In 2004, Disney Theatrical Group began licensing titles鈥攄istributing scripts, scores, tools for theatres around the country (and globe) to create their own productions of Disney titles鈥攂eginning with Beauty and the Beast as the first full-length title. Since then, Beauty and the Beast has played more performances than the four longest-running Broadway shows combined.
Disney musicals are so pervasive, so woven into the fabric of Americana, that 38 percent of the U.S. population have engaged with a licensed Disney show either as part of the cast, crew, or audience. Just weeks ago it was announced that Beauty and the Beast was the most-produced musical in high schools across the country, The Little Mermaid the third most-produced; Peter and the Starcatcher was the third most-produced play, surpassing the classic Our Town.
鈥淭his is the new American songbook,鈥� says Thomas Schumacher, producer and president of Disney Theatrical Productions. 鈥淲e are this new era of Broadway.鈥� It鈥檚 true. Disney animated musicals practically raised the next generation of ticket-buyers, be it for Broadway or regional productions or as parents at school productions. 鈥淲hen you see the affection that 30-year-olds and 35-year-olds have when they go to Broadway shows, it鈥檚 impossible to separate that from two things: MTV, when it actually showed music videos, and Disney-animated musicals.鈥�
Disney licensing works in two ways: the licensing of shows created and mounted by Disney (typically on Broadway) that play professionally around the world and remain supervised by Disney (think of The Little Mermaid playing Japan or any of the six overseas productions of The Lion King) and the licensing where Disney creates a score, script, and production concept鈥攚orked out onstage in smaller markets鈥攆or others to mount however they will (think The Hunchback of Notre Dame).
Rooted in Disney or not, licensing is key to the longevity of all musical theatre. Those photos of now theatre stars and award winners in school productions of Pippin and Fiddler on the Roof shared on the 2018 Tony Awards broadcast are a result of those titles being licensed to schools and community theatres. Theatre happens everywhere.
鈥淚 grew up doing this stuff,鈥� says Schumacher. Despite some reticence to license in the earlier days, with folks concerned about the quality of outside productions, Schumacher felt just the opposite: that licensing would preserve artistic integrity. 鈥淲ith licensing you have a standard,鈥� he says. 鈥淢y affection is so deep and I kept trying to say, within the company, 鈥榌Licensing] won鈥檛 degrade it. It鈥檚 actually going to build affection for it.鈥�
鈥淭he care with which these materials are prepared and the assistance the teachers get鈥攖hese remarkable men and women around the country who are running these theatre programs鈥攊t makes them love this stuff,鈥� Schumacher continues. 鈥淭hey learn to literally walk a mile in someone else鈥檚 shoes. All the soft skills that you need, they鈥檙e learning.鈥�
And, in a time where towns continue to slash or discontinue arts budgets entirely, Disney鈥檚 licensing model provides an invaluable resource to continue the legacy of theatre and build a sense of community around it. In addition to a title鈥檚 script and score, 鈥渨e have choreography DVDs, there鈥檚 four different ideas of how to do a flying carpet in Aladdin, how you can do these scenes in Beauty and the Beast. We do karaoke disks, so we can have an orchestra if you don鈥檛 have all those resources.鈥�
What鈥檚 more, Disney has invested in the creation of junior and kids versions of beloved works. Aladdin JR., 101 Dalmatians KIDS ,The Jungle Book KIDS, and Cinderella KIDS were all launched at the same time as Beauty and the Beast in 2004. 鈥淲e can reduce shows down, make them singable, make them produceable, and make it possible,鈥� says Schumacher. 鈥淭he rules are different in Pop Warner football than they are in the NFL. We have touch football. We have flag football. We have tackle football. There鈥檚 no reason why we shouldn鈥檛 do the same theatrically.鈥�
Disney鈥檚 catalog includes 35, the nost recent being two versions of Freaky Friday, the mother-daughter body swap story based on the books by Mary Rodgers. Having developed a Freaky Friday stage musical specifically for licensing purposes, the Disney Channel (looking for its next original movie) wound up using the stage show as a launchpad for its made-for-television musical adaptation, which also premieres August 10 on the Disney Channel starring Broadway鈥檚 Heidi Blickenstaff and Cozi Zuehlsdorff. One version will reflect the Disney Channel Original Movie and the other the full-length version, which enjoyed a four-city U.S. tour in 2017 and includes more scene work and about five more songs from award-winning Broadway songwriters Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey.
That launch in 2004 was truly a gamechanger in the contents of the theatrical landscape. There have been over 90,000 licensed productions of Disney titles in the U.S. and Canada鈥攐ver 250,000 performances in all. 鈥淭hese titles bring people to theatre.鈥� As Schumacher points out, 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 know if it was on Broadway or not, they want to see a great show with a great title they know.鈥�
As Broadway theatres continue to fill with successful productions that remain popular for years on end, Disney Theatrical Group wants to continue to feed the theatre with new work鈥攅ven without Broadway aims. The list of titles in consideration for development for a licensing track is long. As the decision-maker, Schumacher says the choices are a combination of audience demand and artist ambition. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to do something that nobody wants to see,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd then it鈥檚 when there are artists who align with [a project]. The fact that Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey wanted to do Freaky Friday [made it worth doing]. Artists want to write and create things that are interesting.鈥� No matter the size of the spotlight on the stage in the end.
鈥淚s it going to drive enthusiasm, connection, enlightenment, engagement, and commitment to our craft?鈥� says Schumacher of questions guiding his team. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we can do.鈥�
