Disney Live! Winnie The Pooh Opens At Beacon For Limited Run Dec 8-28
By: BWW News Desk Sep. 19, 2005
This December, DISNEY LIVE! WINNIE THE POOH will play a special month-long holiday engagement at New York's legendary Beacon Theatre (2124 Broadway at West 74th Street), December 8-28, 2005. Produced by Feld Entertainment, Inc. (Kenneth Feld, Chairman and CEO) – one of the world's leading producer and presenter of live family entertainment – DISNEY LIVE! WINNIE THE POOH is the first in a series of live touring family stage productions featuring beloved Disney characters and stories.
Inspired directly by Disney's cherished animated films and the classic Pooh tales, DISNEY LIVE! WINNIE THE POOH is an interactive, three-dimensional, state-of the-art theatrical production. The result of a collaboration between Kenneth Feld and The Walt Disney Company, DISNEY LIVE! WINNIE THE POOH, features an acclaimed Broadway-caliber creative team overseen by Feld Entertainment Creative Director Jerry Bilik:
- Director B T McNicholl (National tours of Cabaret, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and The Civil War)
"DISNEY LIVE! WINNIE THE POOH offers audiences young and old an unforgettable live entertainment experience and a chance to see Winnie the Pooh like never before," said Kenneth Feld. "When the audience walks in and sees the set before them, they will feel like they are walking right into the Hundred Acre Wood. For many children, this will be their first theatrical experience, which will set the bar for what they expect to see for the rest of their lives."
DISNEY LIVE! WINNIE THE POOH is a charming tale of friendship, starring some of the most beloved characters in children's literature – the hunny-loving Winnie the Pooh and his friends Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo and Owl. Together, they embark on a 'splendiforous' musical journey through the Hundred Acre Wood while planning a surprise birthday party for a distracted Pooh. Narrating the tale is storyteller Tracie (played by Tracie Franklin), who guides the audience with the help of her three eager Hunny Helpers. The Hunny Helpers provide constant humor and hijinx as they change scenes, sing, interact with the audience and follow Tracie's direction throughout the story.
Drawing from the vast library of Pooh music, which includes songs from the Academy Award®-winning Sherman brothers, DISNEY LIVE! WINNIE THE POOH incorporates new arrangements of nostalgic songs such as "Winnie the Pooh," "Rumbly in My Tumbly," "The Whoop-De-Dooper Bounce" and other children's favorites. Audiences can expect to share in the charm of Winnie the Pooh and sing along whether they know the songs from childhood or are hearing them for the first time.
Following a smash-hit international tour in the United Kingdom, Spain, The Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand (premiered June 2004), DISNEY LIVE! WINNIE THE POOH launched a 26-city North American tour on July 29, 2005 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. DISNEY LIVE! WINNIE THE POOH will visit such showcase venues as the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles and the Rosemont Theatre near Chicago, IL. Future tour stops are planned for Japan in 2006.
DISNEY LIVE! WINNIE THE POOH performs at New York City's renowned Beacon Theatre (2124 Broadway at West 74th Street) for a special limited holiday engagement, December 8-28, 2005. For Beacon Theatre information, call 212-496-7070.
Tickets are $78.50, $48.50, $38.50 and $21.50, available by calling Ticketmaster.com at 212-307-7171 (Prices include a $3.50 facility fee per ticket). For group sales, please call Group Sales Box Office at 212-398-8383.
Children of all ages are welcome. All children one year and older must have a ticket to attend. Children ages 0-1 year are admitted free and must be seated on lap of parent or guardian.
Directions by Subway: 1/2/3 trains to 72nd Street station; walk north on Broadway. The Beacon is on the East side of the street between West 74th & West 75th Streets.
Doors will open one hour prior to show time. Total Running Time: 90 minutes, incl. one intermission.
DAILY PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE – DECEMBER 2-28, 2005
Thu., 12/8 – 6:30 p.m.
Fri., 12/9 – 10:30 a.m., 6:30 p.m.
Sat., 12/10 – 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
Sun., 12/11 – 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
Wed., 12/14 – 1:30 p.m.
Thu., 12/15 – 12:00 p.m.
Fri., 12/16 – 10:30 a.m., 6:30 p.m.
Sat., 12/17 – 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7:15 p.m.
Sun., 12/18 – 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
Thu., 12/22 – 10:30 a.m.
Fri., 12/23 – 1:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m.
Sat., 12/24 – 1:30 p.m.
Sun., 12/25 – 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
Mon., 12/26 – 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
Tue., 12/27 – 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
Wed., 12/28 – 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
B T McNICHOLL (Director). After graduating from The Catholic University of America, McNicholl began his professional career in New York, where he's since had the opportunity to work with such accomplished talents as James Lapine, Jerry Zaks, Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall. In addition to joining the creative team for Disney Live! Winnie the Pooh, McNicholl supervised the Broadway hit Cabaret as the Associate Director. His work with the Tony®-winning production earned him a 2003 Australian "Tony" Award (The Helpmann® Award) for Best Direction for the show's first international production. He also staged the successful Cabaret production currently performing in Madrid. McNicholl has also contributed to six Broadway productions, including the Nathan Lane/Whoopi Goldberg revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and the Stephen Sondheim musical Passion, and he most recently staged an award-winning production of The Cherry Orchard for the Dorset Theatre Festival. A BMI-Award winning writer, McNicholl also wrote the lyrics and co-authored the libretto for his own musical, The IT Girl. His first experience with a Disney production was assisting James Lapine on a comedy film entitled Life With Mikey, starring Michael J. Fox.
