The Broadway logo for Beauty and the Beast

The very first Disney film to be adapted for the stage was Beauty and the Beast. The classic fairy tale is one of Disney’s most successful films, and was the first ever animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Due to the film’s success and the love of the characters that the public had, it was swiftly adapted into a stage production in 1994, just three years after the film’s release in 1991. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast played for 13 years on Broadway and closed in 2007, becoming the New York Theatreland’s eight longest-running show ever. The show opened at the West End in 1997 but had less longevity, running for just over 2 and a half years. It played at the Dominion Theatre, now home to We Will Rock You, and won the coveted Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 1998. Beauty and the Beast continues to play in cities throughout the world and had its first Mexican tour in 2011.

The West End poster for Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins opened at the West End in 2004 at the Prince Edward Theatre, now home to Jersey Boys. The story was adapted by producer Cameron Mackintosh and had Laura Michelle Kelly as the leading lady, who went in to win the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance. The show was visited in 2005 by Julie Andrews, who played Mary Poppins herself in the classic film version. She gave a speech which praised the cast for their novel interpretation of the story. Mary Poppins was a success but closed in 2008 after a run of over three years. It then went to play on Broadway and in cities in Europe and Australia, with a production in Brisbane set to start in early 2012.

The theatrical poster for Tarzan: The Musical

Tarzan: The Musical was the next Disney film to be reformed into a stage musical, beginning previews on Broadway in 2006. The show featured Glee star Matthew Morrison in the title role but unfortunately closed just over a year after opening due to poor ticket sales. Since its closure, productions of Tarzan: The Musical have been played in cities in the United States such as Utah and San Jose, and also in places such as Kristianstad, Sweden and Hamburg, Germany, where the musical is still open. Tarzan was never brought to London’s West End.

Original Broadway poster for The Little Mermaid

The most recent Disney film that has been transformed into a musical stage production is The Little Mermaid.  Based on the classic tale by Hans Christian Andersen, the story of a mermaid longing to live on land with a prince was loved by all when it was first seen in the 1989 movie version, and so a musical stage version was suggested.  Opening on Broadway in January 2008, The Little Mermaid replaced Beauty and the Beast as Disney felt that having two Princess icons on at the same time would cause competition between the two shows. The title role was created by Sierra Boggess who also created the role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies. The Little Mermaid was met with mild success and closed in August 2009, a year and a half after the show opened, and the show went on a US tour in 2011 with international productions staged in Israel and the Philippines. The Little Mermaid has not been brought to the West End.

The classic and timeless Disney films that were turned into stage musicals have all seen success, but not success like The Lion King. Have you seen any of these productions? Do you think they live up to the standard of The Lion King or do you think that they should be left alone as movies and not touched by stage producers? Write your comments in the box below!

Fitted T-Shirt

As The Lion King is one of the most successful musicals of all time, having performed to millions of people throughout in the world in cities as far as Tokyo, it is not surprising that a host of merchandise for the show is available. Inside the foyer of the Lyceum Theatre in London, where Disney’s African masterpiece plays night after night to enthusiastic audiences, you can purchase anything from t-shirts to cuddly toys and posters, and a buying an official gift from the show is a perfect way to keep a little momentum of The Lion King, other than your memories of course!

Beach Towel

For those who saw the show and missed out on purchasing a piece of merchandise at the theatre, or for those who haven’t yet seen The Lion King but want to get their hands on a mug or brochure, you can also purchase everything you could need online! So what merchandise is available for Disney’s The Lion King?

If you are looking for something to wear from The Lion King to proudly show off that you have seen the show, then there are lots of options for t-shirts and jewellery. Brown fitted logo t-shirts come in all sizes, as do the looser-fitting black t-shirts which also have the musical logo on the front. There is a great beach towel for sale, as well as a beautiful charm bracelet featuring the masks of Simba and Scar, amongst others.

Charm Bracelet

Undoubtedly if you have kids, then they would love a treat from The Lion King. T-shirts also come in children’s sizes from age 5-6 years, and there are lots of plush and bean bag toys of all of the beloved characters such as Timon, Pumbaa and Zazu. There is even a pencil and ruler set to purchase which should make them more eager to go back to school!

A big seller is the original Broadway cast recording of The Lion King, which now comes in a special 2-disc edition CD celebrating the 10^th anniversary of the show. The CD features classic

songs Can You Feel The Love Tonight and The Circle of Life as well as musical favourites Shadowland and Endless Night. For those

Pumbaa Beanbag Toy

wanting to get their hands on Disney’s animated DVD film version of The Lion King which was originally released in 1994, you can do so online or at the Lyceum itself.

There are lots of other bits and bobs available at the Lyceum or online, such as travel card holders, hanging ornaments, keyrings and fridge magnets, so make sure you visit the merchandise stand at the theatre or go to Dress Circle.co.uk to have a look online: http://www.dresscircle.co.uk/71-Content-Item-Lion%20King%20Shop

Check out some more merchandise that is available at Theatres in Britain

Julie Taymor, theatrical director of The Lion King.

Directed by Julie Taymor, The Lion King was loved by fans of the film and by those who hadn’t even seen it, with productions popping up all over the globe on the success of the Broadway production in New York. In 1998, The Lion King was nominated for an incredible 11 Tony Awards, Theatreland’s most prestigious honour, and went on to win 6 of them including Best Direction for a Musical and Best Choreography.

