Download FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE BROADWAY PRODUCER

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Rick Miramontez/Molly Barnett
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
BROADWAY PRODUCER
THOMAS SCHUMACHER
RELEASES NEW BOOK FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
“HOW DOES THE SHOW GO ON?”
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE THEATER
PUBLISHED BY
DISNEY PUBLISHING WORLDWIDE
NEW YORK, NY – Broadway producer Thomas Schumacher, a Tony Award®-winner for
The Lion King, gives young people a rare backstage pass to the theater with the publication of
his first book, How Does The Show Go On? An Introduction To The Theater (Disney
Publishing, 2007). The book„s first edition was released in November 2007, and a second
edition, updated to include Broadway„s The Little Mermaid and the touring production of the
mega-hit High School Musical, is now available.
The 125-page hardcover book, written with Jeff Kurtti, gives readers the opportunity to meet
the casts of characters who work onstage and behind the scenes to deliver unforgettable
performances, and explore the inner workings of the theater building itself. Filled with
artifacts you can pull out and hold in your hand, How Does the Show Go On? is a totally
unique guide to what goes on behind the curtain. From informative descriptions of the
playwright, choreographer, stage manager and fight director to explanations about the role of
the set designer, composer, usher, director and leading lady, Schumacher has created a
stimulating, interactive and all together indispensable introduction to the theater.
In addition to the Tony Award®-winning Broadway musical The Lion King, Thomas
Schumacher is also the producer of Elton John and Tim Rice‟s Aida, Mary Poppins (with
producer Cameron Mackintosh), Tarzan and the upcoming The Little Mermaid.
About How Does The Show Go On?, Schumacher said, “I wanted to create the kind of book
about the theater that I would have enjoyed when I was a kid.” He added, “It is also important
to show young theater lovers that there are countless career opportunities that do not involve
being on stage.”
How Does The Show Go On? features include:
* A Costume Designer‟s Sketchbook
* An authentic Playbill® Program
* Front of House: From the Street to the Stage Apron
* Back of House: From the Stage Apron to the Stage Door
* A Day in the Life of a Child Performer
* Theater-Speak Glossary
--CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR “HOW DOES THE SHOW GO ON?”
“An eye-popping treasury!
A whiz-bang introduction to the inner workings of the theater!”
-- New York Times
“Neat-O! This book is gee-whiz satisfying.
The wonderful world of Disney comes alive!
-- Newsday
“The new go-to theater manual!”
-- San Jose Mercury News
“A pedigreed, kid-friendly book about life behind the footlights!”
-- Variety
“A gorgeous book! I wish I had a book like this when I was young!”
-- Joan Hamburg, WOR Radio
BIO________________________________________________________
Thomas Schumacher
Since 1988, Thomas Schumacher has worked with The Walt Disney Company setting new
standards of excellence in film and live theatre. He started his Disney tenure at the Animation
Division in Burbank, California, where he moved up the ranks from producer of The Rescuers
Down Under to president of both the Feature and Television Animation units. Schumacher is
regarded as one of the key architects of the animation renaissance, in which Disney set new
standards in storytelling, artistry and technical innovation. He served as executive producer
on Disney‟s 1994 animated blockbuster The Lion King and supervised 21 animated features,
including The Nightmare Before Christmas, Pocahontas, Toy Story, The Hunchback of Notre
Dame, Hercules, Mulan, Tarzan, Dinosaur, Monsters, Inc. and Lilo & Stitch. Mr. Schumacher
now devotes his full energies to Disney Theatrical Productions in New York City, where he
oversees the development and production of Disney‟s live theatre events around the world.
To celebrate The Walt Disney Company‟s restoration and reopening of Times Square‟s historic
New Amsterdam Theatre in May 1997, Schumacher along with his former producing partner
Peter Schneider presented the world premiere concert of Alan Menken & Tim Rice‟s King
David. Later that year they produced the ground-breaking and Tony Award®-winning
Broadway musical The Lion King, which can currently be seen onstage in New York, London,
Hamburg, Tokyo, Seoul, Johannesburg and throughout the U.S. with two touring companies.
A ninth production of The Lion King will open in Paris in October of 2007. Schumacher and
Schneider also produced the premiere of Disney‟s first original foreign language production,
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which debuted in Berlin in June of 1999. The producing duo
then opened Elton John and Tim Rice‟s Aida on Broadway at the Palace Theatre in March
2000. Aida garnered four Tony Awards® and has been seen across the U.S. as well as in
Holland, Germany and Japan.
In 2004, Mr. Schumacher produced the world premiere stage adaptation of Mary Poppins in
partnership with legendary producer Cameron Mackintosh at London‟s Prince Edward
Theatre. Mary Poppins began performances on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre in
October 2006. Schumacher‟s production of On the Record, a musical celebrating Disney‟s
catalogue of beloved songs, completed its successful U.S. tour in July 2005. In May 2006, Mr.
Schumacher produced the world premiere of Tarzan, featuring music and lyrics by Phil Collins
with direction and design by Bob Crowley. The first international production of Tarzan
opened in Holland in 2007. The summer of 2007 also brought the stage premiere of Disney‟s
High School Musical, which will reach 60 cities on tour through 2008. Schumacher also
produced Alan Menken‟s landmark musical The Little Mermaid, which opened on Broadway
in January 2008.
Mr. Schumacher supervised the stage production of Beauty and the Beast, currently the sixth
longest-running show in Broadway history, which took its final bow on July 29, 2007 after 13
magical years. Schumacher also oversees Disney Live Family Entertainment, which provides
children‟s and family entertainment throughout the world in partnership with Feld
Entertainment. Projects include Disney on Ice and Disney Live!, with nine productions
touring the globe at any one time. In 2004, Schumacher established a relationship between
Disney Theatrical Productions and Music Theatre International, which licenses stage
performance rights to over a dozen Disney musicals to schools, community groups and
professional theatres around the world.
Before joining The Walt Disney Company, Mr. Schumacher enjoyed a distinguished career in
the arts. He was a line producer for the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, served as assistant general
manager of the Los Angeles Ballet, and spent five years on staff at the Los Angeles Music
Center‟s Mark Taper Forum, where he worked on productions for the Taper Main Stage, Taper
Too and the Taper‟s literary cabaret. As associate director of the acclaimed 1987 Los Angeles
Festival of Arts, Schumacher was instrumental in presenting the American premiere of
Canada‟s immensely popular Cirque du Soleil and the English-language premiere of Peter
Brook‟s The Mahabharata.
A graduate of UCLA, Mr. Schumacher has participated in conferences and on panels relating to
the arts and arts policy, has served on the Board of the California Community Foundation, and
is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the
Tony® Administration Committee, and the Advisory Committee of the American Theatre
Wing.
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