The Birmingham Hippodrome stage has played host to some of Disney’s biggest theatrical blockbusters, here we take a look at their visits to Birmingham and how you and your family can enjoy the magic at home…

Beauty and the Beast

Playing on Broadway for over 5,000 performances plus a successful run in London’s West End, the spectacular original production came to Birmingham in June 2002, running for over two months.

You can watch a special backstage documentary about the creation of the production below…

Another way you can enjoy this tale as old as old as time at home is, of course, with the original 1991 animated classic or even the recent live action remake starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens. Both titles can be streamed on the recently launched Disney+.

High School Musical

The original Disney Channel movie became an overnight smash hit with the stage adaptation arriving at Birmingham Hippodrome for a sold-out run in May 2008.

For those who have never experienced the phenomenon, now’s the time! There’s three chapters to get your head in the game; High School Musical, High School Musical 2 and…you guessed it… High School Musical 3. All three chapters can be found on Disney+ plus the streaming service have just launched a brand new follow-up series titled High School Musical: The Musical: The Series – catchy!

Mary Poppins

The world’s favourite nanny first flew into Birmingham Hippodrome from July – September 2008, returning in March and April 2016. The blockbuster production even featured a flying sequence which saw Mary Poppins glide from the stage above the audience and out through the roof of the theatre!

Immerse yourself in the world of Poppins with the original novels by P.L.Travers which are available for Kindle and in Paperback on Amazon. Then, of course, there’s the much-loved 1964 classic movie starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke and the 2018 follow-up, Mary Poppins Returns – both can be found on Disney+.

Disney Theatrical have also released a range of family education and activity packs based around the Mary Poppins stage show, click here to find out more. Finally, if you’re a talented, or even novice, musician you can purchase the musical’s piano and vocal arrangements here.

The Lion King

Now Broadway’s third longest running musical after opening in 1997 and playing in London’s West End since 1999, The Lion King finally roared into the Hippodrome for three months of completely sold out performances in 2013. Rumour has it that the doors into the stalls had to be widened an inch or two to make room for the entrance of an elephant!

You can watch the jaw-dropping opening scene in brilliant 360 in the video below…

Again, Disney Theatrical have released a wide range of family activities and education packs based on the hit musical, including costume and mask making, which you can download for free here. There’s also the 1994 animated movie which started it all plus the 2019 ‘live action’ remake to bring the African savanna into your living room, both movies are also on Disney+.

Last of all, did you know that the story of The Lion King is inspired by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet? Shakespeare’s Globe are currently streaming their 2018 production of the epic tragedy on YouTube for free until 19 Apr, click here to tune in.