With the help of Mickey Mouse and his famous friends, the time-honored stories of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast will spring from the storybooks and onto the stage in Disney Live! presents THREE CLASSIC FAIRY TALES it was announced today by Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatrical Group (DTG), and Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment.
The first Disney Live! show to debut in Asia, it will make its historical debut at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center in Shanghai on Tuesday, May 27 and then continues to Beijing and nine other cities in China before heading to other destinations throughout Asia.
"We are honored to be bringing this very special show to the people of China," said
Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatrical Group. "As our first production designed specifically for this audience, we have the opportunity to introduce thousands of children and their families to Snow White, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast in a very personal and memorable way."
Produced by Kenneth Feld and his daughter Alana Feld for Feld Entertainment, this collection of magically woven tales is the first-ever Disney Live! production to launch a tour in Asia. "It is exciting that we are kicking off the tour in one of the most vibrant cities in the world for growth in family entertainment," said Kenneth Feld. "Through our partnership with the leaders in promoting performance arts in China, our global vision of bringing inspiring stories and wholesome fun to more people everywhere will be fostered through this unprecedented tour."
The enchanted journey in Disney Live! Presents Three Classic Fairy Tales starts as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald and Goofy embark on an unexpected adventure when they find a magical storybook hidden among a treasure trove of costumes and belongings from classic Disney tales. The four pals curiously open the book to discover that these iconic objects lead them to three classic stories of happily ever after featuring Snow White, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. Along the way, the audience is invited to join in on the fun by solving clues, clapping along and singing songs as the stories unfold before their eyes.
The Feld father-daughter team assembled some of the greatest talents in entertainment to lend their creative insight on this project designed specifically for the Asian markets, including:
-- Sherilyn Draper (Director/Writer) Disney On Parade for Hong Kong
Disneyland; The World's Biggest Play Date with Pooh; Care Bears Live!
Caring and Sharing Friends
-- Ted Ricketts (Music Director) Disney On Parade and Disney in the
Stars: A Musical Fantasy in the Sky featured at Hong Kong Disneyland;
Feel the Magic at Tokyo Disneyland; Satchmo (A Tribute to Louis
Armstrong)
--
Stanley Meyer (Scenic Designer) Disney's Beauty and the Beast; Elton
John & Tim Rice's Elaborate Lives: The Legend of Aida; The Little Shop
of Horrors; 2008 True Colors Tour featuring
Cyndi Lauper --
Gregg Barnes (Costume Designer) Tony(R) Award nominated Legally
Blonde; Radio City Hall Christmas Spectacular; Disney On Ice presents
Princess Classics; Disney Live! Winnie the Pooh
-- Robbie Mackey (Choreographer) Grand Opening of Hong Kong Disneyland;
Walt Disney World Small World Tribute to 25 Years of the Super Bowl;
Super Bowl XXIX Super Bowl Halftime Show
-- Norm Schwab (Lighting Designer) Principal designer for Lightswitch;
The Bridge Concert featuring Neil Young and Pearl Jam; The B-52's;
theme park projects for Universal Studios, Disney and Busch Gardens;
corporate projects for Apple Computer, Oracle and Nintendo
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with four business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment and consumer products. Disney is a Dow 30 company, had annual revenues of more than $35 billion in its most recent fiscal year, and a market capitalization of more than $61 billion as of April 15, 2008.
Since the 1930's when the animated film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" first delighted audiences in Shanghai, The Walt Disney Company has been one of the most active foreign entertainment companies in China. Disney employs over 400 staff across mainland China and with the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005, our businesses which include consumer products, media networks, parks and resorts and studio entertainment are fully operational in greater China.
Television has been instrumental in growing the Disney brand in China and since 1986, Disney has worked closely with CCTV, China's State Broadcaster, to bring Disney content to more Chinese households. Innovative programming highlights such as Disney feature animations on CCTV's Movie / Channel has introduced a whole new generation of Chinese families to Disney's rich animated film history.
