ABOUT DISNEY MUSICAL THEATRE Disney Theatrical productions was formed in 1994 and operates under the direction of Peter Schneider and Thomas Schumacher. The company’s inaugural production, Beauty and the Beast, is now in its eighth year on Broadway. In 1997, The Walt Disney Company completed restoration of the historic New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street in New York City, reopening with the world premiére concert of Alan Menken and Tim Rice’s King David. Later that same year, Disney opened The Lion King, which became the recipient of six 1998 Tony® Awards, including Best Musical, as well as the 1998 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album. Now in its fourth sold-out year on Broadway, The Lion King can also currently be seen onstage in Los Angeles, Toronto, Tokyo and Fukuoka. The Lion King opened in London in October 1999 and received the Evening Standard Award for Theatrical Event of the Year and Oliver Awards for Best Costume Designer and Best Theatre Choreographer. In 1999 Disney premiéred its first new musical outside of the United States when Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame opened in Berlin. An adaptation of the Disney film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the show continues in its second year. The company’s most recent production, Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida, opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre in March 2000, receiving four 2000 Tony® Awards, including Best Music/Lyrics and was recently awarded the 2001 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album. A North American tour of Aida opened in Minneapolis in March 2001.