Thomas Schumacher, the longtime CEO who was key to Walt Disney Co.’s success on Broadway, is stepping down this month, the company announced Wednesday.
The producer joined Disney 38 years ago and led animation for several years when he began building the company’s theater unit, eventually 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 chief creative officer of Disney’s theater group, in an email to staff, calling it “the end of an era.” Schumacher “helped build our stage business from the ground up,” Bergman said.
“Over the years, the Disney Theatre Group has become 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 Flatts and executive producer Anne Quart, who have worked with Schumacher, will now see their responsibilities expand.
Quart will oversee creative and production elements for theatrical productions, while Flatt will be tasked with show strategy and business operations. Both will continue to report to Cathleen Taff, who is the studio’s president of production services and theatrical distribution.
“I met Tom just as he was preparing to deliver The Lion King, his first Broadway show, in 1997!” Bergman said in an email. “Now, 30 productions later, it is the most successful one-off entertainment property in box office history. And there have been many more successes since, including 20 Tony Awards, 28,000 Broadway performances, 240 million audience members worldwide, Disney shows on every continent except Antarctica.”
Disney’s theatrical shows have become a key part of the Burbank-based media and entertainment company’s growth. Following the success of “The Lion King,” Disney adapted several of its animated features and even some of its live-action films into theatrical productions, including “Newsies” and “Mary Poppins.” Disney’s theatrical shows have now run more than 28,000 performances on Broadway, the company said.
Bergman said Schumacher is not done yet and will become a consultant who “continues to shape the face of the global theater 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 served as the animation studio’s president for several years, overseeing nearly two dozen films while also running Disney’s theater group. He left Disney Animation in 2002 to focus on building the theater group.
“When Peter Schneider at Disney Animation asked me to portray the Rescuers, I had no idea it would lead to four decades of working with some of the greatest creative artists in the world – both in animation and theater,” Schumacher said in a statement.
There were controversies during his tenure.
In 2018, the Wall Street Journal published a report that said the coworker described him as harsh, demanding, and prone to crossing the boundaries of appropriate behavior with explicit language and behavior. In response to the report, a Disney spokesperson said at the time that “complaints are thoroughly investigated and appropriate action is being taken.”
