Jim Hill

Is Disney looking to trade its 5th Avenue store in for a brand-new retail location down on Times Square?

Since the World of Disney's lease is up in 2010, the Mouse is already on the prowl for a new spot to set up shop in NYC. Jim Hill shares what he's heard about these on-going negotiations Read More...

Posted Tuesday, October 21, 2008 12:00 AM | 7 Comments

Filed under: Disney, Broadway, musical, ABC, Walt Disney World, The Lion King, Disney Theatrical, Beauty and the Beast, Lunt-Fontanne Theater, Disney Store, ABC Studios, The Walt Disney Company, New York City, Mickey Mouse, restaurant, New Amsterdam Theatre, Minskoff Theatre, The Legendary Years, Disney's Pop Century Resort, NYC, Times Square, WDW, 5th Avenue, flagship store, World of Disney, Broadway musical, tourists, 2008, 2009, Disney World, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Walt Disney World Resort, Halloween, 2007, Mary Poppins, tourist , retail establishment , stage show , retail dining and entertainment complex, Virgin Megastore, Virgin, 1996 , 2010, stage, 2004, New York, Disney Stores, The Little Mermaid, movie theater, musical theater, 1990s, Wall Street, retail area, negotiations, trick-or-treat, trick or treat, square feet, retail space, commercial retail space, landlord, landlords, retailer, retailers, foot traffic, exposure, 46th & Broadway, HoJos, Howard Johnson, American Eagle, American Eagle Outfitters, Pittsburgh, square foot, lease, Jeff Sutton, SL Green Realty Corp, Vornado, arcade, 1540 Broadway, 711 5th Avenue, Toys R Us, Toys R Us Times Square, Virgin Megastore Times Square, ABC Times Square Studio, ABC Times Square Studios, retail entertainment complex, pre-show, post-show, preshow, postshow, The Related Companies, retail presence, negotiating table, Rockefeller Center, Trump Tower, company representatives, real estate opportunity, real estate opportunites, construction project, construction projects

"Defying Gravity" details Stephen Schwartz's sometimes difficult dealings with the Walt Disney Company

Jim Hill reviews Carol de Gieve's career biography of this Academy Award-winning songwriter, which features some great behind-the-scenes stories about the five Disney projects that Schwartz worked on Read More...

Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:00 AM | 6 Comments

Filed under: book, Disney, DreamWorks, Broadway, musical, Michael Eisner, Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, DreamWorks Animation, Stephen Schwartz, Los Angeles, Walt Disney Studios, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Broadway musical, September, animated feature, 2007, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Disney Feature Animation, Peter Schneider, London, TV movie, show business , 1996 , 1986, Tony, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Academy Award-winning, world premiere, Walt Disney Company, musical theater, musical theater fan, Broadway credits, trio, long running hits, long running hit, hit, Godspell, Pippin, Wicked, Disneyana fan, resume, lyricist, 1990s, 1978, Working, Rags, Children of Eden, 1991, graduate school, NYU, therapist, Sir Tim Rice, A Whole New World, Kevin Bannerman, Carol de Giere, Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked, Applause Books, softcover, songwriter, career, lyrics, 1992, Shirley Jones, Colors of the Wind, John Smith, Native Americans, Romeo, Romeo & Juliet, Juliet, West Side Story, Something's Coming, creative process, 1994, The Prince of Egypt, China, Matthew Wilder, David Zippel, Written in Stone, Destiny, Geppetto, Academy Award-nominee, Enchanted, Gregory Maguire, middling reviews, rhyme, reviews

Tune Tuesday : "Shrek the Musical" gets off to a great start in Seattle

WARNING !! There be spoilers ahead in this preview piece about DreamWorks Theatrical's Broadway-bound production. Which is a musical adaptation of DW's Academy Award-winning animated feature Read More...

