We are getting closer to the 2015 D23 Expo and some of the entertainment schedule has been released (*subject to change). Please continue reading for some of the D23 Expo news and notes that were released this week… Star Wars fans take note of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels vinyl albums news at the bottom of the page.

Press Release:

BROADWAY’S BEST LIGHT UP D23 EXPO WITH EXCLUSIVE CONCERTS DISNEY THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS DISNEY ON BROADWAY’S “THE ORIGINALS” FEATURING STARS FROM BROADWAY’S MARY POPPINS, TARZAN AND ALADDIN.

BURBANK, Calif. – June 4, 2015 – Following the incredibly warm and rousing reception from D23 EXPO fans in 2013, Disney Theatrical Productions is thrilled to announce a new concert presented exclusively for this year’s D23 EXPO at the Anaheim Convention Center entitled Disney on Broadway’s “THE ORIGINALS.”  In anticipation of high fan-demand, two performances of the concert will be presented on Saturday, August 15^th at 11am and at 2pm in Stage 23.

Disney on Broadway’s “THE ORIGINALS” stars Broadway’s original “Mary Poppins” (Ashley Brown), “Tarzan” (Josh Strickland) and “Genie” (James Monroe Iglehart) from Aladdin.  The “originals” will entertain and delight D23 EXPO attendees by performing favorite musical highlights from the Disney on Broadway catalogue.   Tony Award®-winner James Monroe Iglehart will also serve as host for this 70-minute, live performance that features a five-piece band of Broadway’s best musicians with special behind-the-scenes videos and interviews that promise to enthrall Disney on Broadway fans of all ages.

Ashley Brown originated the title role in Mary Poppins on Broadway for which she received Outer Critics, Drama League and Drama Desk nominations for Best Actress.  Ms. Brown also starred as Mary Poppins in the national tour of Mary Poppins where she garnered a Garland award for “Best Performance in a Musical”. Ms. Brown’s other Broadway credits include Belle in Beauty and the Beast, and she has starred in the national tour of Disney’s On The Record.  Ms. Brown recently returned to critical acclaim starring in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Oklahoma.   She previously played Magnolia opposite Nathan Gunn in Francesca Zembello’s Show Boat at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Ms. Brown has performed with virtually all of the top orchestras in North America including the Boston Pops, the New York Philharmonic, The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at Disney Hall, the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall (four times), the Cincinnati Pops and the Philadelphia Orchestra (two times). Ashley starred in The Sound of Music at the St. Louis MUNY which garnered her a Kevin Kline award and her own PBS special called “Ashley Brown: Call Me Irresponsible” which received a PBS Telly Award.  Other television credits include NBC’s The Sound of Music.  Ms. Brown’s long-awaited album of Broadway and American Songbook standards is available on Ghostlight/Sony. Ashley is a graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

Josh Strickland is a native of Charleston, South Carolina. In 2006, Strickland created the leading role of Tarzan in Disney’s Tarzan on Broadway. In 2009, he made his starring Las Vegas debut in PEEPSHOW at Planet Hollywood Casino & Resort while concurrently co-starring in the hit E! reality show Holly’s World. Strickland debuted his first single “Report to the Floor”, which skyrocketed to the top five on the iTunes Dance Charts the first week of its release, followed by “Last Dance”. Mr. Strickland is currently starring in Vegas! the Show at the Planet Hollywood Casino & Resort in Las Vegas.

James Monroe Iglehart won a 2014 Tony Award® for his performance in Aladdin. He originated the role of Bobby in the Tony-winning musical Memphis. Other NYC: The 25th Annual…Spelling Bee and The Wiz. Film/TV: “Gotham”, “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt”, “The Good Wife” and “The Electric Company” (the Silent E Soloist). James is a member of the hip-hop improv group Freestyle Love Supreme. His greatest gift is his wife, Dawn. This is an absolute blessing — a real-life wish come true!

D23 EXPO PROUDLY PRESENTS

FROZEN FANDEMONIUM: A MUSICAL CELEBRATION!

