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"We can't do this. This doesn't work." This is what Michael Eisner - the then-Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company - told Thomas Schumacher, Peter Schneider and Julie Taymor back in August of 1996. That the stage version of Disney's acclaimed animated feature, "The Lion...

After spending the last year & a half soaring high above the stage floor of the New Amsterdam Theatre aboard a magic carpet, Courtney Reed (who plays Princess Jasmine in the Broadway production of Disney's "Aladdin" ) was ready for some more down-to-earth activities. Courtney Reed &...

When D23 -- Disney's official fan club -- launched the D23 EXPO back in 2009, all the "wonderful worlds" of Disney was pretty much just Disney. And -- of course -- Pixar , a Disney acquisition in 2006. And ABC , which Disney purchased over a decade before that. But now Disney's "world"...

You'd think -- what with "Newsies" Broadway run coming to a close this past Sunday afternoon -- that the crowd outside of the Nederlander Theatre would have been a bit blue. Photo by Nancy Stadler But that wasn't really the case. The folks who were lined up along 41st Street yesterday...

When the news of Robin Williams' untimely passing broke on Monday, a question quickly bubbled up within the Broadway community about how to properly pay tribute to this much-beloved performer. You see, while Williams was primarily known for his work in stand-up, television and film, Robin also "trod...

It took the stage version of Disney's "The Little Mermaid" quite a while to finally find its sea legs. When the original Broadway production opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater back in January of 2008, the critics were not kind. Ben Brantley of the New York Times was particularly vicious...

2012 is not a year that James Monroe Iglehart looks back fondly upon. Mostly because he spent a lot of that year staring at his phone, waiting for it to ring. Adam Jacobs and James Monroe Inglehart in the 5th Avenue Theatre's 2011 production of Disney "Aladdin." "We had done the pilot...

When the reviews for Disney "Aladdin: The New Musical Comedy" finally came in last night, with the New York Times praising this production for its " ... relentless razzle-dazzle and its anything-for-a-laugh spirit," there was no one on this planet that was more pleased & relieved...

It's that time again. Time to take a look at the various domain names that The Walt Disney Company has registered over the past few months. Which might then provide us with a few clues as to what the Mouse has planned for the not-so-distant future. As you might expect, there are domain names that...

An estimated 1.5 million people made their way to Times Square last week to experience Super Bowl Boulevard . In fact, so many folks crowded into this 13-block area that they sometimes had to wait for hours before they could then zoom down that 60-foot long toboggan run on 40th Street or shuffle through...

Over the past few days, you've probably seen a story or two about " Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark ." You know, that problem-plagued Broadway musical which just closed at the Foxwoods Theatre this past Saturday night . Given that Marvel Entertainment, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of...

You have to admit that Disney "Frozen" has already had a pretty spectacular run at the box office. Over the past five weeks, this Walt Disney Animation Studios production has earned an estimated $248.4 million domestically . And then when you favor in the $250 million worth of tickets that...

Hey! Clear the way in the old Bazaar Hey you! Let us through! It's a bright new star! Adam Jacobs -- who plays the title role in Disney's big new Broadway-bound production of "Aladdin" -- grabs a snack on the first day of rehearsal. Photo by Heidi Gutman. Copyright Disney Enterprises...

Kristin T. sent me an e-mail earlier this week offering her thoughts about Disney Parks ' new Limited Time Magic promotion. To be specific ... ... I can't help but think that this money could be better spent in other ways. Wouldn't it have made more sense in the long run if the Imagineers...

I got a note from Diana D. a few weeks back. It turns out that her husband has become a fan of those "Unofficial Guide's Disney Dish" podcasts that Len Testa and I have been recording for iTunes. And since her husband was now addicted to behind-the-scenes stories about The Walt Disney World...

It's been a while since JHM last did a story about the various domain names that The Walt Disney Company has registered. Me personally, I always love the research phase for pieces like this because they then allow me to peek over the horizon. See what the Mouse possibly has planned for the future...

It's been kind of a sore point for a while now (at least among theatre fans & Disney audiophiles) that the only recording of the "Mary Poppins" stage musical which was available for purchase was the original London cast recording of this show . Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. / Cameron...

So why exactly should you buy " Two Guys Named Joe: Master Animation Storytellers Joe Grant & Joe Ranft " (Disney Editions, August 2010)? Because this new John Canemaker book not only does a brilliant job of paying tribute to these animation legends, this 192-page hardcover contains one...

The stage version of Disney’s “The Lion King” has been in the news a lot lately. What with Disney Theatrical making some trims to the New York production (Which is kind of ironic. Given that one of the songs that got cut – “The Morning Report” – was actually...

Let me start out this review by admitting a somewhat embarrassing fact: Over the past 13 years, between the two of us, Nancy and I have seen the stage version of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" 10 times. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how this happened. We started out innocently enough by catching...