By Ben Fritz
After 30 years at Walt Disney Co., Tom Schumacher has become one
of the most powerful and complicated people on Broadway as he
established his employer as a dominant force in American
theater.
He reaches a new apex this Thursday when the "Frozen" musical,
which he produced, begins playing on Broadway. The $50 million-plus
show is a critical part of Disney's plans to turn the hit animated
movie into a long-lasting cultural touchstone, in the lucrative
footsteps of "The Lion King." The show's debut comes just two
months after he was elected chairman of the Broadway League, the
industry organization that puts on the Tony Awards, confirming his
royal status on the Great White Way.
Few executives last as long as Mr. Schumacher has at a major
entertainment company, let alone reach new heights after three
decades. People who have worked with him say he is demanding and
intelligent, with a strong sense of what he wants and the ability
to work with creative talent to achieve it. Though others at Disney
thought her theater work was too avant-garde for a Disney property,
Mr. Schumacher championed Julie Taymor to direct 1997's "Lion King"
musical. It is now the highest-grossing stage show ever.
Another side of his success as a creative executive has been a
harsh demeanor and tendency to cross the boundaries of appropriate
workplace behavior, people who have worked with him said. Mr.
Schumacher has offended numerous employees over the years with
explicit language and behavior, including comments about
subordinates' sexual attractiveness, discussions about pornography
and walking through the office in a bathrobe while boasting he had
nothing on underneath, according to people who said they witnessed
the episodes.
A person close to Mr. Schumacher said he denied all the
incidents in this article, each of which was independently
described to The Wall Street Journal by at least two
eyewitnesses.
Mr. Schumacher has "at times acknowledged using inappropriate
language, expressed regret, and committed to being more mindful and
adhering to company policies going forward," the person close to
him added.
A Disney spokeswoman said that "complaints are thoroughly
investigated and appropriate action is taken" at the company.
Disney's continued faith in Mr. Schumacher demonstrates the
tensions at entertainment companies attempting to balance typical
standards of corporate behavior with the looser rules of creative
environments. Broadway in particular is a small community with its
own norms and strictures, people who work there said, and Mr.
Schumacher appears to have benefited from his role as a bridge
between it and a family-friendly media giant.
His division of around 100 people consistently makes profits of
between $100 million and $150 million, people familiar with its
finances said, and it gives the company a presence in live
entertainment that no other studio can boast, from Broadway and
London's West End to world-wide tours, ice shows and school
musicals.
Mr. Schumacher, 60, runs the business with broad autonomy. His
boss, the straitlaced Disney studios Chairman Alan Horn, and Chief
Executive Robert Iger rarely visit the theatrical offices 2,800
miles away from corporate headquarters near Los Angeles, employees
said.
Mr. Schumacher sometimes has acted like a throwback to the past
when issues raised by the #MeToo movement were decades away, people
who have worked with him said. Mr. Schumacher seemed to view his
ribald comments as comedic. One person who discussed the issue with
him said the Disney Theatrical president, who is gay, defended
himself by saying a straight executive wouldn't face the same
scrutiny.
Mr. Schumacher joined Disney in 1988, part of a wave of
executives from the theater world who took over its feature
animation business during the 1990s. Bawdy talk that was common
backstage made its way into the previously conservative offices of
Disney animation, people who worked there said. Mr. Schumacher,
however, at times crossed lines in ways that employees found
inappropriate.
Bruce Williams, who worked in the story-development department
overseen by Mr. Schumacher, said he accused his then-boss of sexual
harassment.
As the two worked closely together and socialized, Mr.
Schumacher took a sexual interest in the subordinate, Mr. Williams
recalled in an interview. At first flattered, Mr. Williams said he
became uncomfortable with what he described as "salacious and
inappropriate" remarks, including evaluations of how he looked
while climbing a ladder and "compliments on my ass."
Five former Disney employees said they were aware of Mr.
Williams's complaints about Mr. Schumacher's behavior.
