Disney widens the canvas

After films, it's the turn of musical theatres as Beauty and the Beast is set to make its India debut

After asserting its leadership position at the box office over the past couple of years, Disney India is now widening the scope of its entertainment properties with its first musical theatre production - Beauty and the Beast. Produced in collaboration with the Disney Theatrical Group, the shows will be held in Mumbai (NSCI Dome) and Delhi (Thyagaraj Stadium) in October and December respectively.

The Disney Theatrical Group is the force behind eight Broadway titles which have been seen by around 128 million theatre goers since the first production in 1994 - The Beauty and the Beast. Since then, it has successfully put up shows like The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Mary Poppins and most recently, Aladdin. While the shows are first produced for biggies like Broadway and West End, they later find their way to other countries, either as replicas of the original Broadway production, or adaptations inspired by the originals.

In case of India, the Disney Theatrical Group has teamed up with the Indian arm of the global media company to create a collaborative piece customised for the Indian audiences, keeping the basic elements of the Broadway original as the foundation. As a result, the script and the score remain unchanged, while the act in itself (talent, sets etc) will be reinvented.

"The challenge in this particular case was two-fold. While on one hand, we were sure we wanted Indian talent, we knew we'll have to spend a considerable amount of time scouting for it. The second thing is infrastructure. However, we have now set things in motion, "says Vikranth Pawar, Show Director and Creative Head, Live Entertainment, Disney India.

The team undertook auditions in two phases. In the first phase, 1,000 were shortlisted out of 8,000 online entries. Of these, 100 have been chosen, 18 forming part of the main cast.

The second challenge was getting a venue that suited the team's vision for the theatrical. For the first time ever, Beauty and the Beast will have a troupe of 100 performers (usually it is performed with 30-40 artists). Also a first, the stage for the production will be a semi-circle with a part of the audience sitting within the curve of the stage. This section of the audience will be seated on swivel chairs, which will allow viewers to turn around and catch all the action as the scenes move from one end of the semi-circle to the other.

The first season will have six nights of shows (one or two shows a night). The Mumbai leg will kick off on October 23 while the Delhi shows will commence on December 18.