Producer to bring Mickey to life
By JAMES D. McWILLIAMS
The State
4/15/2006
Mickey Mouse is a week from the world premiere of his magic show in Columbia, and Kenneth Feld - one of the world's most successful entertainment producers - is in town to help with final rehearsals.
Feld, 57, has produced live Disney shows for 25 years, and his family has owned the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus for nearly 40 years.
Feld said entertaining families is a vital tradition for him.
"We're a year older than (professional) baseball," Feld said of his circus, which started as P.T. Barnum's "Greatest Show on Earth" in 1870.
Even before joining that tradition, Feld's family entertained Columbia, he said.
"My father, Irvin Feld, started in promoting rock 'n' roll shows and gospel shows," said Feld, relaxing in the Township auditorium. "He promoted shows in this theater in the 1950s."
Feld couldn't remember which artists his father brought to Columbia, but some of Irvin Feld's acts included Elvis, the Beatles, the Rev. James Cleveland, and a gospel group that included Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls.
Feld's circus has a tie to Columbia, too. The late Gunther Gebel-Williams, the show's star animal trainer during the 1960s to '90s, had a daughter, Tina, who attended school in Columbia during the 1970s and '80s, while her father toured, Feld said. She married in Columbia and later moved to Florida, Feld said.
Now Feld, chairman of Virginia-based Feld Entertainment, is in Columbia to introduce a new generation to his latest production. "Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show" features a levitating Minnie Mouse and the mischievous walking broomsticks from the movie "Fantasia," Feld said.
Feld also has a licensing agreement with Disney and produces "Disney on Ice."
"Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show" will debut April 21-23 at the Township before going on a nearly yearlong, nationwide tour.
Ticket prices range from $14.50 to $30.50 each. For show times and other information, call the box office at (803) 252-6530, or visit www.ticketmaster.com.
By JAMES D. McWILLIAMS
The State
4/15/2006
Mickey Mouse is a week from the world premiere of his magic show in Columbia, and Kenneth Feld - one of the world's most successful entertainment producers - is in town to help with final rehearsals.
Feld, 57, has produced live Disney shows for 25 years, and his family has owned the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus for nearly 40 years.
Feld said entertaining families is a vital tradition for him.
"We're a year older than (professional) baseball," Feld said of his circus, which started as P.T. Barnum's "Greatest Show on Earth" in 1870.
Even before joining that tradition, Feld's family entertained Columbia, he said.
"My father, Irvin Feld, started in promoting rock 'n' roll shows and gospel shows," said Feld, relaxing in the Township auditorium. "He promoted shows in this theater in the 1950s."
Feld couldn't remember which artists his father brought to Columbia, but some of Irvin Feld's acts included Elvis, the Beatles, the Rev. James Cleveland, and a gospel group that included Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls.
Feld's circus has a tie to Columbia, too. The late Gunther Gebel-Williams, the show's star animal trainer during the 1960s to '90s, had a daughter, Tina, who attended school in Columbia during the 1970s and '80s, while her father toured, Feld said. She married in Columbia and later moved to Florida, Feld said.
Now Feld, chairman of Virginia-based Feld Entertainment, is in Columbia to introduce a new generation to his latest production. "Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show" features a levitating Minnie Mouse and the mischievous walking broomsticks from the movie "Fantasia," Feld said.
Feld also has a licensing agreement with Disney and produces "Disney on Ice."
"Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show" will debut April 21-23 at the Township before going on a nearly yearlong, nationwide tour.
Ticket prices range from $14.50 to $30.50 each. For show times and other information, call the box office at (803) 252-6530, or visit www.ticketmaster.com.