Disney officials wanted a new stage show, so they thought big.
Then they thought small.
And then, inflatable.
The result, set to be announced today by Disney executives, is a multimillion-dollar musical version of Toy Story, the 1995 Disney-Pixar animated film that shrank moviegoers’ perspective to the size of Mr. Potato Head and company.
Toy Story — The Musical will debut in April aboard the Disney Wonder cruise ship. It’s the latest entry in Disney’s expansive live-theater network that launched in 1993 with the purchase of a Broadway theater and has grown to include full-blown, movie-based Broadway musicals such as The Lion King, Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast.
The genesis of the Toy Story musical, said creative director Matt Almos, starts with the success of Finding Nemo — The Musical, which debuted last year at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando. Both are shorter, smaller-scale productions tailored by the company to specific audiences.
“The cruise ship and the parks are an incredible vehicle for introducing millions of kids to theater,” said Anne Hamburger, executive vice president of Disney Creative Entertainment, which produces shows, parades and other entertainment for Disney Cruise Line and Disney’s 11 theme parks worldwide.
Hamburger, whose background includes her own New York theater company, isn’t the only heavy-hitter on the Toy Story musical project.
John Lasseter, the Oscar-winning director/creator of the Toy Story films, was involved even before the script was written.
And designer Michael Curry, the Tony-winning co-creator of the elaborate puppets for Broadway’s The Lion King, developed the ground-breaking inflatable costumes.
With so much money and effort invested, it’s possible the show may be headed to the Caribbean and beyond.
“There may be opportunities to do this elsewhere,” Hamburger said.
Regardless, Toy Story — The Musical will be a giant undertaking that unfolds in the small confines of a cruise ship.
The show must maintain the plot and action of the movie without the benefit of its award-winning computer animation.
Creative touches, including large, inflatable puppets as key characters and projections upon backdrops, save valuable space.
The Wonder’s theater seats an audience of nearly 1,000, but its wings and storage areas for sets, props and costumes are compact.
“You can’t open the door and find an extra room,” said Hamburger. “The extra room is the ocean.”
Buzz Lightyear sings
Last month, in a downtown Toronto space — one free of exterior Disney markings — show director Stefan Novinski guides the cast of 16 actors through rehearsals.
Noel Orput, as delusional space ranger toy Buzz Lightyear, belts out a baritone “To Infinity and Beyond” song.
The stirring, call-to-arms number wins the trust of other toys, including Slinky Dog, dinosaur Rex, Hamm the piggy bank, a few Green Army Men and tumbling residents of a Barrel of Monkeys. Bo Peep looks on with admiration.
In costume, Hamm and the 9-foot-tall Rex sport hard heads and soft, vinyl, inflated bodies. Fans keep the garb blown up and the actors inside cool.
“We all thought Rex was going to be the hard one,” said co-costume designer Ann Closs-Farley. “But ultimately it was Buzz.” That character must dance, climb blocks, strike heroic poses and fly (via harness) four times.
Rex, Hamm and Slinky (one actor in the head, one actor in the tail) have movable parts, including blinking eyes, raise-ready eyebrows and mouths, controlled by the performers inside.
Mr. Potato Head is outfitted with a nose, mustache and ears that eject plus a spinning hat.
“He’s got a lot of frills and tricks,” Hamburger said.
Actor Geoffrey Tyler is on board with his look as the lanky cowboy doll, Woody.
“It’s just a really cool costume that makes me look like a Woody doll,” he said. “I’ve got the most beautiful boots in show business.”
Details down to the buttons
Lasseter, the father of Toy Story, provided guidance from big picture to tiny detail.
He suggested adding Hamm to the mix after early versions left out the character. And he even made notes that costumers should “make Woody’s buttons bigger.”
Although he was cynical at first, Hamburger said, he embraced the story as a musical.
“He feels this music fits Toy Story like a glove,” Almos said.
Husband-wife, composer-lyricist team Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda, part of the Brooklyn-based group GrooveLily, created original songs to fit with the stylings of the film’s signature song, Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” which kicks off the new musical.
The duo are Disney newbies.
“From the very beginning, it was very hands-on,” Milburn said. “It was new for us to have so many people involved.”
“Everyone here is very smart and gives good notes,” Vigoda said, recalling one specific request for less bassoon.
Her favorite number is “Make a Little Noise,” a heavy metal/bossa nova hybrid sung by the vicious Sid, a kid who tortures toys. One lyric: “I’m the da Vinci of destruction!”
“Sid’s not a bad kid. He has a warped sense of fun,” Vigoda said. “What he is doing is not destroying but creating a new piece of art.”
Next stop: Port Canaveral
Next stop for Toy Story — The Musical is Port Canaveral in preparation for its April debut.
The cast and crew has a two-week, at-sea rehearsal period to work out technical aspects such as “flying” and the appearance of “the claw” in a pivotal scene with the alien dolls inside an arcade game at Pizza Planet.
Their song, featuring a platoon of puppets, is a monotone song of praise.
“It’s like Queen meets Jesus Christ Superstar with a little bit of the Chipmunks sprinkled in there,” Almos said.