Mr. Williams brought his concerns to two superiors in 1994, he
said. Soon after, he recalled, a human-resources representative
told him, "We've spoken to Tom and he apologizes," adding, "this
time I think he's heard us."
To separate the two men, Disney moved Mr. Williams "to the
gulag," he said -- a nearly empty floor in another building where
he had no work to do.
In 1995, Mr. Williams decided to leave Disney. Now 60 and
working as an usher in a Minneapolis theater, he said he has
struggled with depression, which he attributes in part to his
experience with Mr. Schumacher and subsequent treatment by Disney.
"I never felt the same about a workplace again," he said.
A Disney spokeswoman said the company had no record of a
complaint by Mr. Williams.
In the ensuing years, Mr. Schumacher's career prospered. He
worked on films such as "The Lion King" and "Pocahontas" and helped
forge Disney's relationship with Pixar Animation Studios. In 1999,
he became president of feature animation.
Around the same time, Mr. Schumacher started overseeing Disney's
nascent theatrical business, which primarily adapts animated movies
for the stage.
Among people who worked with him then, Mr. Schumacher was
divisive. "Tom is one of the smartest producers I ever worked with
and very savvy in navigating the world of Disney," said Stuart
Oaken, who worked at Disney Theatrical from 1994 through 2004.
Michelle Mindlin, who worked in animation and theatrical from
1994 through 2003, is one of several former colleagues who said Mr.
Schumacher made clear who was part of his inner circle and who was
not. "If he liked you, you were treated well, but if he didn't, he
could be very unkind," she said
In 2003, Mr. Schumacher left his job in animation after several
flops and moved to New York to oversee the theatrical division
full-time. His workplace behavior seemed to become more frequently
inappropriate, colleagues said.
Several people recalled a day in the mid-2000s when Mr.
Schumacher arrived at the office in wet clothes following a
rainstorm and changed into a bathrobe. While walking around, he
told employees he had nothing on underneath, these people said.
Mr. Schumacher made no secret in the office of his attraction to
Josh Strickland, who played the title role in Disney's 2006 stage
version of "Tarzan," said employees. He boasted that he had gone
"naked tanning" with the former "American Idol" contestant and
discussed his interest in helping to fit the star's loincloth, said
former employees who heard him.
Mr. Strickland said in a statement provided by his manager that,
while he did go to a tanning session with Mr. Schumacher to develop
the look for the Tarzan character, "at no point did I ever feel
uncomfortable" and that "any suggestion of nudity...is completely
untrue."
Mr. Schumacher made jokes about the sexual prowess of black men
after a former assistant of his, Jane Buchanan, brought her
biracial son into the office, witnesses said. Ms. Buchanan is
white.
That allegation was among a number made by Ms. Buchanan against
Mr. Schumacher soon after she was dismissed around 2006, said
people with knowledge of her case. Following a human-resources
investigation, Ms. Buchanan left with severance and a nondisclosure
agreement, these people said.
Reached for comment, Ms. Buchanan said, "Regretfully, I can not
talk about anything that happened during my time at Disney
Theatrical."
Mr. Schumacher has continued to use sexual language in the past
two or three years, according to colleagues, including discussing
his erections.
His talent and drawbacks as a leader will be put to the test as
he is front and center with "Frozen." Its four years of development
have been bumpy, including what Mr. Schumacher described as a
"painful" decision in 2016 to switch directors during
development.
The show's budget is huge by Broadway standards, and resellers
are offering tickets for more than $2,000.
The biggest chunk of Disney Theatrical's annual profits still
come from the 21-year-old "The Lion King," currently playing in six
countries, people familiar with the company's finances said. Disney
is hoping Mr. Schumacher will take "Frozen" to a similar level of
success.
--Erich Schwartzel, Jim Oberman and Ellen Byron contributed to
this article.
Write to Ben Fritz at ben.fritz@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 21, 2018 11:15 ET (16:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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