A few weeks back I sat down with Tom Schumacher, president of Disney Theatricals, and the keeper of all information regarding the theatrical endeavors of the Mouse.

We already know that "Marry Poppins" -- the next bit Disney stage hit -- will kick off its North American tour in the fall of 2009 in Chicago. No timetable for when it will get to L.A., but get here it will.

"Tarzan," the Bob Crowley designed and directed adaptation of, well, the animated "Tarzan" was a costly Broadway flop despite Schumacher's assertions that the show is doing great guns in its Amsterdam production.

Could "Tarzan" tour, I asked Schumacher? Probably not, he said.

"Tarzan works well in a sit down production production. In Amsterdam, it's a gigantic hit," he said. "The reason it’s such a success is because it works so well in the theater. You could argue perhaps the reason it wasn’t successful in New York is, frankly the event in the theater wasn’t as thrilling as it should have been. We did something wrong because it’s not running whereas in Amsterdam it’s sold out every night in a much larger venue. Hence it will continue running there and we're doing a second company in Germany."

OK, that was a slightly longer answer to my question than I had asked, and didn't really explain WHY "Tarzan" wouldn't tour, although given the show's technical demands, I imagine it would be difficult to bus and truck the jungle from week to week, city to city.

Come to learn, then, via the always informative playbill.com that a new "revamped" version of "Tarzan" with Phil Collins' music and David Henry Hwang's book, will debut in Atlanta's Theater of the Stars one year from now before beginning a mini tour to such places as Raleigh, NC, Dallas, and the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. Lynne Taylor-Corbett will direct the new version.

The occasion of my chat with Schumacher, BTW, was the recent publication of his stage primer for kids titled "How Does the Show Go On?" I recommend the book. Very colorful, inventive, informative and with tons of pictures from, natch, Disney musicals including, natch, "Tarzan."

Which won't tour. Or maybe it will.