 In a Special Event Only at D23 EXPO 2015, Frozen Fans Join Academy Award®-Winning Songwriting Team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez for the Largest Frozen Sing-Along Ever

BURBANK, Calif. – June 12, 2015 – D23 EXPO 2015 attendees are in for a fun-filled musical treat when Frozen FANdemonium: A Musical Celebration! takes over the 7,500-seat Hall D23. The event, presented by D23: The Official Disney Fan Club, will take place at 3:00 pm, Sunday, August 16, at the Anaheim Convention Center.

In what will be a thrilling and fun interactive experience for Disney fans of all ages, join host Chris Montan, president, Walt Disney Music, and the Oscar^®-winning songwriting team of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez as they take you on a once-in-a-lifetime musical journey through the world of Frozen. This one-day-only performance features your friends from the Walt Disney Animation Studios film––including Anna and Elsa––with sing-along experiences of your Frozen favorites such as “Let It Go,” “In Summer” and more. Plus, fans can expect special surprises and fascinating stories behind some of your favorite Frozen songs.

KRISTEN ANDERSON-LOPEZ, along with husband and collaborator Robert Lopez, wrote the songs for Disney’s Frozen. Anderson-Lopez and Lopez won an Oscar® and a Grammy® for the movie’s signature song “Let It Go,” and share a Grammy for the Frozen soundtrack. Their song “Moving Pictures,” sung by Neil Patrick Harris, opened the 2015 Academy Awards®. Anderson-Lopez and Lopez’s original musical “Up Here,” directed by two-time Tony® nominee Alex Timbers, will be featured in the La Jolla Playhouse’s 2015-16 season.

Anderson-Lopez made her off-Broadway debut at Primary Stages with In Transit, a musical performed entirely without accompaniment, inspired by the rhythms and sounds of life on the subway. The show earned her Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Lucile Lortel nominations. Together with her husband and collaborator Robert Lopez, she wrote the Annie Award-nominated songs for the 2011 feature film Winnie the Pooh, as well as Finding Nemo: The Musical. For young audiences, she was a staff writer for Nickelodeon’s The Wonder Pets and wrote book/lyrics for several of Theatreworks/USA’s stage adaptations of children’s classics. She is the recipient of the BMI Harrington Award and the Dramatists Guild Fellowship, and a frequent guest moderator of the prestigious BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. Anderson-Lopez is a graduate of Williams College and just received the bicentennial alumni award for distinguished achievement. Also an actress, Anderson-Lopez was featured as the voice of Kanga in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh.

ROBERT LOPEZ, along with wife and collaborator Kristen Anderson-Lopez, wrote the songs for Disney’s Frozen. Lopez and Anderson-Lopez won an Oscar® and a Grammy® for the movie’s signature song “Let It Go,” and share a Grammy® for the Frozen soundtrack. Lopez is the three-time Tony® winning co-creator of the worldwide smash hit Broadway musicals Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon. Lopez and Anderson-Lopez’s original musical Up Here, directed by two-time Tony® nominee Alex Timbers, will be featured in the La Jolla Playhouse’s 2015–16 season. Their song “Moving Pictures,” sung by Neil Patrick Harris, opened the 2015 Academy Awards. Lopez shared two Emmy® Awards for his music for Nickelodeon’s The Wonder Pets and an Emmy® nomination for his work on the musical episode of Scrubs. His work has been featured on South Park, The Simpsons and Phineas and Ferb, as well as Bear in the Big Blue House, Third and Bird and Johnny and the Sprites. He has won Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, Lucile Lortel, Frederick Loewe and Edward Kleban awards. Recently, Lopez, a graduate of Yale College, became the youngest of twelve people in history who have won Emmy®, Grammy®, Oscar®, and Tony® Awards (EGOT) and the only one to have accomplished it in under a decade.

CHRIS MONTAN currently serves as president of Walt Disney Music and oversees music for a wide variety of Disney projects including all Disney and Pixar animated feature films, all Disney Theatrical stage productions, as well as the music for Walt Disney Theme Parks and Resorts worldwide. Additionally, he is executive music producer for all of the Studio’s animated features and works closely in the story process as well as helping to select musical talent. Montan joined Disney in 1984. Under his guidance the Studio has garnered an unprecedented 42 Musical Academy Award® nominations, and soundtracks from ten of the Studio’s theatrical releases have been certified multi-platinum.

