Disney on Ice turns 40. Feld’s longest running show among the first to resume touring
Feld Entertainment recently marked the 40th anniversary of Disney on Ice, making it the longest-running touring show currently in the Feld repertoire.
“When we started it, we never knew it would last this long,” Ken Feld, show creator, said recently in a virtual meeting on Zoom.
The very first show was presented in New Jersey in 1981 with Disney CEO Ron Miller and his wife, Diane Disney, in attendance, said Feld, chief executive officer of Ellenton-based Feld Entertainment.
“I could see Diane’s emotion and the tears coming down. She turned to me and said, ‘My father would have loved this,’” Feld said.
It was at that moment that Feld knew that he had been successful in capturing the Disney ethos for the touring show.
In 1985, Michael Eisner, Disney’s CEO between 1984 and 2005, told Feld that Disney on Ice should tour globally, and not just in the United States. A year later, Disney on Ice was in Japan, followed by other points in Asia, Australia, Europe and elsewhere.
“To date, Disney on Ice has played in more than 70 countries.
“Wherever we go, the emotion of the children is always the same,” Feld said. The global shows are often the only contact many in the audience will ever have with Disney, he said.
The key to success of the shows has been to update them every year, evolving from familiar Disney characters in 1981 through new Disney phenomenon, such as “Toy Story” and “Frozen.”
What’s more logical for Disney on Ice than to have a show about ice, “Frozen”? Feld said.
“Frozen has probably been seen by more people than any other Disney on Ice show,” Feld said, adding that the key to the show’s success is change.
“The films that are music driven are the strongest performers,” he said.
Linda Fratianne, four-time U.S. figure skating champion, 1977-1980, and silver medalist at the 1980 winter Olympics, was Disney on Ice’s lead skater for its first decade.
Fratianne, now 60, met Ken Feld after winning her silver medal at the Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.
“It was a dream job for me skating with Goofy, Mickey and the other characters. It was such an honor being part of it,” said Fratianne during the Zoom meeting.
“I absolutely loved being in the show. Probably, the best years of my life were being in Disney on Ice,” she said
Feld Entertainment dates to 1938, when Founder Irvin Feld opened a drugstore in Washington, D.C.
One of his store’s best-selling items was records, which led Feld to eventually open a chain of record stores. Later, Irvin Feld engineered holding concerts in large public arenas that featured entertainers like Frank Sinatra and the Beatles.
In 1956, Irvin Feld joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus as manager and booking agent, and bought the circus in 1967. Kenneth Feld joined the company in 1970 and became producer, with his father, of the Greatest Show on Earth in 1973.
Feld Entertainment consolidated its operations in Ellenton in 2013, adding programs such as Monster Jam, Sesame Street Live, Trolls the Experience, Marvel Universe LIVE and Jurassic World Live Tour.
Those new programs, along with older programs such as Disney On Ice, helped Feld Entertainment reach 30 million people in 75 countries on six continents, with as many as 5,000 shows each year.
In 2017, Feld Entertainment announced it was retiring its 146-year-old circus show, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey — The Greatest Show on Earth — citing declining ticket sales, operating costs, changing public tastes and costly fights with animal rights groups.
And then came the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when Feld was forced to shut down all of its touring shows, and let go most of its workers. Entertainment and hospitality were among the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic .
The slow recovery for Feld started in May 2020, when it announced it was resuming Monster Energy Supercross. It was Feld’s first announced show since the company laid off 1,464 people. Disney on Ice resumed touring in November.
Current Feld Entertainment shows that are touring include Disney On Ice, Monster Jam and Supercross.
Feld is planning to have all of its companies touring nationally and globally in 2022, including Disney On Ice, Supercross, Monster Jam, Sesame Street Live, Marvel and Jurassic World Live Tour, a company spokesperson said.
“Live entertainment means more to people now than ever before,” Ken Feld said recently of the return of company’s touring shows.
This story was originally published July 14, 2021 at 9:38 AM.
