DISNEY’S MOVIE-TO-MUSICAL TARZAN FIZZLING ON BROADWAY
The Walt Disney company, whose animated films Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King metamorphosed to successful stage shows on Broadway, may be about to experience its first "mega-flop" as ticket sales slow for Tarzan, the New York Post reported Wednesday. One veteran Broadway producer, who was not identified, told the newspaper, "Tarzan is not going to close today or tomorrow because the advance is big. … But right now they're taking out more money than they're taking in, and if that doesn't change, I don't care how big the advance is, they're going to blow through it sooner or later." David Schrader, managing director of Disney Theatrical, told the newspaper that the company plans to launch a major ad campaign in August. "August is one of the highest-selling ticket months," Shrader told the Post. "People take more time to read and see what's going on, and we're going to take advantage of that."