan, thanks to the pandemic), even as it seems like they have absolutely no cultural staying power. I expect the same for Moana.
Posted: 6/30/26 at 1:17pm
There is a stage version of Moana on one of Disney's cruise ships. It was also one of the shows they considered (along with Hercules) for the abandoned idea of a Main Street theater in Magic Kingdom, so there's a chance they bring the stage show to one of their parks one day. But haven't heard about any plans to mount it on Broadway.
I think if Disney puts a third show on Broadway anytime soon it will be a revival of either Beauty and the Beast or Aida.
They are working on a stage version of Polly, with Debbie Allen directing and choreographing, which is super exciting to me. The film has an incredible score and some really fun production numbers. Keshia Knight Pulliam and Phylicia Rashad were wonderful. I've always thought it would make a great stage musical and cant believe they're digging into the vault for this one because I don't think its a movie that many modern/young audiences have seen. I think this show will be different enough from Lion King and Aladdin that they could successfully run it on Broadway at the same time with some smart marketing.
They also have stage adaptations of Coco and Encanto being developed. I believe both have had staged readings at this point, but not sure how much additional progress has been made with them.
Posted: 6/30/26 at 1:28pm
Wasnt Tangled being worked on too?
Moana would have been a great choice to be the next one due to its big popularity, but I think the sequel and the way the remake is heading, has damaged the brand a bit.
Posted: 6/30/26 at 1:47pm
Pure speculation:
A short engagement of the BEAUTY AND THE BEAST tour (or a longer stint if it goes well), with GREATEST SHOWMAN being their next open-ended musical to open on Broadway.
ALADDIN might finally be slowing down, but we've said that for years.
As for all those other titles in the pipeline, it seems like licensing and touring is the ideal next step. I don't know that TANGLED as i.p. has the juice for Broadway, but if it's incredibly well-received at a regional or on the road, maybe they will change their mind. Assuming the Schele Williams production of AIDA is dead, they might be better off letting Encores or a regional taking a stab at it, and/or maybe they hand over rights to another commercial producer.
Someone (Sweaty Oracle?) also claimed that Disney is in the early stages of developing a STAR WARS play (in the vein of Cursed Child and Stranger Things), which could be huge and has the potential to be artfully interesting if done well.
Will be interesting to see what happens now that Schumacher is out and his deputies are running the show - if they'll have greater oversight from Big Disney, or they'll be trying to put their stamp on the company, or if they'll basically continue business-as-usual.
Posted: 7/1/26 at 1:03pm
The Greatest Showman is opening at Drury Lane in london, next spring. Announcement is coming in a matter of weeks.
Posted: 7/1/26 at 1:08pm
How was Greatest Showman's first production received? Considering haven't heard much of anything, I assume it wasn't great. I seem to remember people saying it felt like Water for Elephants productionwise, but could have dreamed that.
Posted: 7/1/26 at 1:21pm
It wasn’t reviewed on purpose- no press were invited. I saw it, it was hugely disappointing, hopefully they are doing a lot of work on it for its london opening.
Posted: 7/1/26 at 1:38pm
A Star Wars play seems a massive risk considering how the franchise has nose dived in recent years. If people aren't showing up for the movies, would they pay 100s of dollars for a play?
Disney have a problem in that they are running out of animated movies that were broadway'esq in style. Pocahontas is the main one left id say, but obviously wont happen. Mulan maybe too.
If Disney were brave they'd develop Hunchback, but as a serious grown up adult musical. Embrace the darkness of the story. The score is strong, the weakness has always been the softening of the story. Sell it as a musical of the hunchback of notre dame, not 'disneys' hunchback.
Posted: 7/1/26 at 1:55pm
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Will be interesting to see what happens now that Schumacher is out and his deputies are running the show - if they'll havegreater oversight from Big Disney, or they'll be trying to put their stamp on the company, or if they'll basically continue business-as-usual."
Schumacher spent 20+ years squandering the Disney brand with multiple creative and financial disasters, and he was able to do that because Bob Iger did not care one bit about Broadway or the theatrical division and simply pretended it didn't exist.
Frozen, Mermaid, Hercules, and the Aida revival were bungled in ways that are difficult to comprehend from the outside. Hoping his replacements are wiser about creative choices and are able to produce legitimately good work, which has been very infrequent from Disney Theatrical.
Posted: 7/1/26 at 1:55pm
There was an adaptation of The Jungle Book directed by Mary Zimmerman from over a decade ago that seems to have been shelved after premiering in Chicago, as well as an adaptation of Pinocchio that premiered in the UK in 2017 and then hasn't been seen since, either.
Considering the lackluster success of Disney's major productions in the last 10/15 years (Aladdin aside), I wouldn't be surprised if they would rather to pivot to getting things out to be licensed instead of sinking tons of money into a Broadway-level production. Little Mermaid and Frozen weren't well-received but they are now being produced nonstop and have almost certainly made themselves worthwhile longterm investments and, whatever its quality, I am sure Hercules will enjoy a similar future. Even Tarzan has managed to be produced with regularity.
Updated On: 7/1/26 at 01:55 PM
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