Today's Riedel: Disney planning to bring THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME to the U.S.

Now this has flop written all over it.

YES. YES. YES. YES. YES. YES. YES. YES. YES. I really do think this could be the show that wins Disney its next Tony Award for Best Musical. It could seriously be their "Les Mis," in my opinion.

That doesn't matter. Disney can do shows outside of their HIT canon and still produce great works. Just look at AIDA. If the show is good enough, it will find its audience. Not to mention the music is some of Alan Menken's best work and one of the most beautiful scores of any Disney film.

I still can't wrap my head around on why Tarzan was produced over Mulan, Hunchback, Hercules, and even Aladdin. Was it a vanity project for Collins?

Disney needs something like SNOW WHITE, CINDERELLA, SLEEPING BEAUTY, a completely revamped ALADDIN etc. They need something "magical" like BEAUTY & THE BEAST again and this one ain't gonna do it. When people go to a Disney musical they want something big, colorful, "magical" and Disney seems to be doing everything in their power to keep from giving that to audiences.

There's a lot of theater lovers that would love to see this HUNCHBACK on stage and I guess I'd be curious about it but I swear I can't even begin to imagine what a huge financial flop this would be, for soooo many different reasons.

But... Hercules would be so much better! (but also would probably be a financial disaster...)

Visually it's the most intriguing one and also has every element needed to make a truly spectacular BROADWAY show. The fact that they've never even mentioned it being done is mind boggling.

Given the success of Newsies it's pretty obvious the box office done by the film doesn't much matter. But the marketing needs to be about the female protagonist more so than bell boy. It might be just the time for some Francophilia with Les Mis doing so well in theaters.

YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's about time! Hunchback should totally be on Broadway

Dream Cast:
Quasimodo-AN UNKNOWN
Frollo-Brian Stokes Mitchell
Esmeralda-Jackie Burns
Pheobus-Ryan Silverman
Colpin-Francis Jue

AND..
Besides Hunchback if a Disney movie were to become a Broadway show, I would love see "Sleeping Beauty" onstage with a few story changes.

This news makes me as happy as the closing of MARY POPPINS made me sad

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More children's theater for Broadway.

The best I can manage is a mild goo-goo and one suck on my pacifier.

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There are several issues in staging the Original Disney Classics (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White). First and foremost is that unlike the Disney Renaissance films (Mermaid, Beast, Lion King) they have maybe one or two songs, basically meaning a completely new score must be written. Second is that the films were not as theatrical as the Reinasance films, which we're written for the most part as if they were stage musicals. Third is there is way too much deus ex machina in them to leave a modern theatrical audience happy. Adding off that point the characters are extremely dated and one dimensional. The only Disney classics that would make sense to stage is Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. Peter Pan is already a well known Broadway classic so Disney's Peter Pan would basically be a slap in the face of Broadway History. Disney is staging Alice, but Tim Burton's version, likly due to as scene from Wildhorn's Wonderland, there are way too many charters to include, so focusing on just Alice, the Queen of Hearts, The White Queen, and the Mad Hatter makes a ton more sense.