Disney’s Newsies was only supposed to have a 100 day run on Broadway, but it’s now been playing more than 5 times that long. Everyone at the production will tell you could not have done it without the support of their fans. So it’s great to see them turn around the lens and recognize that support with a video that includes fans from around the world (including the cast of The Lion King shown above). I love how they worked the lyrics of King of New York into this tribute too:
Below the jump is another fun video from Newsies Fan Week. A look at the “Oldsies”:
Disney’s The Lion King musical has made its way down under. To help promote the occasion, they placed Buyisile Zama in her role as Rafiki atop the Sydney Opera House. Here’s the inspiring video:
They actually did a whole video series on the casting and production of The Lion King in Australia. Check out the most recent episode below the jump:
Good things come to those who wait. Disney Theatrical Productions has officially announced that Aladdin, a new musical based on the Academy Award winning animated film, will play its pre-Broadway engagement at Toronto’s Ed Mirvish Theatre (formerly the Canon) November 13, 2013 to January 12, 2014 and will open at Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre in 2014. The show will feature music by Alan Menken; lyrics by the late Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin with a book by Beguelin. Casey Nicholaw will direct and choreograph.
Mary Poppins currently is installed at the New Amsterdam. It will close on March 3, 2013 and the theatre will get a much needed refurbishment.
Despite the high prices for tickets to a Broadway show and the hordes of tourists looking to enjoy a little of the magic of the Great White Way, it’s not a guarantee that even a popular production will generate a return on investment. Disney’s been hit and miss on this in the past (misses include Tarzan and The Little Mermaid) but their latest production has been something of a surprise hit (although the shows fans would have said they knew it from the start).
Disney Theatrical Productions just announced that the Broadway production of Newsies has recouped its investment in just over nine months — the fastest a Disney production has ever turned a profit — confirming Newsies’ status as one of the biggest hits of the 2011-12 Broadway season.
In 41 weeks of performances to date, nearly 400,000 people have attended the show at the Nederlander Theatre. The show has set then broken the weekly box office house record six times during its run so far and has regularly been among Broadway’s Top 10 shows.
After a record setting run at the Muny in St Louis and a similarly strong performance at Utah’s Tuacahn theater, Disney’s Aladdin – The New Stage Musical is headed to Broadway. This, at least, according to Alan Menken, who spoke at ‘Destination D’ last week… Read More »Aladdin Musical Heading To Broadway
The 2012 Tony Award nominees were announced this morning by Kristin Chenoweth and Jim Parsons. The awards will be broadcast live on Sunday, June 10th on CBS at 8pm. Neil Patrick Harris will return as host. The full list of nominees can be found here… Read More »Disney on Broadway Earns 17 Tony Award Nominations
Editor: Please welcome guest author Jim Dallas who is reviewing the April 20th showing of Newsies The Musical.
Newsies on Broadway is a must see!
I first became an avid fan of composer Alan Menken when I saw The Little Mermaid at the movies. But I knew he was really a Broadway composer when I first listened to the Beauty and the Beast sound track and could visualize how each scene could be animated. He brought the Broadway score to animation. So, back in 1992 I was excited to learn that Disney was producing a live action musical, Newsies, with a score by Alan Menken. It sounded like a sure fire hit. My family was in the theater that April weekend when Newsies had its’ theatrical debut. There was one problem: we were the only people in the theater! Newsies never found an audience, closed quickly and barely earned 2.8 million dollars. For all of the issues that plagued this film, the songs and score by Menken were still brilliant, allowing Newsies to grow in popularity and develop a cult following over the past two decades.
Last evening, 20 years later, I sat in the sold out Nederlander Theater in NYC amidst an exuberant audience to experience Newsies – the Broadway Musical. Newsies had come home, was on the stage where it always belonged and was in better form than ever. Newsies is an exhilarating evening of musical theater entertainment.
Disney Theatrical’s production of “The Lion King” just surpassed “Phantom of the Opera” as the highest grossing show on Broadway. The hit musical based on the animated film, has generated a total of $853.8 million in ticket sales since opening on Broadway in 1997. They’re… Read More »Disney’s The Lion King Ruler of Broadway