Just before the Tony Awards, the original Broadway cast of the show released a CD of the songs in the stage musical. The soundtrack includes much-loved songs such as Can You Feel The Love Tonight, The Circle of Life and Hakuna Matata, but the extra songs seen in the musical such as Endless Night and He Lives In You are also featured on the CD. African composer Lebo M composed much of the new music that can be heard in the musical.

The original Broadway cast, who can be heard on the CD, includes Sam Wright as Mufasa, Jason Raize as Simba, Heather Headley as Nala, John Vickery as Scar, Tsidii le Loka as Rafiki, Jeff Hoyle as Zazu, and Max Casella and Tom Robbins and Timon and Pumbaa.

In 2006, The Lion King moved from its original home of the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway to the Minskoff Theatre to make way for another Disney theatrical production, Mary Poppins. The Lion King continues to play at the Minskoff, and has recently become Broadway’s seventh longest-running show in history. As recently as November 2011, the Broadway production of the show celebrated an incredible 14 years, and with no end in sight, it wouldn’t be surprising if the show racks up another 14 years.

Could Snow White make a good West End musical?

Disney’s first full-length animated film was Snow White all the way back in 1937, and it was instantly made a classic, but would it make a good stage production at the West End? Producers might choose to cast children as the dwarves, much like Andrew Lloyd Webber did with the Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz, and it is always quite hard to have a large number of children in a show, although Matilda seems to be coping! The story is a classic tale however, and it could probably be a success if it eventually did pan out.

Another classic Disney film is Pinocchio, the beloved Italian tale of a wooden puppet who wants to become a real boy. The story could pull in the viewers and also pull at the heartstrings of the public, and is slightly similar to Billy Elliot in that the underlying theme is about a young boy wanting to become something he is not. Billy Elliot is a massive success on the West End, and Pinocchio could prove to have similar success. The scene with the big blue whale might be difficult, but anything is possible on the stage!

With a beautiful score, Pocahontas could make a good show in London

With the recent Tim Burton film of Alice In Wonderland being a box office hit, could a Disney stage version of the weird and wonderful story ever see the light of day in the West End? Costume and make-up departments in Theatreland would be in heaven at the thought of recreating characters such as the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and the Queen of Hearts, and the story is still loved today by millions. Could it be a West End success?

More recent Disney movies such as Pocahontas and Hercules could make good musical transformations, especially as both of the original Disney films include an excellent score. With extra songs added to the strong storylines, either of them would probably make good West End musicals. The only problem is that the film of The Lion King was such a success, with the stories of the Native American princess and the Greek God Hercules not being as popular, so if they didn’t prove to be much of a hit as films, what will make them work even better as musical stage productions?

There are countless Disney films which could and might turn into West End musicals in the future, and these are just some suggestions. Do you think that any of these films would work as musicals? Are there any other films that you would like to see turned into musicals? Have your say in the comments box below!

A theatrical poster for the movie version of The Lion King.

Everyone knows the songs. Everyone knows the characters. Everyone knows the story. However, not everyone knows just how The Lion King first came about. One of the longest-running shows at Broadway and a permanent fixture at London’s West End for over 11 years, The Lion King is based on the 1994 Disney animated movie of the same name which went on to become the highest-grossing hand drawn animation in history, breaking box office records. Using songs written by Elton John and Tim Rice and using the vocal talents of actors such as James Earl Jones, Rowan Atkinson and Whoopi Goldberg, The Lion King was an instant smash amongst adults and children alike, and saw further success in 2011 with the re-release of the film in 3D in cinemas. So how did the idea for the story begin?

In 1988, producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, president of ‘Walt Disney Feature Animation’ Peter Schneider and nephew to the great man himself, Roy E. Disney discussed the idea of a new film that was to be set in Africa. A few months later, a provisional title of ‘King of the Jungle’ was set up with a drafted script, with a story that was to be very different from the final film. As this was to be the very first original story from a Disney-animated feature, lots of work and months of development went into the plot. Lions were always going to be a feature of the animation, but originally, the plot involved a battle between lions and baboons, with Rafiki as a cheetah, Scar as leader of the baboons and Simba being overthrown as next in line to the throne due to his laziness. The story soon changed after lots of development with a team of six people that included animators, producers, directors and screenwriters, who rewrote the story and changed the title to ‘The Lion King’.

A poster for the West End musical version of The Lion King

Once the main storyline had been created, two screenwriters, Irene Mecchi and Jonathan Roberts, were brought in to take charge of getting the script written and adding comedy to the story in the form of Timon and Pumbaa. Lyricist Tim Rice also worked with the writing team as his lyrics needed to fit in with the plot. Soon after, the casting was done for the film and animation began, and two years later The Lion King was released with some of the greatest success that any movie has ever seen.

The Lion King was released to cinemas in 1994. It quickly became the highest-grossing animated feature film of all time, a record which it kept until 2003 when Finding Nemo surpassed it, and due to this success, it wasn’t long before the film was brought onto the stage and turned into a musical, with the show opening on Broadway in 1997. It unsurprisingly met with phenomenal success, with a West End production opening at the Lyceum Theatre in 1999, where it remains today.

The Lion King started out as a rough idea about the majestic beasts on the African savannah, and turned out to become one of the biggest successes that Disney has ever seen. It continues to play in theatres throughout the world, in areas as far as Asia and Africa itself.