Depart

Thomas Schumacher, a leading force in growing Disney Theatrical Group into one of the most successful and influential theater producers on Broadway and around the world, will step down as DTG’s chief creative officer at the end of this month after a decades-long tenure at the company.

The move was announced in a studio-wide memo sent Sept. 3 by Alan Bergman, the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment. After Schumacher’s departure, DTG will be led by managing director Andrew Flatt and executive producer Anne Quart, two longtime company veterans who have worked closely with Schumacher for some 20 years.

After his Disney exit, Schumacher “will continue shaping the face of the global theatrical landscape as a behind-the-scenes force focused on the next generation of artists and audiences,” Bergman said in his memo. He’ll also work as a consultant for DTG in the wake of the transition.

Schumacher initially joined Disney Animation as a producer on the 1990 movie sequel “The Rescuers Down Under,” at a time when the conglom’s animation arm was beginning its resurgence with megahits including “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin” — all three of which the company has adapted into internationally successful stage properties. Schumacher was eventually named president of Disney Animation in 1999 before shifting duties to focus solely on the oversight of Disney Theatrical in 2002.

Launching in 1994 with the Broadway adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast,” Disney’s theatrical division — which Schumacher has run for 26 of its 31 years in existence — has produced 10 Broadway titles in total including three of the 15 longest-running shows in Broadway history (“The Lion King,” “Aladdin” and “Beauty”). The company’s stage productions have been seen by more than 240 million theatergoers worldwide, according to Disney stats, and won 20 Tony Awards. Over the years, DTG’s 30 global stagings of the 1998 Tony winner “The Lion King” have played a key role in establishing the Disney IP as the top-grossing title in any medium.

Disney Theatrical and its family-friendly productions were also integral components in Times Square’s transformation from de-facto red light district into the tourist-trafficked, all-ages nexus that it is today. Along the way, the popularity of Disney shows has helped draw an ever-increasing stream of family theatergoers to Broadway (where attendance hit 14.7 million for the 2024-25 season, up more than 60% from the 1994-95 season when “Beauty” opened). Meanwhile, the enduring revenue streams generated by Disney’s stage successes have encouraged a growing number of other Hollywood studios and IP holders to give Broadway a try.

During his time at the helm of DTG, Schumacher also won over an insular Broadway community that was initially skeptical of a corporate studio’s incursion into the theater district. He went on to serve as the chairman of the board of the Broadway League, and is currently on the League’s Tony Administration Committee.

In his memo, Bergman added that Schumacher also “has grown Disney on Ice, pioneered sensory-friendly Broadway shows, and developed an expansive program to enable schools to produce Disney musicals on their own stages. He has been a tireless supporter, advocate, and leader of the theatre community, playing a key role in turning Broadway’s lights back on during the unprecedented pandemic shutdown. It’s a truly remarkable record.”

Schumacher said in a statement, “Thirty-eight years ago 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. I’m proud that Disney Theatrical will be in the extraordinarily capable hands of Andrew Flatt and Anne Quart, with whom I’ve worked for over 20 years. I can’t wait to see how they lead this peerless organization forward.”

As noted in Bergman’s memo, DTG leaders Flatt and Quart will continue to report to Cathleen Taff, Disney’s president of production, franchise management and theatrical distribution.

Disney Theatrical currently counts two long-running Broadway titles — “The Lion King” and “Aladdin” — among its 21 productions now running around the world. DTG’s next major musical outing, “The Greatest Showman,” is gearing up for a world premiere in the U.K. in the spring.