Disney to Develop Musical of Jules Feiffer’s The Man in the Ceiling

Disney Theatrical Productions is developing a new musical based on Jules Feiffer’s 1993 book The Man in the Ceiling. The show will have a book by Feiffer and a score by Andrew Lippa. No timetable has been announced.

Feiffer’s book tells the tale of Jimmy Jibbet, a boy-cartoonist who dreams of becoming a successful artist despite the expectations of everyone around him. Feiffer is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his cartoons, which ran in The Village Voice for over 40 years; and numerous awards for his children’s books, which include A Room with a Zoo and The House Across the Street. His previous plays include Grown-Ups, Little Murders, Elliot Loves, and Knock Knock.

Lippa wrote the book and score for the Manhattan Theatre Club’s musical The Wild Party, which won the Outer Critics Circle Award and was nominated for 13 Drama Desk Awards. His other credits include john & jen, A Little Princess, and three songs for the 1999 Broadway revival of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. His musical Jerry Christmas will get a workshop production at New York Stage & Film later this month and his musical Asphalt Beach will get a production at Northwestern University this fall.