'Disney Live! Winnie The Pooh to play at the Beacon Theatre

Disney Live! Winnie The Pooh, is to play a special month-long holiday engagement at New York�s Beacon Theatre from the 8 - 28 Dec 2005.

"Disney Live! Winnie The Pooh offers audiences young and old an unforgettable live entertainment experience and a chance to see Winnie the Pooh like never before,� said Kenneth Feld. �When the audience walks in and sees the set before them, they will feel like they are walking right into the Hundred Acre Wood. For many children, this will be their first theatrical experience, which will set the bar for what they expect to see for the rest of their lives.�

Disney Live! Winnie The Pooh is a charming tale of friendship, starring some of the most beloved characters in children�s literature � the hunny-loving Winnie the Pooh and his friends Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo and Owl. Together, they embark on a �splendiforous� musical journey through the Hundred Acre Wood while planning a surprise birthday party for a distracted Pooh.

Narrating the tale is storyteller Tracie (played by Tracie Franklin), who guides the audience with the help of her three eager Hunny Helpers. The Hunny Helpers provide constant humor and hijinx as they change scenes, sing, interact with the audience and follow Tracie's direction throughout the story.

Drawing from the vast library of Pooh music, which includes songs from the Academy Award winning Sherman brothers, Disney Live! Winnie The Pooh incorporates new arrangements of nostalgic songs such as �Winnie the Pooh,� �Rumbly in My Tumbly,� �The Whoop-De-Dooper Bounce� and other children�s favorites. Audiences can expect to share in the charm of Winnie the Pooh and sing along whether they know the songs from childhood or are hearing them for the first time.

Inspired directly by Disney�s cherished animated films and the classic Pooh tales, Disney Live! Winnie The Pooh is an interactive, three-dimensional, state-of the-art theatrical production.

The result of a collaboration between Kenneth Feld and The Walt Disney Company, Disney Live! Winnie The Pooh, features an acclaimed Broadway-caliber creative team overseen by Feld Entertainment Creative Director Jerry Bilik:

• Director B T McNicholl (National tours of Cabaret, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and The Civil War)
• Music Director David Loud (Ragtime, A Class Act and Steel Pier)
• Choreographer Christopher Gattelli (Altar Boyz, Bat Boy: The Musical, Actors� Fund of America concert version of Chess)
• Set and Production Designer Anna Louizos (Avenue Q, Golda�s Balcony, Steel Magnolias, HBO�s �Sex and the City�)
• Costume Designer Gregg Barnes (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Tony nominated for Flower Drum Song, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular);
• Lighting Designer Patrick Dierson (MTV�s �Fashionably Loud,� world tour for Latin pop sensation Shakira).

Following an international tour in the United Kingdom, Spain, The Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand (premiered June 2004), Disney Live! Winnie The Pooh launched a 26-city North American tour on July 29, 2005 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The show will visit such showcase venues as the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles and the Rosemont Theatre near Chicago, IL. Future tour stops are planned for Japan in 2006.