Disney’s longtime Broadway chief Thomas Schumacher steps down

Thomas Schumacher, the long-serving executive who was key to Walt Disney Co.’s success on Broadway, is stepping down this month, the company said Wednesday.

The producer joined Disney 38 years ago and led animation for several years as he began building the company’s theatrical unit, ultimately shepherding such juggernauts as “The Lion King,” “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Those productions became three of the longest-running shows in Broadway history.

Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman announced the departure of Schumacher, who serves as Disney Theatrical Group’s chief creative officer, in an email to staff, calling it “the end of an era.” Schumacher “helped build our stage business from the ground up,” Bergman said.

“Through the years, Disney Theatrical Group has grown to be such an important part of how we bring Disney storytelling to the world, and it remains in incredibly capable hands,” Bergman said.

Managing director Andrew Flatt and executive producer Anne Quart, who have worked with Schumacher, will now see their responsibilities expand.

Quart will oversee creative and production elements for the theatrical productions while Flatt will be tasked with strategy and business operations for the shows. Both will continue to report to Cathleen Taff, who is the studio’s production services and theatrical distribution president.

“I met Tom right around the time he was about to deliver The Lion King in 1997, which was his first Broadway show!” Bergman said in his email. “Now, 30 productions later, it is the most successful single entertainment property in box office history. And there have been many more successes since then, including 20 Tony Awards, 28,000 Broadway performances, 240 million audience members globally, Disney shows on every continent except Antarctica.”

Disney’s theatrical shows have become a key part of the Burbank media and entertainment company’s outgrowth. After the success of “The Lion King,” Disney adapted a number of its animated stalwarts and even some of its live-action films into hit theatrical productions, including “Newsies” and “Mary Poppins.” Disney theatrical shows have now run more than 28,000 performances on Broadway, the company said.

Bergman said that Schumacher was “not done yet” and would become a consultant to “continue shaping the face of the global theatrical landscape as a behind-the-scenes force focused on the next generation of artists and audiences.”

Schumacher joined Disney in the 1980s at Disney Animation as a producer on “The Rescuers Down Under.” He worked as president of the animation studio for several years, overseeing nearly two dozen films and simultaneously leading Disney Theatrical Group. In 2002, he departed Disney Animation to focus on building the theatrical group.

“When Peter Schneider at Disney Animation asked me to produce The Rescuers Down Under, I had no idea it would lead to four decades working with some of the most exceptional creative artists in the world — both in animation and theatre,” Schumacher said in a statement.

His tenure came with controversy.

In 2018, the Wall Street Journal published a report that said co-workers described him as harsh, demanding and prone to crossing the boundaries of appropriate workplace behavior with explicit language and behavior. Responding to the report, a Disney spokesperson said at the time that “complaints are thoroughly investigated and appropriate action is taken.”