DISNEY CHANNEL, DISNEY XD, AND DISNEY JUNIOR STARS IN-PERSON AT DISNEY’S D23 EXPO

Star-Studded Center Stage Musical Performances by Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Holt, Bea Miller, Dove Cameron & Sofia Carson, plusTeen Beach 2 Dance Party & more — Fans Invited to Meet the Stars of Disney’s Descendants, Teen Beach 2, Liv and Maddie, Jessie, Dog With A Blog, I Didn’t Do It, Girl Meets World, K.C. Undercover, Austin & Ally, BUNK’D, and Best Friends Whenever as well as Disney XD’s Lab Rats: Bionic Island, Mighty Med,Kirby Buckets, and Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything —

BURBANK and ANAHEIM, Calif. – June 9, 2015 – Fans can meet theirfavorite Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior stars, the biggest among a generation of kids and tweens, at D23 EXPO, the ultimate Disney fan event, FRIDAY, AUGUST 14 through SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. The schedule features “inside-the-magic” experiences including a weekend full of jam-packed Center Stage musical performances by Hollywood Records recording artists Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Holt and Radio Disney’s NBT Bea Miller; a dance party with stars from the Disney Channel Original Movie Teen Beach 2; a sneak peek at Disney Junior’s upcoming The Lion Guard; meet and greets with beloved characters from top-rated preschool series Sofia the First andDoc McStuffins; the premiere of an all-new Mickey Mouse cartoon short and more.

On FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, fans can attend a performance by Disney Channel star Olivia Holt.

On SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, Sofia the First’s Ariel Winter will be a special reader during Disney Junior story time. Plus, fans can catch performances by Girl Meets World star Sabrina Carpenter, Disney’s Descendants stars Dove Cameron and Sofia Carson, and Radio Disney’s NBT Bea Miller. Also, popular radio personalities from Radio Disney will be on site for a Radio Disney dance party. Then, fans can join creators of hit Disney XD animation series for the New Disney Storytellers panel, which will offer a glimpse into the vision and inspiration that go into a Disney XD animated series.

On SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, younger kids and their families can start off with Disney Junior story time featuring special guest reader Loretta Devine fromDoc McStuffins, and then get up and groove with Radio Disney Junior at a special dance party. Later in the day, tweens, teens, and families can catch the debut of an all-new Mickey Mouse cartoon short entitled “Wishing Well,” then boogie at a Teen Beach 2 dance party, featuring stars from the movie and its choreographer, Chris Scott.

***Schedule is subject to change.

Throughout the three-day event, Radio Disney on-air personalities will be hosting electrifying Center Stage performances and events, while casts from fans’ favorite Disney Channel and Disney XD series and movies will be making special appearances and signing autographs in the Disney | ABC TV Pavilion. They include fans’ favorite stars from Disney Channel’sDescendants, Teen Beach 2, Liv and Maddie, Jessie, Dog With A Blog, I Didn’t Do It, Girl Meets World, K.C. Undercover, Austin & Ally, BUNK’D, andBest Friends Whenever as well as Disney XD’s Lab Rats: Bionic Island,Mighty Med, Kirby Buckets, and Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything.

DISNEY CONCERTS AND D23 PRESENT DISNEY IN CONCERT: A SILLY SYMPHONY CELEBRATIONHOSTED BY LEONARD MALTIN

The Live Concert Event Is the Highlight of Disney Music Emporium’s EXPO Activities August 14–16, Which Include Music Product, Album Signings, and a Pre-Order for The Silly Symphony Collection

BURBANK, CA – June 2, 2015 – D23 EXPO 2015 will feature the world premiere of Disney in Concert: A Silly Symphony Celebration—a live concert performance featuring a 32-piece orchestra celebrating the Silly Symphony animated short films and their accompanying music, hosted by film historian Leonard Maltin. Fans will delight in watching selected Silly Symphony shorts from Disney’s archives while the music is performed live in synchronization with the picture, presented using high-quality, newly restored digital film masters. The music will be performed as it would have been recorded during those historic days at the Disney Studios on Hyperion Avenue in the 1920s and ’30s. This very special concert event will showcase the music of the Three Little Pigs, The Old Mill and many other classics. To ensure as many guests are able to see the concert as possible, two 70-minute presentations will take place on Sunday, August 16, one at11 a.m. and the second at 2 p.m. in Stage 23.

