Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Disney tries for four-peat with musical "Poppins"
Reuters.com: "This is the week previews begin at the New Amsterdam on the theater version of 'Mary Poppins,' which has been a huge hit in London's West End since December 2004. The local 'Poppins' previews begin poppin' Saturday, with its official opening scheduled for November 16, which will bring the number of Walt Disney Co. musicals on Broadway to four, with 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'The Lion King' and 'Tarzan.'"
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7 comments:
This is something our directing class has talked about a few times, or atleast the Disney aspects of the article. It seems like Disney is taking over Broadway. Looking at the historical Disney Films, the infamous cartoons we all grew up with, I could see most of the popular titles ending up on Broadway. There is not reaaly one of those movies I could not see as a Braodway prodcution.
On the one hand, I ask why. I know that disney is really not in the business to create art, but at what point do you say enough is enough! Clearly I would not qualify as a member of their target audience, but wonder what effect this could have on the future perception of theatre. Are we training our children to think of theatre like cartoons? Unlike most LORT and smaller non-profit theatres, the sole purpose of Disney on Broadway is to make money. As long as they sell tickets, they are here to stay.
It would be interesting to see the way they re-created the scenes which contained 'real' and cartoon elements. Puppets and body suits would seem to easy and cliche, especially for a company as huge as disney, but projections dont seem like a particulalry successful option either. Regardless of whether or not disney is taking over the world, or degrading theatre as a whole, there is something to be said for the shear scale of the projects it undertakes, and the amount of creativity that goes with them.
-Samantha Englender
While I agree that perhaps Disney is over-extending it's boundaries into performance art, at the same time it is nice to have large-scale performances that reach out to the younger generation. I remember my first broadway experience was seeing Les Mis when I was five or six and I didn't understand a thing. Granted, I don't think my family would've jumped on board to see "mary poppins" instead, but the option and the effort is nice to give the little kids a chance to participate and be entralled in theatre the way other shows can engage adults. - Maddie Regan
I remember when I first heard about Disney turning movies into musicals I was really excited. Now its just like "oh great another show." With the opening up of so many more kids shows a piece of the glamour that once was Broadway seems to have disappeared. Many people no longer dress up for the theater, or even know about dressing up. I went to see a Saturday showing of Faith Healer and was surprised that there were tons of people in jeans and casual attire, and very few in dress. Disney's effect on the theater may have been much more than the simple Broadway takeover.
Well I've already bought my tickets...
It might not be a great advancement for "art" but these kinds of shows are great for our field (technical production). Essentially unlimited budget, lots of spectacle, make it shiny and amazing. What more could you ask for?
They've already started on Little Mermaid...
Disney is fine, love it...they're always going to win, so why fight it?
The one show I object to is "Legally Blond"...I mean, joke.
I completely agree with the notion of not showing children what theatre was orginally intended to be. I will say that as far as spectacle-driven shows, Disney takes the cake sometimes. So, really, they look great, and you get to see a movie in live action. I will say I think it is great the challenge of going from animation to live action; however, I think 4 is enough. I also think that Beauty and the Beast has run its course, and it is time for that train to...well, either crash or simply be taken off the tracks.
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