Disney will have its stage hands full with Poppins, school shows

0 Comments | USA TODAY, January, 2004 | by Elysa Gardner

NEW YORK -- Disney's theater division has a variety of new projects on tap for 2004, from professional shows to programs that will enable schoolchildren and other amateurs to create their own spectacles.

As head of that division, Thomas Schumacher realizes that such progress eventually will require closing certain long-running productions. "You have to ask how you can tour these shows, license them, roll them out in other ways -- and bring new titles in."

New titles for the coming year include a stage adaptation of Mary Poppins and On the Record , a touring show designed to evoke a recording session for "the ultimate Disney album," Schumacher says, with dance numbers.

Beyond that, Disney will for the first time make Beauty and the Beast and Aida available for...