Thomas Schumacher | |
---|---|
![]() Schumacher speaking at the 2019 Tony Awards | |
President of Disney Theatrical Group | |
Assumed office June 2001 | |
Preceded by | Ron Logan |
President of Walt Disney Feature Animation | |
In office January 1999 –2002 | |
Preceded by | Peter Schneider |
Succeeded by | David Stainton |
Personal details | |
Born | Thomas Hubbard Caswell Schumacher III December 5,1957 Glendale,California,U.S. |
Spouse | Matthew White (married 2012–present) |
Occupation | Theatrical producer |
Thomas Schumacher (born December 5,1957) is a theatrical producer,currently president of Disney Theatrical Group, [1] the theatrical production arm of The Walt Disney Company.
Schumacher studied theatre at UCLA. In 1987 he was associate director of the Los Angeles Festival of Arts,presenting the American premiere of Cirque du Soleil and the English-language premiere of Peter Brook's The Mahabharata . [2] Previously,he spent five years on staff at the Mark Taper Forum,served as a line producer on the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival,and served as assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Ballet. [3] He then joined the Disney company in 1988, [3] producing the animated film, The Rescuers Down Under , [4] which was released in 1990.
With The Lion King under consideration for the next Broadway adaptation,Eisner ceded Disney Theatrical Productions to theatre-rooted Disney Animation president Peter Schneider and Schumacher,at their request,making them president and executive vice president of DTP,respectively. [5] In 1994,Schumacher said that handing over the reins of the film to producer Don Hahn was painful. However,he was proud of the musical partnership between lyricist Tim Rice and singer Elton John whose songs "soar" through the film,although he was initially unsure of hiring John because he thought he was too big of a name. Schneider,through whom Schumacher got his job,described him as successful and arguing he has "great taste". Schumacher also said that he loathed saying there were gay characters because people will want him to "go backward and point them out". He further noted that Jeffrey Katzenberg asked if any of the gay references in the 1992 film Aladdin offended him,and he said the references were in "good fun",remarking that they should not deny that "swishy fashion designers" exist. [6]
Schneider was promoted to Disney Studios president in January 1999,while Thomas Schumacher was promoted to president of Walt Disney Feature Animation and Walt Disney Theatrical Productions,while both are made co-presidents of Disney Theatrical [7] which was renamed to Buena Vista Theatrical Group Limited with two divisions—Disney Theatricals and Hyperion Theatricals—head by the duo. [8] With Schneider leaving in June 2001 to form his own theater production company partly funded by Disney,Schumacher became only president of Buena Vista Theatrical Group and head of its divisions. [9] [10]
After producing dozens of films,Schumacher left Walt Disney Feature Animation in 2002,replaced by David Stainton. [11] [12]
He transitioned to solely focus on the growing theatrical business as its head. He is a member of the board of trustees for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, [13] the Tony Administration Committee and the Advisory Committee of the American Theatre Wing. [2] He is a mentor for the TDF Open Doors program and serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University. [3] In March 2016,the gala of the Theatre Development Fund saluted Schumacher and Disney Theatrical Productions. [14] He also is the chairman of the Board of The Broadway League. [15]
On February 21,2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that Schumacher was the subject of an internal investigation at Disney into inappropriate behavior,with eyewitness accounts detailing aggressive sexual language and intimidation dating back to the 1990s. This reportedly included remarks toward male employees,including comments about the "sexual prowess of black men". It was also said that he denied the accusations and committed to being "more mindful and adhering to company policies going forward." [16] [17]
Schumacher has worked with The Walt Disney Company since 1988 and currently serves as President of Disney Theatrical Group. [1]
Schumacher is the author of the book How Does the Show Go On? An Introduction to the Theater (Disney Editions,2007;2019). [18]
In June 1994,Schumacher told The Advocate that he was an "out gay man" when he began working at Disney,and argued there were "a lot of gay people at every level" of Disney,and called it a "very supportive environment",with The Advocate calling him one of the "most influential gay men" in Hollywood. He also brought his partner,Matthew White,a ballet dancer in Los Angeles,to the annual company party and other company retreats. He noted that while some were "uncomfortable" with Schumacher bringing his partner,that higher executives like Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner did not trouble him over it. [19]
In November 2012,Schumacher married White,his longtime partner and interior designer. [20]
Roy Edward Disney KCSG was an American businessman. He was the longtime senior executive for the Walt Disney Company,which was founded by his uncle,Walt Disney,and his father,Roy O. Disney. At the time of his death,he held more than 16 million shares,and served as a consultant for the company,as director emeritus for the board of directors. During his tenure,he organized the ousting of two top Disney executives:Ron W. Miller in 1984 and Michael Eisner in 2005.
The Rescuers Down Under is a 1990 American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 29th Disney animated feature film and the second movie to be produced during the Disney Renaissance,it is the sequel to Disney's 1977 animated feature film The Rescuers,which was based on the novels by Margery Sharp. In The Rescuers Down Under,Bernard and Bianca travel to the Australian Outback to save a boy named Cody from a villainous poacher who wants to capture an endangered golden eagle for money. Directed by Hendel Butoy and Mike Gabriel from a screenplay by Jim Cox,Karey Kirkpatrick,Byron Simpson,and Joe Ranft,the film features the voices of Bob Newhart,Eva Gabor,John Candy,and George C. Scott.
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990,he was described as being "the most successful,influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York Times. He is the producer of shows including Les Misérables,The Phantom of the Opera,Cats,Miss Saigon,Mary Poppins,Oliver!, and Hamilton.
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 28th Disney animated feature film,it is loosely based on the 1837 Danish fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. The film was written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Musker and Howard Ashman,who also wrote the film's songs with Alan Menken. Menken also composed the film's score. Featuring the voices of RenéAuberjonois,Christopher Daniel Barnes,Jodi Benson,Pat Carroll,Paddi Edwards,Buddy Hackett,Jason Marin,Kenneth Mars,Ben Wright and Samuel E. Wright,The Little Mermaid tells the story of a teenage mermaid princess named Ariel,who dreams of becoming human and falls in love with a human prince named Eric,which leads her to make a magic deal with the sea witch,Ursula,to become human and be with him.
A Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures as its second feature-length film,following Toy Story (1995). Directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Andrew Stanton from a screenplay written by Stanton,Donald McEnery and Bob Shaw and a story conceived by Lasseter,Stanton and Joe Ranft,the film stars the voices of Dave Foley,Kevin Spacey,Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Hayden Panettiere. In the film,a misfit ant named Flik,looks for "tough warriors" to save his ant colony from a protection racket run by a gang of grasshoppers. Unfortunately,the "warriors" he brings back turn out to be an inept troupe of Circus Bugs. The film's plot was initially inspired by Aesop's fable The Ant and the Grasshopper.
Alan Irwin Menken is an American composer,pianist,music director,and record producer,best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Menken's music for The Little Mermaid (1989),Beauty and the Beast (1991),Aladdin (1992),and Pocahontas (1995) has each won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores and songs for Little Shop of Horrors (1986),Newsies (1992),The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996),Hercules (1997),Home on the Range (2004),Enchanted (2007),Tangled (2010),and Disenchanted (2022),among others. His accolades include winning eight Academy Awards —becoming the second most prolific Oscar winner in the music categories after Alfred Newman,a Tony Award,eleven Grammy Awards,seven Golden Globe Awards,and a Daytime Emmy Award. Menken is one of eighteen people to have won an Emmy,a Grammy,an Oscar and a Tony. He is one of two people to have won a Razzie,an Emmy,a Grammy,an Oscar,and a Tony ("REGOT").
Jeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and media proprietor. He became well known for his tenure as chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994. After departing Disney,he was a co-founder and CEO of DreamWorks Animation,where he oversaw the production of such animated franchises as Shrek,Madagascar,Kung Fu Panda,and How to Train Your Dragon. He has since founded a new media and technology company called WndrCo and was the founder of Quibi,a defunct short-form mobile video platform which lost $1.35 billion in seven months.
Runaway Brain is a 1995 American animated comedy horror short film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Featuring Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse,the short centers on Mickey attempting to earn money to pay for an anniversary gift for Minnie. He responds to an advertisement to work for Dr. Frankenollie,but finds that the doctor is looking for a donor to switch brains with the monster he created. Featuring animation by animator Andreas Deja,it was first released in 1995 attached to North American theatrical showings of A Kid in King Arthur's Court and in 1996 attached to international theatrical showings of A Goofy Movie. It would be the final original Mickey Mouse theatrical animated short until Get a Horse! in 2013.
The Walt Disney Studios is a major division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of The Walt Disney Company best known for housing its multifaceted film studio divisions. Founded on October 16,1923 and based mainly at the namesake studio lot in Burbank,California,it is the seventh-oldest global film studio and the fifth-oldest in the United States,a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and one of the "Big Five" major film studios.
Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS),sometimes shortened to Disney Animation,is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene from its first synchronized sound cartoon,Steamboat Willie (1928). Founded on October 16,1923,by brothers Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney,it is the oldest-running animation studio in the world. It is currently organized as a division of Walt Disney Studios and is headquartered at the Roy E. Disney Animation Building at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank,California. Since its foundation,the studio has produced 61 feature films,from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) to Strange World (2022),and hundreds of short films.
Disney Theatrical Productions Limited (DTP),also known as Disney on Broadway,is the stageplay and musical production company of the Disney Theatrical Group,a subsidiary of Disney Entertainment,a major division and business unit of The Walt Disney Company.
Disney Television Animation (DTVA) is an American animation studio that serves as the television animation production arm of Disney Branded Television,a division of Disney General Entertainment Content,which is a division of Disney Entertainment. The studio was originally established on December 5,1984,by Gary Krisel during the reorganization and subsequent re-incorporation of Disney following the arrival of then CEO Michael Eisner that year.
King David:A World Premiere Concert Event is a 1997 oratorio,co-produced by The Walt Disney Company and Andre Djaoui,and written by Alan Menken (music) and Tim Rice (libretto). Originally conceived by Djaoui as a grand musical performed in Jerusalem to celebrate the 3000th anniversary of the city's founding,it was eventually staged as a concert in the first production at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theater after Disney's restoration. Opening on May 18,1997,the show ran for six performances closing May 23.
Jonathan Drew Groff is an American actor and singer. He began his career on Broadway,rising to prominence for his portrayal of Melchior Gabor in the original production of Spring Awakening (2006–08),for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He returned to Broadway to portray King George III in the original production of Hamilton (2015),for which he earned a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He currently stars opposite Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez in the first Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along.
Music Theatre International (MTI) is a theatrical licensing agency based in New York City and founded in 1952 by American composer and lyricist Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker. Along with licensing the rights to Loesser's works,the firm licenses production rights of over 500 Broadway,Off-Broadway,and West End musicals. Cameron Mackintosh became a partner in 1990 and majority owner in 2015.
The Disney Theatrical Group,legally Buena Vista Theatrical Group Ltd.,is the live show,stageplay and musical production arm of The Walt Disney Company. The company is led by Thomas Schumacher,and is a division of Walt Disney Studios,forming a part of Disney Entertainment,one of the three major business segments of The Walt Disney Company.
Waking Sleeping Beauty is a 2009 American documentary film directed by Disney film producer Don Hahn and produced by Hahn and former Disney executive Peter Schneider. The film documents the history of Walt Disney Feature Animation from 1984 to 1994,covering the rise of a period referred to as the Disney Renaissance.
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Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a stage musical based on the 1971 Walt Disney film and the stories by Mary Norton. It features the original songs by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman,new songs and additional music and lyrics by Neil Bartram and book by Brian Hill.
Hercules is a musical based on the Walt Disney Animation Studios 1997 film of the same name. The music and lyrics were written by Alan Menken and David Zippel,with a book by Kristoffer Diaz and Robert Horn. The production is also loosely based on the legendary hero of the same name,the son of Zeus,in Greek mythology.
In October 2002, Thomas Schumacher announced he would be leaving Walt Disney Feature Animation.