A new Disney Musical is destined for London’s West End. There has been speculation for sometime and we can fuel those rumours further by speculating with some confidence that Disney’s Beauty and the Beast the musical is to open in London’s West End in 2015.
Following the huge success of Disney’s The Lion King at the Lyceum theatre in London there have been never-ending rumours as to what will be Disney’s next major production to come to the West End.
The latest speculation is the return of Beauty and the Beast. Previously the show in London opened at the Dominion Theatre in 1997 and played for over two and a half years. In 1998 the production won the Olivier award for Best New Musical, but didn’t enjoy the long-running success of its successor, The Lion King.
However, Beauty and the Beat enjoyed greater longevity on Broadway opening in 1999 and only closing in 2007 to make way for Disney’s next musical venture, The Little Mermaid. It has often been thought that The Little Mermaid would be the next big Disney musical to hit the West End, but this hasn’t happened, yet.
Tarzan the musical is another Disney show that opened on Broadway in 2006 and lasted little over a year with strong rumours that is was heading for the West End, but so far nothing has materialised.
Aladdin the musical premiered on Broadway in February 2014 officially opened on March 20, 2014. The show was nominated for five Tony Awards, winning one for Featured Actor, James Monroe Iglehart as Genie. Could Aladdin the musical be the next big hit in London’s West End? Rumour has it that the show is London bound in 2016 possibly to the London Palladium.
At the recent SOBOM (Society of Box Office Managers) Christmas lunch we were treated to a fantastic medley of Disney hit songs brought to life on stage at the KoKo nightclub in Camden by stars from Broadway, Josh Strickland and Ashley Brown. Former American Idol Josh Strickland starred in Tarzan the musical and Ashley starred as Belle in Beauty and the Beat on Broadway before taking the title role in Mary Poppins the musical. They performed songs from all the Disney classics and announced that a new show was coming to London’s West End but wouldn’t confirm which it was going to be, but fuelled speculation by talking about new projects such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Newsies.
Ashley Brown finished off the performance with a stunning rendition of ‘Let it Go’ from Frozen, complete with dry ice, and it was amazing to see a standing ovation from hardened industry cynics – what a fantastic rendition and certainly one that I would pay to see. I’d guess that it is early days in the life cycle of Frozen to even imagine it could be coming to the West End stage in 2015, but then again it is Christmas and a time to dream and wish.
But the smart money is on a return of Beauty and the Beast, our inside mole has spotted production notices for the show in London, so either Disney are playing it crafty with a subterfuge of misdirection or the show is due on another tour or is there to a welcome return for Beauty and the Beast to London in 2015?
We’ll keep you posted at Shows in London, meanwhile Happy New Year!
