Disney.com.au
For more than 30 years, Disney Theatrical Group has been bringing premium entertainment experiences and magical stories to audiences all around Australia. As we celebrate this milestone, take a look back at the productions that have wowed Aussie audiences and established Disney Theatrical Group as a leader of the Australia musical theatre industry.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST | 1995 | Melbourne, Sydney
Following the success of the company’s inaugural Broadway production, Beauty and the Beast in 1994, the original Australian production opened in Melbourne at the Princess Theatre in 1995 starring Rachael Beck in the role of Belle, Michael Cormick as Beast, a young Hugh Jackman as Gaston, and the late Bert Newton as Cogsworth. The production played for over two years across Melbourne and Sydney and won the 1996 ARIA Award for Best Australian Soundtrack/Cast/Show Release.
THE LION KING | 2003 | Sydney, Melbourne
In November 1997 Disney made theatrical history with the Broadway opening of THE LION KING, which received six 1998 Tony Awards® including Best Musical and Best Director for Julie Taymor, who became the first woman in Broadway history to win the award. An Australian production followed in 2003, smashing local records and winning rave reviews, with Channel 7 calling it “The King of All Musicals”.
MARY POPPINS | 2010 | Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth
Following incredible seasons on London’s West End and Broadway, 2010 saw the next beloved Disney classic, Mary Poppins, fly onto Australian stages. The Olivier award-winning production which was adapted from the beloved stories by PL Travers and the original film, was co-produced with Cameron Mackintosh and went on to win a record-breaking eight Helpmann Awards (Australia’s equivalent of the Tony Awards®). The Australian production of MARY POPPINS opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne in July 2010 and played to 100% capacity at each of its 299 performances there.
THE LION KING | 2013 | Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth
The world’s #1 musical, THE LION KING, returned to Australia December 2013 for a record breaking national tour playing to 100% of capacity for 870 performances across Sydney, Brisbane Melbourne, and Perth, welcoming 1.74 million audience members. It was on this tour that Disney Theatrical Group introduced a series of Relaxed Performances, a program which adjusted the production to accommodate the needs of all audiences, including those living with Autisms and their families.
ALADDIN | 2016 | Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth
The Broadway hits kept flying into Australia when in 2016, the musical adaptation the Disney 1992 classic Aladdin brought the fictional city of Agrabah to life on stages around the country. The Australian production boasted a cast of 34 and a staggering 337 glittering costumes, which featured 1,225 different fabrics, 712 different styles of beads and almost 500,000 Swarovski crystals used in the costumes alone. Australia’s own Ainsley Melham played the title role and continues his star turn in the Broadway production to this day.
FROZEN | 2020 | Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth
In 2020, against the backdrop of Covid, the 2018 Tony-nominated Best Musical Frozen invited audiences to ‘Let It Go’ and step into theatres once again. The production was the first major touring production to mark the opening of theatres in Australia, a glittering snowflake of hope for an industry rocked by the impacts of lockdowns. Frozen the musical expands upon and deepens its indelible plot and themes through new songs and story material from the film’s creators; in fact, the stage production featured more than twice as much music as the film. Frozen opened on Broadway on March 22, 2018 and set and broke four St. James Theatre house records. The Australian production starred Jemma Rix as Elsa, Courtney Monsma as Anna and Matt Lee as the lovable snowman Olaf.
2022 | MARY POPPINS | Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth
Disney nostalgia came back to the Aussie stage with a return season of Mary Poppins, co-produced with Michael Cassel Group and Cameron Mackintosh in 2022. The production took advantage of advances in theatre technology to deliver even more magic to the story of the Banks family and everyone’s favourite magical Nanny.
2023 | BEAUTY AND THE BEAST | Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth Almost three decades since its Australian premiere, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast returned for its highly anticipated national tour, visiting cities that had not experienced the enchanting and timeless tale of Belle and her Beast in 1995. The reimagined production boasted all the spectacle and grandeur audiences knew and love, with spectacular new sets, costume designs and state-of-the-art technology. Over 1.3 million Australians were welcomed to Be Our Guest with the Australian company touring to Singapore from December 2025.
2026 | THE LION KING | Sydney
In 2026, Australian audiences will be able to experience once more the jewel in the Disney Theatrical Group crown when THE LION KING makes its triumphant return to Sydney. Opening at the Capitol Theatre from April 2026, this season marks ten years since this iconic musical was last on stage here in Australia.
Tickets are now on sale via thelionkingmusical.com.au.
ABOUT DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP
Disney Theatrical continues to develop new productions and experiences around the world. The company recently premiered Hercules in London’s West End and the premiere of the stage musical The Greatest Showman in Bristol, England in Spring 2026. In addition to theatrical stage productions, Disney Theatrical Group licenses and manages Location-Based Entertainment (LBE) experiences for The Walt Disney Company, including Disney On Ice, Mundo Pixar, Disney Junior Live On Tour (coming to Australia January 2026), and The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail, expanding the magic of Disney storytelling into immersive environments worldwide. With dozens of stage productions and live ticketed events currently being produced or licensed, a Disney live experience is taking place somewhere around the globe virtually every hour of the day. We look forward to welcoming more Australian audiences to experience the magic of Disney live on stage in a city near you soon.