For the first time ever, Disney Music Emporium, the online destination for collectible Disney music products, is creating a pop-up store on the show floor of D23 EXPO 2015. Over the three-day Ultimate Disney Fan Event, the Emporium will feature album signings by composers and Grammy®-winning Disney music producers. Limited quantities of a wide assortment of music products, including Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels vinyl, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Master Score music sheet book, picture disc vinyl, plus lithographs and posters will also be available. Additionally, visitors to the Disney Music Emporium will be able to pre-order the long-awaited The Silly Symphony Collection box set, featuring the complete restored soundtracks from all 75 Silly Symphony shorts from 1929–1939, with over eight hours of music on 16 vinyl LPs.

• For more information on TheSilly Symphony Collection andDisney in Concert: A Silly Symphony Celebration, please visit:  http://waltdisneyrecords.com/d23expo/sillysymphonies.html

• The Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection CDs, including The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Fantasia, Pinocchio, and Disneyland,will be available in the Emporium. A limited quantity of lithographs for each title featuring the back cover artwork designed by Lorelay Bove (Visual Development Artist, Walt Disney Animation Studios) will be a gift with purchase.  For more information on the Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection, please visit:http://waltdisneyrecords.com/d23expo/legacycollection.html

• With the purchase of select music products at the Disney Music Emporium, guests will be issued a wristband to secure a space for an album signing. For a list of album signings and artist appearances at the Pavilion, please visit: http://waltdisneyrecords.com/d23expo/signings.html

About Disney Music Group and Disney Music Emporium:

Disney Music Group is home to Walt Disney Records, Hollywood Records, Disney Music Publishing, and DMG Nashville.  The labels’ genre-spanning rosters include Demi Lovato, ZZ Ward, R5, Grace Potter, Zella Day, Breaking Benjamin, Bea Miller, Sabrina Carpenter, Joywave, Olivia Holt, Jordan Fisher, Fairfax Recordings, and more.  DMG also releases family music and film and television soundtracks such as the Oscar® and Grammy-winning “Frozen” soundtrack, the Grammy-nominated soundtracks for “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the Aladdin Original Broadway Cast Recording, and “Saving Mr. Banks,” as well as upcoming soundtracks for “Teen Beach 2,” “The Descendants,” “Ant-Man,” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”  DMG also releases the Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection, a series celebrating the anniversaries of Disney’s most cherished and classic films.

Honoring the continuing legacy of the Disney music catalog, Walt Disney Records’ recently launched site, Disney Music Emporium (DME), is a destination for collectible Disney music products that also features monthly columns by guest writers, a News tab for fun Disney facts, plus videos that exclusively debut on DME including behind-the-scenes of beloved soundtracks, The Lost Chords, and more.

About D23 EXPO 2015

D23 EXPO—The Ultimate Disney Fan Event—brings together all the worlds of Disney under one roof for three packed days of presentations, pavilions, experiences, concerts, sneak peeks, shopping, and more. The event provides fans with unprecedented access to Disney films, television, games, theme parks, and celebrities. Presentations, talent, and schedule subject to change. For the latest D23 EXPO 2015 news, visitD23EXPO.com. To join the D23 EXPO conversation, make sure to follow @DisneyD23 on Twitter and use #D23Expo.

About D23

The name “D23” pays homage to the exciting journey that began in 1923 when Walt Disney opened his first studio in Hollywood. D23 is the first official club for fans in Disney’s 90-plus-year history. It gives its members a greater connection to the entire world of Disney by placing them in the middle of the magic through its quarterly publication, Disney twenty-three; a rich website at D23.com with members-only content; member-exclusive discounts; and special events for D23 Members throughout the year.

Fans can join D23 at Gold and General Membership levels at D23.com and at DisneyStore.com/D23. To keep up with all the latest D23 news and events, follow DisneyD23 on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube.