Anyone hear anything about what is next from Disney? Not sure if Newsie's is of interest and I want to have something to look forward to, please let us know !
If Hunchback can't come in because they thought the Berlin production was "too dark" (which it wasn't), I don't know why a "darker" Mulan would be in the works (or necessary). I love the idea of Mulan, which has one of my favorite Disney scores, but I can't see it working without an insanely opulent and intricate production.
Mulan would need expanding as there is only five songs and also some elements like Mushu would have to rethought, it's one of my favourites as well but it's not one I would put on stage.
The projects in development are Dumbo, Father of the Bride, Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Book, Freaky Friday and Shakespeare in Love. The Jungle Book and Freaky Friday are for licensing rather than Broaday while Shakespeare in Love will be a play.
I don't think Hunchback failed to come because it was to dark I think it had alot to do with that it just wasn't a hit for Disney. They might not be continually working on Mulan but I know they are, pulling some songs from the pile to put in.
I imagine that their next big show will replace Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam, I'm surprised that Poppins has run so long and outrunning the London production which did three years before going on tour.
Their next "Broadway" specific projects are: Dumbo, Father of the Bride and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. To me Dumbo is the only that seems slightly interesting.
They have bunch other licensed things like Freaky Friday, Jungle Book, a revised Little Mermaid (opening in 13 days can't wait to see Crowley's new costumes).
I don't foresee Hunchback mostly because it wont make any money. A lot of people forget Hunchback was a theatrical pet project of Michael Eisner and isn't very popular with the division, that said there is no reason this shouldn't be made available for licensing.
That Aladdin production is not coming to Broadway, and Mulan IS NOT in the works.
Sleeping Beauty has the most lackluster score out of arguably any of the classic Disney movie. I can't remember one song. Isn't Alice allegedly Disney's next stage endeavor? With Ashford directing?
Interesting you mention Alice and Sleeping Beauty. Linda Wolverton (who wrote Aida, Beauty, Lion King) wrote the Alice movie and is writing the film script for "Maleficent" which is a Wicked take on that character.
Not sure why are bothering with the Alice and Wonderland thing it is going to look just like the movie and not last very long.
Dumbo is going to at least look incredible, they are building Handspring puppet elephants (ala War Horse).
Not sure about the Alice thing if it is still on or not. Burton is a producer I believe and Wolerton is writing the book.
Stephen Daldry is spearheading Dumbo, and Michael Chabon is supposed to be writing the book... there were rumors about Stevie Wonder writing music. Who knows. The best news (besides the big puppets) is Bob Crowley is doing sets and costumes.
Sleeping Beauty has the most lackluster score out of arguably any of the classic Disney movie.
Really? It's adapted from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty ballet. Lackluster is probably one of the last words I'd use to describe it. I think the problem is, it only yielded two songs (I Wonder and Once Upon a Dream, both sung by Aurora) so there would be a LOT of work to be done to try and create a cohesive full score as a Broadway musical (which could be quite fun adding numbers for Maleficent, the fairies, and the drunken scene with Stefan and Hubert), not to mention fleshing out the book quite a bit.
Would rather see a brand new musical by Tim Burton produced by Disney (mainly for the deep pockets). I liked the film, but other then the eye-popping design and effects, I am not sure it would work on stage. Of course I was the one who turned down comps to LION KING when it previewed here in Minneapolis, thinking it would be akin to a Disney ice show. And thanks for the DUMBO information - looking forward to hearing more about the property as it progresses. Thinking off the top of my head in regards to Disney properties - surprised they have not put together a stage version of POLLYANA - if only for licensing.
I thought I read in a recently interview with Menken that he was working on revising Huntchback to bring it to America. I personally think it is a great story and could make a decent show it put together correctly, no matter how successful the animated movie was for Disney.
I also heard the Stevie Wonder was working on the music for DUMBO, but had hesitations because of the racist undertones in the original music. I also heard about Father of the Bride which I think is a bad idea. Shakespeare in Love would be interesting to see as a play.
Sleeping Beauty wouldn't work as a musical, mainly because the main character has no personality. The original three princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora) were not fully-fleshed out characters, because animation was a novelty at the time.
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Posted: 4/30/12 at 09:11am