David Loud (Music Director) a born musician, Loud started his career in New York City in 1984 where he worked as an audition pianist, rehearsal pianist and assistant conductor after graduating from Yale University. His career has spanned on and Off-Broadway, television and appearances at both The Kennedy Center and the New York City Opera. One of his most recent successes was his work on the Broadway hit Ragtime, which included a cast and orchestra of 80 people and played at the Ford Center in New York for two years. He conducted the Broadway run and supervised the national tours, and later conducted its concert performance in Cardiff, Wales, which was broadcast on the BBC. Other Broadway productions he has music directed include A Class Act, The Look of Love, and the revivals of She Loves Me, Company, and The Boys From Syracuse. Also on his resume are Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures and the national tour of Les Miserables.
Christopher Gattelli (Choreographer). Growing up in Bristol, PA, he first started dancing at the age of 11 and that year was cast in the national tour of Evita. Gattelli landed his first professional job in New York while finishing his senior year of high school in The Radio City Christmas Spectacular. A "Star Search" Grand Champion, he has since amassed an impressive array of acting, dancing and choreography credits to his name, and has been fine-tuning his craft for the last 15 years. Gattelli's most recent choreography work can be seen in the Off-Broadway production of Altar Boyz, for which he won the 2005 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreographer. Gattelli previously earned a 2001 Lucille Lortel Award for his direction in Bat Boy: The Musical. Additional stage credits include the Off-Broadway production of tick, tick...BOOM!; Broadway Concert Chess with Josh Groban and Adam Pascal; the 30th anniversary national tour of Godspell; and the national tour of Grease; Me and My Girl and others. Gattelli's television projects have included being resident choreographer on "The Rosie O' Donnell Show," The 2000 Tony Awards show, "David Letterman" and The Disney Channel's "Out of the Box." A long-time fan of Disney, he also served as the assistant choreographer for Disney's 101 Dalmatians float in the 1998 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
ANNA LOUIZOS (Set & Production Designer) graduated from New York University with a bachelor's degree in Theater Arts and was hired as the assistant art director for "The Cosby Show." She worked on a variety of other projects, including the Tony Awards, for four years before pursuing her master's degree in Set Design at NYU. Since then, Louizos is credited with the designs for Broadway productions including the Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q, Golda's Balcony and Steel Magnolias, as well as many other New York productions such as The Butter and Egg Man; The Castle; tick, tick…BOOM!; and Brave New World. Working on both coasts and in between, Louizos is also credited with regional productions of My Fair Lady, Much Ado About Nothing, Me and My Girl and Surviving Grace. Her most recent television designs have been seen on the hit HBO series "Sex and the City."
GREGG BARNES (Costume Designer). Broadway: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Side Show, Flower Drum Song (Tony Award nomination). New York: Sinatra (Radio City), The Kathy and Mo Show, Pageant: New York's Nightly Beauty Pageant, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, The Wizard of Oz, Madison Square Garden. New York City Opera: Cinderella, The Merry Widow. National tours: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, South Pacific, Disney's Princess Classics on Ice, Dora the Explorer Live. Also, nine seasons as resident designer for Paper Mill Playhouse.
PATRICK DIERSON (Lighting Designer) originally from Long Island, NY, has built an impressive career designing the lighting and projections for large-scale concerts, television and corporate appearances. He spent two years studying Performance Theatre in community college before jumping right into the industry with an automated lighting equipment company and is now a full-time freelance lighting producer. Dierson's expertise has been called upon for numerous high-level productions, including the world tour of Latin pop sensation Shakira, the MTV Video Music Awards, MTV's "Fashionably Loud" and various appearances for artists on VH1. His work is nothing short of presidential as well — Dierson worked with George W. Bush in his 2001 Presidential Gala in Washington, DC, and has since handled many other events for the Commander in Chief. He was nominated for an Emmy® Award for his work on the post September 11th musical telethon "America: A Tribute to Heroes." No stranger to the Feld Entertainment family, Dierson was also the lighting designer for Disney On IceSM presents Mickey & Minnie's Magical Journey and Disney On Ice presents Beauty and the Beast in 2003.
TRACIE FRANKLIN (Storyteller) earned a degree in Musical Theater from California State University of Fullerton, where she had the opportunity to work with such acclaimed celebrities as Bill Cosby, Debbie Allen, Ben Vereen and Tony Bennett in the school's "Front and Center" show. Aboard Holland America cruise ship, she demonstrated her talent in singing and dancing. Franklin's first lead role in a musical came to her as the character "Rizzo" in Grease, which she performed at the Sierra Repertory Theater in Sonora, California. Her list of credits has grown to include many other regional productions, such as Ragtime, Into the Woods, 24 Hours, Ain't Misbehavin', Little Shop of Horrors and Noises Off. In Disney Live! Winnie the Pooh, Franklin demonstrates her powerful voice in her solo performance of "Your Heart Will Lead You Home."
FELD ENTERTAINMENT, INC., Kenneth Feld, Chairman and CEO (Producer), based in Vienna, VA, is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting live entertainment experiences that lift the human spirit and create indelible memories, with 25 million people in attendance at its shows each year. Feld Entertainment's productions have appeared in 50 countries and on six continents to date and include Disney On IceSM, Disney Live! and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®, as well as past productions of Siegfried & Roy® at the Mirage in Las Vegas and the Tony Award-winning production of Fool Moon.
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