May 10: A New Musical Revue

On this day in 2004, Disney’s newest musical On the Record began a workshop in New York City. (A workshop is a part of the creative process of playwriting when a playwright first hears actors run through a play.)

A jukebox musical revue designed to be performed on the road, On the Record featured classic songs from Disney live-action and animated films. Performed by just a cast of 4, the show celebrated 75 years of Disney music … with not a word of dialogue. The story features four soloists who come into a recording studio to record the classics tunes (such as A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes, Minnie's Yoo-Hoo, Colors Of The Wind, and Baby Mine).

The original cast included Broadway veterans Emily Skinner and Brian Sutherland and newcomers Andrew Samonsky and Ashley Brown. (Brown went on to play Belle in Disney’s Broadway hit Beauty and the Beast and is currently the star of Mary Poppins.)

During its nine month tour (which began in November 2004), On the Record visited 24 cities before closing in mid-2005.

Click HERE for more May 10 Disney history.