Thomas Schumacher, Chief Creative Officer of Disney Theatrical Group, to Step Down

Thomas Schumacher, the chief creative officer of Disney Theatrical Group, Disney’s theatrical division, is stepping down after decades with the company. The move was announced in a memo sent by Alan Bergman, the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, on September 3.

Joining Disney Animation as a producer on the 1990 animated film The Rescuers Down Under, Schumacher was named president of Disney Animation in 1999—by which time he had supervised the production of such animated films as Toy Story and The Hunchback of Notre Dame—before moving to Disney Theatrical fulltime. He has run the unit for 26 of its 31 years of existence and is credited, among other achievements, for tapping director Julie Taymor to helm The Lion King. Schumacher went on to serve as the chairman of the board of the Broadway League and is currently on the League’s Tony Administration Committee.

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 theater.”

Bergman’s memo added that Schumacher “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 theater community, playing a key role in turning Broadway’s lights back on during the unprecedented pandemic shutdown. It’s a truly remarkable record.”

Following Schumacher’s departure at the end of this month, Disney Theatrical will be led by managing director Andrew Flatt and executive producer Anne Quart.

Schumacher added, “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.”

Disney’s theatrical division launched in 1994 with the Broadway adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. It has produced 10 Broadway titles including three of the 15 longest-running shows in Broadway history: The Lion King, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Still on Broadway, Aladdin and The Lion King are among Disney's 21 productions currently running around the world. Disney Theatrical's next major musical, The Greatest Showman, will have its world premiere in Bristol, England in the spring.