Jim On Film
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Disney/Hyperion Theatricals: A History and Critique
The Shows
Beauty and the Beast
The stage adaptation of the classic Disney film has proved to be a popular family
treat since its 1994 debut. It has since set out on two national tours, bringing new
audiences to experience their first Broadway musical. Full of eye-popping visuals,
breath-taking costumes, and beautiful music, Beauty and the Beast has become the
tenth longest running show on Broadway. It was also nominated for an impressive nine Tony
Awards; however, its singular win for costume design would come to signify Broadway’s
hesitation with Disney on its stages. Despite this success, many theatre aficionados look
upon the show as kiddie fare.
(c) Disney
King David
Before The Lion King set foot on the New Amsterdam stage, a concert of a
musical adaptation of the life of the Old Testament leader reached its stage with music by
Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. Given only a limited run, selections of the
show’s moving music were released on CD for a limited time. While it is hard to tell
if the show can be considered a Disney show (it is listed in Dave Smith’s Disney A
to Z, but the CD does not state Disney as the copyright owner), if it is, it would be
nice to see Disney expand the presentation to a full-fledged musical.
(c) Disney
The Lion King
Known for her avant-garde use of masks and puppetry, Disney tapped into the talent of
visionary Julie Taymor to direct the stage version of its successful 1994 film. Skeptics
were quieted at the first sight of the amazing masks and costumes designed to create the
illusion of elephants, birds, and lions. With a canon of new songs peppered with South
African beats and lyrics, The Lion King stormed Broadway, winning six Tony Awards,
including awards for Best Direction of a Musical for Julie Taymor and Best New Musical.
Eventually, the demand for tickets to The Lion King was surpassed by demand for The
Producers, but even today, tickets for the show are hard to come by.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Ending a very respectful run this June, The Hunchback of Notre Dame premiered
in Berlin in 1999. Unlike Disney’s other film adaptations, with acclaimed writer and
director James Lapine at the helm, the stage version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame
differs in many key ways from the film, most of which make the show more Victor Hugo and
less Walt Disney. According to various sites and articles devoted to the play, not only is
Frollo a priest in this version, but he dies at the hands of Quasimodo. Furthermore, the
gargoyles are renamed (rumor has it that Lapine wanted to get rid of them completely, but
Disney resisted), and Esmeralda meets a sad fate as well. There has been much talk that
Disney plans to film a television adaptation of the stage version before mounting one on
Broadway.
(c) Disney
Aida
In 2001, the Disney stage musical Aida won more Tony Awards than any other new
musical that year. It took the awards for best music, best costumes, best lighting, and
best lead actress in a musical. Despite an overwhelmingly positive audience response, the
show received mixed reviews (some call it a Disney animated film on the stage--a statement
that is hardly true) and was not even nominated for a Tony for Best New Musical. In the
year when the dance review Swing! (hardly a true musical), the now-closed The
Wild Party, and James Joyce’s The Dead (which had already closed by Tony
time) were nominated, Tony voters couldn’t even find room for nominating Aida.
In the end, the dance musical Contact won the award despite the fact that the show
contains no live music, has little dialogue, and is comprised of three one-acts.