Success continues with the two programming blocks "Dragon Club" and "Disney Adventures" which are screened on provincial broadcasters, free-to-air and cable. "Dragon Club" has been particularly successful after 12 years on-air, available on nearly 40 TV Stations and reaching approximately 260 million per week.
Outside of the US, China has the largest internet usage per capita and the Walt Disney Internet Group's flagship site http://www.disney.com.cn/ has more than one million unique visitors per month making it one of the top three most popular websites for families in China[1] WDIG also oversees Disney Mobile which is the leading branded entertainment content provider and has distribution across all mobile operator networks, accessible to 100% of China's 450 million mobile subscribers and counting.
In 2007, Disney's first co-production film in China "The Secret of the Magic Gourd" became the most successful locally produced children's movie for the past five years culminating in winning "Best Children's Film" at the 16th Golden Rooster Film Awards[2]. 2007 proved a successful year for Studio Entertainment with four blockbuster releases in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End", "The Guardian", "deja vu" and Disney Pixar's "Ratatouille".
The award-winning Broadway musical "
The Lion King" delighted Chinese theatre audiences and broke industry records by becoming the longest running musical performance with 101 shows and the highest ticket sales with 5,000 tickets sold in a single day in 2006. "Disney on Ice" and "Disney Live!" Shows complete the offering from our Disney Theatrical Group who is dedicated to bringing the unique Disney Live experience to Chinese audiences.
Disney Consumer Products has the widest reaching retail presence amongst all the entertainment companies in China. With more than 4,800 dedicated Disney retail corners selling Disney branded merchandise in more than 45 cities in China; DCP continues to be the leading driver for bringing compelling and innovative products to Chinese consumers. DCP is forging strong relationships with leading retailers such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Tesco and Metro in China and plans to double the number of Disney branded corners in China in the next five years.
Feld Entertainment, Inc., is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting live family entertainment that lifts the human spirit and creates indelible memories, with 25 million people in attendance at its core shows each year. Feld Entertainment's productions have appeared in 50 countries and on six continents to date and include Disney On Ice, Disney Live!, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey(R) and Doodlebops Live! Feld has partnered with POLY a leader in China arts and culture to present Disney Live! Three Classic Fairy Tales
DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP (DTG) operates under the direction of
Thomas Schumacher and is among the world's most successful commercial theatre enterprises. DTG produces or licenses live entertainment events that reach a global annual audience of more than 20 million people in more than 40 countries. DTG produces and licenses Broadway musicals around the world, including Beauty and the Beast,
The Lion King,
Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida, TARZAN(R) and
Mary Poppins, a co-production by Disney and
Cameron Mackintosh. In 2007 Disney Theatricals launched the professional touring stage version of Disney's High School Musical, which is scheduled to reach 42 cities through 2008. Also in 2007, led by director Francesca Zambello, some of the theatre's most innovative artists gathered to create
The Little Mermaid, with a score by eight-time Academy Award(R) winner
Alan Menken and the legendary Howard Ashman, with new lyrics by Glenn Slater. After a successful pre-Broadway try- out in Denver,
The Little Mermaid opened on Broadway in January 2008. DTG also delivers live entertainment around the world through its license to Feld Entertainment, producer of Disney on Ice and Disney Live!, including High School Musical: the Ice Tour and Playhouse Disney Live! both of which launched in fall 2007. In addition, DTG licenses musical titles for local school and community theatre productions through Music Theatre International.
To find out more about Disney Live! presents Three Classic Fairy Tales and to purchase tickets, please visit
http://www.disneylive.com.cn/ Nine City - Tour Schedule for China
Subject to change.
Cities Dates in 2008
Shanghai May 27 - June 1
Chengdu June 6 - 10
Chongqing June 13 - 17
Hangzhou June 27 - 29
Shijiazhuang July 2 - 6
Nanjing July 9 - 13
Beijing July 16 - 20
Wuhan July 25 - 27
Shenzhen July 31 - Aug 3
Zhenzhou Aug 8 - 10