Posted Tuesday, September 09, 2008 12:00 AM | 8 Comments

Filed under: Disney, music, theater, DreamWorks, Broadway, musical, Walt Disney, The Lion King, The Walt Disney Company, New York City, YouTube, Mickey Mouse, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Julie Taymor, NYC, LA, Academy Award, movie, Broadway musical, stage version, 2008, animated feature, 2001, Donkey, ogre, Shrek, Fiona, opening night, Broadway production, Big Green Ogre , Great White Way, Jeanine Tesori , David Lindsay-Abaire , Jason Moore , Seattle, 5th Avenue Theater , Lord Farquaad , Academy Award winner, December , November, childhood, stage show , design team, August, director , stage, audience, Big Apple , New York, creative team , DreamWorks Theatrical, Broadway-bound, musical adaptation, DW, Academy Award-winning, movie-based musical, theater community, high profile production, movsical, Young Frankenstein, The Little Mermaid, 9 to 5 : The Musical, world premiere, Ahmanson Theater, Shrek the Musical, out-of-town, opening, librettist, composer, designer, Tim Hatley, swamp, spoilers, Momma Ogre, Poppa Ogre, Big Bright Beautiful World, opening number, title character, introductory number, I Know It's Today, I Could Get Used to This, Brian D'Arcy James, outhouse, backstory, second act, challenge song, I Think I Got You Beat, choreographer, Rob Ashford, New York audiences, Broadway Theatre, playhouse, Walt Disney Company, 1928, movie theater, Colony, the Colony Theater, Colony Theater, Steamboat Willie, Fantasia, Snow White, movsicals

Tune Tuesday: Dance your way to NYC to see "Mary Poppins"

Jim Hill talks up BroadwayWorld's latest contest, which will bring one lucky winner to the Big Apple to check out this Disney Theatrical production Read More...

Posted Tuesday, August 12, 2008 12:00 AM | 1 Comments

Filed under: Disney, music, Broadway, musical, Disney Theatrical, BroadwayWorld, Broadway musical, stage version, 2008, Mary Poppins, 2006, stage, dancers

Tune Thursday : Looking back at the development of Broadway's "Lion King"

Jim Hill chats with Derek Smith, the actor who's now playing Scar in this Tony Award-winning musical. But whose ties to this show actually go all the way back to the costume & mask tests that Julie Taymor did in her workshop Read More...

Posted Friday, July 11, 2008 12:00 AM | 1 Comments

Filed under: Disney, Broadway, musical, Disney Theatrical, New York City, Julie Taymor, New Amsterdam Theatre, Minskoff Theatre, Tony Award winner, NYC, Scar, Broadway musical, stage version, Tony Award, 1997, Broadway production, costume concept, staging, stage show , stage, New York, costume designer , costumes, Derek Smith, The Green Bird, workshop, mask, The Madness of King Scar, rehearsal, rehearsal pianist, stage manager

Stage version of "Mary Poppins" draws a lot of its inspiration from ... Well, drawings

Jim Hill looks back at the development of this Disney / Cameron Mackintosh production. Which is not just based on the 1964 film, but also draws its inspiration from P.L. Travers' stories and Mary Shepard's illustrations Read More...

Posted Friday, June 20, 2008 12:00 AM | 7 Comments

Filed under: Disney, Broadway, musical, Disney Theatrical, Chicago, New Amsterdam Theatre, NYC, Academy Award, film, movie, road company, Broadway musical, stage version, 2009, Tony Award, Broadway production, Cameron Mackintosh , Jolly Holiday, Bob Crowley, Mary Poppins, London, penguins, stage show , production team, March, stage, national tour, North American National Tour , Ashley Brown , title role, Gavin Lee , Drama Desk Award, New York, 1964, set designer , costume designer , set, motion picture, setting, Practically Perfect, Richard Eyre, creative team , Matthew Bourne , Julian Fellowes, P L Travers , Robertson Ay, footman, A Spoonful of Sugar , 1934, Mrs Corry , Annie, Fannie, gingerbread , gilt stars , Gingerbread Stars , Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, talking shop, bake shop, barley-sugar, Bad Wednesday, chapter, Mary Poppins Comes Back , Royal Doulton , George Stiles , Anthony Drewe , Temper Temper, Miss Andrew, governess, Ruth Gottschall, birdcage , Mary Shepard , Let's Go Fly a Kite, 1943, Mary Poppins Opens the Door , Neleus, statue , statues, illustrations, illustration, The Marble Boy, Starlighter , costumes, constellations , Anything Can Happen If You Let It, Mary Poppins in the Park, England, Theatre Royal Plymouth , Cadillac Palace Theatre, Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Matthew Garber, Karen Dotrice, Ed Wynn

"High School Musical 5 & 6" ?! "Beauty & the Beast" headed back to Broadway ?!

Jim Hill shares some of the domain names that the Walt Disney Company has recently registered. Including a new year-long promotion for 2009 that looks & sounds an awful lot like 2003's "Magical Gatherings" campaign Read More...

Posted Tuesday, June 03, 2008 12:00 AM | 22 Comments

Filed under: Disney, Broadway, musical, High School Musical, ABC, Disney Channel, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney Theatrical, Beauty and the Beast, Anaheim, Orlando, The Walt Disney Company, High School Musical 3, High School Musical 4, High School Musical franchise, Disneyland Resort, Jay Rasulo, Disney Parks & Resorts, Aida, WDW, Year of a Million Dreams, hotel, Broadway musical, Disney Channel Original, 2008, 2009, Disney World, The Walt Disney World Resort, 2007, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Broadway production, 2003, on property, TV movie, TV movies , hotels, 2006, Disney franchise, theatrical release, 2010, My School Musical, High School Musical: Get in the Picture, High School Musical 5 , High School Musical 6, Wildcats, East High, Matt Prokop, Justin Martin , Jemma McKenzie-Brown, HSM3, domain name , Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas - The Musical, St. James Theatre , Paul Kolnik, Big Apple , holiday treat, seasonal run , seasonal production, revival , Old Globe Theatre, Hilton Theatre, national tour, Magical Gatherings, Disney vacation, Disney's Magical Celebration, Disney's Magical Celebrations, Regular Unleaded, gasoline, DP&R, year-long promotion, heads in beds, consumers, theme park tickets, plane reservations, hotel rooms, birthday buttons, pins, plush

Tune Tuesday : Kerry Butler hopes that Disney fans have room for "Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust" in their CD collections

Jim Hill talks with this Tony-nominated "XANADU" star, who's just beginning promotion for her brand-new solo album which is loaded with Disney favorites Read More...

Posted Tuesday, May 13, 2008 12:00 AM | 5 Comments

Filed under: music, Broadway, musical, promotion, Disney Theatrical, Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story 2, Dumbo, Broadway musical, recording session, Kerry Butler, Faith Trust and Pixie Dust, Michael Kosarin, CD, XANADU

Tune Tuesday: Get ready for the stage version of "High School Musical 2"

Jim Hill shares all sorts of tidbits from the Disney Theatrical side of the fence. Including the tour schedule for both the North American & UK version of "Mary Poppins" as well as "The Little Mermaid" CD release celebration Read More...

Posted Tuesday, February 19, 2008 12:00 AM | 3 Comments

Filed under: Disney, theater, Broadway, High School Musical, ABC, Walt Disney Pictures, Disney Theatrical, High School Musical 2, The Walt Disney Company, High School Musical 3, High School Musical franchise, New York City, Washington D.C., Australia, Chicago, Los Angeles, NYC, LA, Broadway musical, stage version, Disney Channel Original, 2009, October, Cameron Mackintosh , Broadway Cares / Equity Fights Aids , autographs, co-production, stage show

"Dream Worlds" offers look at abandoned Disney animated features

Jim Hill reviews Hans Bacher's new "Production Design for Animation" book. Which features visual development art from "My Peoples," "Fraidy Cat" and "Wild Life" Read More...

Posted Wednesday, January 23, 2008 12:00 AM | 6 Comments

Filed under: animation, book, Disney, Broadway, Andreas Deja, Disney Theatrical, Beauty and the Beast, 101 Dalmatians, Dinosaur, Walt Disney Animation Studios, France, WDAS, the New World, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, LA, Germany, film, Broadway musical, stage version, animated feature, 2007, Disneyana fans, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Hans Bacher , logo, visual development, visual development artist , production designer, paintings, drawings , inspirational material , artists , animators , Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation , Focal Press, December , canvases , China Doll, emperor, Shang, My Peoples, Elgin's Peoples , Angel and Her No Good Sister, Once in a Blue Moon , A Few Good Ghosts, Fraidy Cat, Alfred Hitchcock , crime story , London, development art , Wild Life, The Secret Lab, urban, hipster, George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion, story points, BS-free , edited, massaged , Disney Publicity , production notes, European version, Loire , generic-looking , Mulan

Tune Thursday: Big Green Ogre heads for Great White Way

Jim Hill shares the latest news about "Shrek the Musical," which should open on Broadway just in time for the holidays. He also talks up a special promotional appearance that John Tartaglia will be making at NYC's World of Disney this Saturday & Sunday Read More...

