For more than three decades, Thomas Schumacher has set standards of excellence in film, television and theatre. He has overseen the development, creation and execution of The Walt Disney Company’s legitimate stage entertainment around the globe, including several versions of Beauty and the Beast, King David, The Lion King, Der Glöckner von Notre Dame, Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida, Mary Poppins, On the Record, TARZAN™, High School Musical, The Little Mermaid, Peter and the Starcatcher, Newsies, Aladdin, Freaky Friday, Shakespeare in Love, Frozen, and Hercules. 

 

With Music Theatre International, Schumacher created a program to license select Disney Theatrical titles for schools, amateur and professional theatres. This ongoing program has resulted in more than 500,000 performances around the world, reaching audiences exceeding 150 million. 

 

Schumacher’s career at Disney began at Walt Disney Feature Animation, producing the animated classic The Rescuers Down Under. He was ultimately named President of the division and oversaw 21 animated features, including Lilo & Stitch, The Emperor’s New Groove, Tarzan, Treasure Planet, Mulan, Hercules, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, The Lion King, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. He worked closely with Pixar on their first five films, beginning with the Academy Award-winning film, Toy Story.

 

Additional film projects include serving as Producer of the in-cinema Fathom Events release of Newsies, as well as Executive Producer for the live-action remakes of Lilo & Stitch, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast, he also served as Executive Producer of the Disney Channel Original Movie Freaky Friday, and Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical on Disney+. 

 

Prior to joining Disney, he was associate director of the 1987 Los Angeles Festival of Arts, presenting the US premiere of Cirque du Soleil and the English-language premiere of Peter Brook’s epic The Mahabharata. Before that, he spent five years on staff at the Mark Taper Forum, served as a line producer on the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, and was the assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Ballet.

 

Schumacher is the author (with Jeff Kurtti) of the book How Does the Show Go On? An Introduction to the Theater, released in three editions. He serves on the Broadway League’s Executive Committee and Board of Governors, as well as the Tony Administration Committee.  He is co-chair of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (The Jimmy Awards), and a member of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre. He is the former Executive Vice President of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and was a longtime trustee of the Entertainment Community Fund, now serving as a member of the Chairman’s Council. Schumacher previously served on the Board of Directors for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, as a mentor for the TDF Open Doors program, and as an adjunct professor at Columbia University. He was the Chair of The Broadway League from 2017 to 2020.

 

Mr. Schumacher has been honored with the Tony Award for producing The Lion King, the UJA Federation Excellence in Theater Award, the Los Angeles LGBT Center Board of Directors Award, and has been honored by the Hotel Association of New York for his impact on tourism in New York City.  He is a fourth generation Californian and graduate of the University of California Los Angeles. 

 

When his departure from Disney Theatrical was announced, The Wrap observed “He is truly one of the more unsung creative forces in the company’s history – a champion of art and culture in a place that was often overwhelmed by corporate initiatives and commercial concerns.” Deadline Hollywood declared, "Thomas Schumacher leaves an indelible mark on Broadway.”