"I would like to have 100 more shows," he said. "I am a capitalist, right? Every ticket we've put out, we've sold. I think, to be honest, we were surprised at the size and the extent of the momentum. I would love to have more tickets to sell."
It's not that easy. There are some child labor issues involved in some states, but an even bigger problem is Disney's plan for its young star: A script is in the final stages for a "Hannah Montana" feature film, and spring has been circled as the optimum filming time.
"Miley would like to stay on the road forever, but it's not that simple," said Gary Marsh, Disney Channel Worldwide's president of entertainment. Marsh spoke Friday by phone from Cannes, France, where he was traveling on business but where friends and relatives are still bothering him with ticket requests. "Mine are long gone; they ran out the first day."
"Hannah Montana's" success builds on the sensation of the Disney Channel's made-for-TV movie "High School Musical," whose soundtrack was the bestselling CD in America last year and whose sequel this year was also a hit. There's also the pop group Cheetah Girls, a franchise that crosses over from television to the music charts.
Overall, the U.S. market share represented by children's music has tripled over the last 10 years, according to the Recording Industry Assn. of America. At the fore of the scene is Disney, which has a long history of shaping the careers of young music stars, among them Annette Funicello, Hayley Mills, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Hilary Duff.
With the "Montana" success, though, the model seems closer to that of "The Monkees," "The Partridge Family" and, closest of all, Ricky Nelson, the heartthrob who came into homes in the sitcom setting of "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" and connected through stories and songs.
"You only have to look back 50 years to see when it worked the first time. . . . It's so simple it's scary," Marsh said, adding that the scripts relay to fans "Hannah Montana's backstory, her friends, what boys she likes. . . . They feel like they know her. For us, it's the path to audience. Radio used to be the gatekeeper, but TV is the new radio."
"Hannah Montana" centers on an unassuming girl-next-door named Miley Stewart who seems to have a normal life in Southern California but has a secret identity as the world-famous pop star Hannah Montana, a sort of "Prince and the Pauper" story for the YouTube generation.
Cyrus' real-life dad, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, also plays her father on the show a la "Ozzie & Harriet." On her "Best of Both Worlds" tour, Cyrus will perform two sets, one as herself and the other as her TV alter ego.
In August, Miley and her dad were in Anaheim at Downtown Disney to attend a premiere of "High School Musical 2." The crowd seemed euphoric when the star showed up, and, during a quiet moment of reflection, the elder Cyrus confided that even his family has days when it feels like the whole "Hannah Montana" phenomenon is beyond its reach.
"It's been a whirlwind," he said, "but she's handling it well, and I think it's just going to get bigger and it's going to get wilder. The hard thing is being a father to her during all this, honestly."
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geoff.boucher@latimes.com
chris.lee@latimes.com