Posted Thursday, January 17, 2008 12:00 AM | 10 Comments

Filed under: theater, DreamWorks, Broadway, musical, promotion, Beauty and the Beast, Shrek the Third, DreamWorks Animation, Playhouse Disney, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Shrek 2, television, Tony Award winner, NYC, 5th Avenue, World of Disney, Broadway musical, 2008, television program, Disneyana fans, Shrek Goes Fourth, holiday special, ogre, Shrek, Shrek the Halls, Pinocchio, Tony Award, Broadway production, theme park attraction, animated features, Big Green Ogre , Great White Way, Jeanine Tesori , Tony-nominated , Thoroughly Modern Millie , Caroline or Change , Mulan II , Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch, The Little Mermaid -- Ariel's Beginning, William Steig , Oscar-winning , playwright , David Lindsay-Abaire , Jason Moore , Avenue Q , Seattle, 5th Avenue Theater , Palace Theater, Tony Award-winner , Tony nominee, Christopher Sieber , Lord Farquaad , Johnny and the Sprites , John Tartaglia , puppet pal, Root, Saturday , Sunday, Johnny and The Sprites Live – A Spofulous Broadway Concert, Broadway Cares / Equity Fights Aids , fundraiser, Town Hall , family-friendly event , meet-n-greet , concert , autographs, pictures, www.broadwaycares.org

Tune Thursday: There's big fun to be had at "The Little Mermaid"

Jim Hill reviews Disney Theatrical's latest production. Which -- while admittedly not perfect -- is still a perfectly enjoyable evening of theater Read More...

Posted Thursday, January 10, 2008 12:00 AM | 7 Comments

Filed under: Disney, theater, Broadway, musical, Disney Theatrical, Lunt-Fontanne Theater, New York City, NYC, Broadway musical, New York Times

"How Does the Show Go On?" lifts the curtain on what goes on behind-the-scenes at a Broadway musical

Jim Hill reviews Thomas Schumacher & Jeff Kurtti's interactive introduction to the theater. Which uses stories & images from various Disney Theatrical productions to reveal what's actually involved with putting on a professional show Read More...

Posted Thursday, December 06, 2007 12:00 AM | 2 Comments

Filed under: book, Disney, theater, Broadway, musical, Disney Theatrical, Beauty and the Beast, Disney Press, Tarzan, New York City, Jeff Kurtti, Disney Editions, New Amsterdam Theatre, NYC, Local One, stagehands, Broadway musical, show, Thomas Schumacher, Broadway production, How Does the Show Go On? An Introduction to the Theater, backstage

Broadway comes roaring back to life, and so does Disney's "The Lion King"

Jim Hill brings you an update on the 10th anniversary celebration for this Tony Award-winning musical. Which was kind of thrown off-schedule by last month's stagehands strike Read More...

Posted Tuesday, December 04, 2007 12:00 AM | 1 Comments

Filed under: Disney, theater, Broadway, musical, The Lion King, Disney Theatrical, New York City, Julie Taymor, New Amsterdam Theatre, Minskoff Theatre, Tony Award winner, NYC, 10th anniversary, gala performance, international production, Local One, stagehands union, The League of American Theatres and Producers, stagehands, road company, Broadway musical, canapé, caterer, after-party, Cipriani 42, original cast, Thomas Schumacher, Tony Award, South Africa, The Montecasino Teatro, Johannesburg, The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, celebration, scenery, picket line, reunion, TLK, Mexico, Young Nala, Young Simba, Ron Kunene, family, unsung heroes, unsung hero, opening night, 1997, Broadway production

Instead of a Why For this week, how about a Where For ?

This time around, Jim Hill talks up various Disney & animation-related events that are happening all around the U.S. over the next two weeks Read More...

Posted Friday, November 16, 2007 12:00 AM | 3 Comments

Filed under: animation, Disney,

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