All tagged Mary Poppins

Ranking Disney on Broadway: Celebrating and Analyzing 25 Years on the Great White Way

It is hard to believe that it has been 25 years since Disney produced its first musical on Broadway, changing the trajectory of family musicals (and Times Square) forever. Today, I take a look at the nine musicals Disney Theatricals have brought to the Great White Way, offering my opinions on what worked, what didn’t, and rank the titles in order of my least favorite to my most favorite. All opinions are my own and please note that, though I look at these nine with a critical eye, I find something wonderful in everything Disney has to offer. This list includes only musicals that have made it to Broadway (no Freaky FridayThe Hunchback of Notre DameHercules, or The Jungle Book) and no concerts (sorry King David). Stay with me as I work my way to my choice for #1. 

Best Song Oscar – Clips of Every Winner

Here’s a binge list that I think many of you will love. I went, year by year, and found clips of every Oscar-winning Best Song, from 1934 to the present. It’s one hell of a list, full of great songs an loads of terrific performances. Wherever I could, I tried to find clips from the actual films. Only a few eluded me, so I had to stray outside that format. I enjoyed putting it together for you. In honor of this year’s nominees, let’s take a trip down memory lane.

Movie Musicals On the Stage: Part Two – What Is the Recipe for Success?

In the last “Music That Makes Me Dance” column, we explored movie musicals that did not successfully transfer to the stage. From Meet Me in St. Louis to The Little Mermaid, there have been more than a few titles that failed to ignite when they ventured a life upon the wicked stage. We surmised that the art of looking at a musical through the lens of a camera is not the same beast as the art of filling a theatre auditorium with the same story, songs and characters. No, the stage requires a different recipe for success altogether.

Recycled Magic: Has Disney Run Out of Ideas?

It was recently announced that Disney Studios will make a new Mary Poppins film musical, one that tells the further adventures of the Banks family with the titular nanny, some twenty-years after the original stories. Hairspray and Bombshell composing team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman are on board to provide music and Rob Marshall, director of Disney’s film adaptation of Into the Woods is set to direct. In recent years it has been de riguer for the House of Mouse to make live action versions or adaptations of films they have already made: Alice in WonderlandCinderella, and Maleficent come to mind, as do the forthcoming Beauty and the Beast and The Jungle Book. This is not to say that I am opposed to “new” Mary Poppins film musical, but isn’t it starting to feel that a lack on ingenuity and creativity is resulting in audience being served up a lot of reheated properties?