Live Productions of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL Fill Stages and Arenas Around the World

Live Productions of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL Fill Stages and Arenas Around the World

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE ICE TOUR and HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL STAGE TOUR SELL OUT PERFORMANCES AROUND THE GLOBE

RECORD-BREAKING SALES CREATE DEMAND FOR ADDITIONAL LONDON STAGE PRODUCTION IN SUMMER 2008 AND RETURN ENGAGEMENT OF ICE TOUR IN 2009

LICENSING RIGHTS TO HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2 TO BE AVAILABLE TO SCHOOLS AND AMATEUR GROUPS WORLDWIDE STARTING OCTOBER 2008

NEW YORK, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- While HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2 on DVD continues to fly off shelves and HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 gets ready to roll for the cameras, Disney Theatrical Group has audiences flocking to live stage and ice productions around the world in record numbers.

In addition to the previously announced UK stage tour that kicks off this month, Disney Theatrical Group has announced that Stage Entertainment will mount a separate production in London's Hammersmith Apollo Theatre for a limited summer season commencing June 30th, 2008. With an entirely new cast and a production designed specifically for the venue, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL is set to be one of the city's hottest tickets for families this summer. Tickets go on sale today.

http://www.highschoolmusicalonstage.co.uk/

Stage Entertainment's previously-announced UK stage tour kicks off in Bromley this month which is the first stop on a 31-date tour that is expected to be seen by over 600,000 people through the end of 2008. The tour currently has an advance of over 9 million pounds Sterling, (approximately 18 million US dollars) making it one of the biggest advances in UK touring history. Many tour dates have now sold out, with the first 10 cities having sold an average of 90% of tickets to date. Two major international tours begin their runs in March with Italy kicking off on March 16 and Spain on March 20. A Dutch production opens in November 2008. Additional licensed productions are planned in Denmark, Mexico, Argentina, Switzerland, Germany, Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL ON TOUR!, which officially opened in Chicago on August 1, 2007 and has captivated U.S. audiences and critics in cities including Boston, Toronto and Los Angeles, has just announced more domestic dates for 2008. The stage show, which follows the storyline of the original film, has added 25 additional markets, including Washington, Baltimore, San Francisco and Dallas, and comes full circle by making a return engagement to Atlanta in August of 2008, home of the original production. By the end of 2008, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL ON TOUR!, produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, will have played 42 cities in over 60 weeks. http://disney.go.com/theatre/highschoolmusical/

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE ICE TOUR, which incorporates both the story and music from HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL and HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2, continues to do sell-out business in both the US and abroad, reaching over 1.8 million guests around the globe since its premiere on August 31st. After worldwide premieres in New York and Los Angeles, the ice tour was greeted by massive audiences across North America from Toronto to Cleveland to Baltimore to Philadelphia to San Diego and Miami. Based upon this amazing success, the US tour will be extended through May of 2009. Chicago, Dallas, Houston and New Orleans are just a few of the upcoming cities currently on tap.

On the international front, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE ICE TOUR has broken records throughout the UK, far exceeding previous attendance for other Disney on Ice shows in the region. As a result of this unprecedented performance, the show will return to the UK next year and play repeat engagements in many of the same cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Glasgow and Newcastle. Additional cities such as Nottingham and Liverpool will be added into the mix, as well. In other territories, the show has completed successful engagements in Italy, Spain and Mexico. Sales continue to be robust -- and on target for record-breaking attendance -- in Belfast, Dublin and Millstreet. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE ICE TOUR is being produced by Feld Entertainment and Kenny Ortega and mounted in cooperation with Thomas Schumacher and his team at the Disney Theatrical Group. http://disney.go.com/disneylive/highschoolmusical/

With over 10,000 performances of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL having now been performed in schools and amateur theatres around the world, Disney Theatrical Group, in partnership with Music Theatre International, is pleased to announce that the performance rights to HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2 will be made available for performances starting in October of 2008. The success of the HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL title is unparalleled having been licensed more than 2,500 times alone in the United States and an additional 500 times in more than 15 countries internationally, reaching an audience of more than 3 million people. Beginning immediately, Music Theatre International (MTI), the world's leading musical licensing agency -- and the exclusive licensor of The Disney Collection -- will begin taking requests for licenses for both a full-length two-act version and a 70-minute one-act version of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2 for performances after October 2008. http://www.mtishows.com/hsm2

"We are overwhelmed by the success of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL in all its live incarnations," said Thomas Schumacher, President of Disney Theatrical Group. "The material is incredibly strong and lends itself perfectly to the live experience. Seeing these characters portrayed live allows our audiences to bond with the story in a completely new way. More importantly, this show has been responsible for introducing millions of children to the joys of theatre and live performance. Whether they are participating in a school production or going to a professional theatre for the very first time, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL has been the gateway into an entirely new world."

DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP (DTG) operates under the direction of Thomas Schumacher and is among the world's most successful commercial theatre enterprises. DTG produces or licenses live entertainment events that reach a global annual audience of more than 20 million people in more than 40 countries. DTG produces and licenses Broadway musicals around the world, including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida, TARZAN(R) and Mary Poppins, a co-production by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh. In 2007 Disney Theatricals launched the professional touring stage version of Disney's HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, which is scheduled to reach 42 cities through 2008. Also in 2007, led by director Francesca Zambello, some of the theatre's most innovative artists gathered to create The Little Mermaid, with a score by eight-time Academy Award(R) winner Alan Menken and the legendary Howard Ashman, with new lyrics by Glenn Slater. After a successful pre-Broadway try-out in Denver, The Little Mermaid opened on Broadway in January 2008. DTG also delivers live entertainment around the world through its license to Feld Entertainment, producer of Disney on Ice and Disney Live!, including High School Musical: the Ice Tour and Playhouse Disney Live! both of which launched in 2007. In addition, DTG licenses musical titles for local school and community theatre productions through Music Theatre International.

DISNEY'S "HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL" premiered on Disney Channel U.S. on January 20, 2006, and posted the highest ratings for a Disney Channel Original Movie up until that time. It went on to become a smash hit internationally, airing on 27 Disney Channels and free-to-air broadcasters worldwide, thus far reaching over 250 million viewers in over 100 countries including China. It was also the first TV movie to be offered on the iTunes Music Store. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL delivered the #1 album of 2006, the year's #1 TV movie on DVD, licensed amateur and professional touring stage productions, a best-selling junior novel, a popular consumer products franchise at mass retailers, a themed show at Disneyland Parks and Resorts in Anaheim, Orlando and Paris, a sold-out 42 date arena concert tour in North America and Latin America and a popular touring ice show around the world. Adding to its success, it won two Emmy Awards, a DGA Award, Television Critics Association Award, an Imagen Award, a Director's Guild of America Award and a Humanitas Prize nomination among other honors. Its soundtrack received a Billboard Music Award (Soundtrack of the Year) and was nominated for an American Music Award in the Favorite Album (Pop/Rock) category. Its critically acclaimed sequel, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2, ranks as the #1 basic cable telecast of all time (18.6 million viewers for its August 17, 2007 premiere) and has thus far been seen by 179 million total viewers around the world. Its soundtrack is quadruple Platinum in the U.S., triple Platinum in the UK and many more countries. It recently won an American Music Award. Walt Disney Studios will begin production on a feature film based on the movie; Kenny Ortega will direct and choreograph and the cast will reunite for the film, scheduled for a 2008 release in theatres around the world.

MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL is the world's leading dramatic licensing agency, specializing in Broadway, Off-Broadway and West End musicals. Founded in 1952 by composer/lyricist Frank Loesser, MTI has been responsible for supplying scripts and musical materials to theatres worldwide and for protecting the rights and legacy of the authors whom it represents. Apart from the Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, MTI emphasizes its youth musicals that began in regional theatre and have since become worthy additions to the musical theatre canon. MTI licensed musicals have been performed by 45,000 amateur and professional theatrical organizations throughout the US alone, and regularly in over 60 countries around the world. Whether it's in a high school in Kansas, or performed by an all-female troupe in Japan, or the first production of WEST SIDE STORY ever staged in Estonia or in the Mandarin dialect in China, productions of MTI musicals involve over 10 million people each year.

The relationship between Disney Theatrical Productions and STAGE ENTERTAINMENT began with their first international production of Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida in 2001. Since then, the companies have mounted six Disney musicals that have played to an audience of over 10 million people in Germany and Holland alone. Disney/Stage Entertainment shows have grossed over $400 million in ticket sales. In addition to HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, Stage Entertainment currently has four other Disney productions in their theatres, including The Lion King in its fifth year in Germany, Beauty and the Beast on tour in Germany and Holland, Aida on tour in Germany and TARZAN(R) in Holland with a German production scheduled for 2008.

FELD ENTERTAINMENT, INC. is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting live family entertainment that lifts the human spirit and creates indelible memories, with 25 million people in attendance at its shows each year. Feld Entertainment's productions have appeared in 50 countries and on six continents to date and include Disney On Ice, Disney Live!, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey(R) and Doodlebops Live!

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Source: Disney Theatrical Group

CONTACT: Joe Quenqua, Vice President, Worldwide Publicity &
Communications of Disney Theatrical Group, +1-212-827-5428,
Joe.Quenqua@Disney.com

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