The Little Mermaid: A New Musical

[Drtooth]

I think DrTooth was thinking of Howard Ashman, who died of AIDS in 1991... he and Menken collaborated on a number of projects

D'OH! That's right. My mistake.

Y'see I'm not really into musicals... but I LOVED Little Shop of Horrors. Anything based on a corny B flick from the 50's.

I just find it interresting that Disney has to take all it's bigger hits and reinforce them as Musicals so people can forget about Treasure Planet and Home on the Range.

 

[jacobsnchz]

Here are some easy-access links to the complete lyrics for the Broadway show:

1. Daughters Of Triton
2. Human Stuff
3. Wasting Away
4. Part of Your World (reprise)
5. Under the Sea
6. That World Above
7. Sweet Child
8. Her Voice
9. Poor Unfortunate Souls
10. Posituvity
11. Beyond My Wildest Dreams
12. Les Poissons
13. If Only
14. If Only (reprise)
15. Poor Unfortunate Souls (reprise)
16. Kiss the Girl
17. All Good Things Must End
18. Finale

 

[Fragglemuppet]

Oh wow, this is very exciting! TLM is also one of my alltime favorites! The only Disney brodway show I've seen is the Lion King, and it was absolutely amazing! This was the first time I'd heard of this new show, and I was going to ask you if you had something more official, but Bryan gave me the answer. Thanks!

 

[jacobsnchz]

You can also download the songs that I listed in MP3 format from the LITTLE MERMAID MUSICAL DEMO RECORDING. Kerry Butler (Original PENNY in "Hairspray" on B'Way) plays Ariel.

 

[jacobsnchz]

Here is a video ["Part of your World" (reprise)] on YouTube with a clip from the movie THE LITTLE MERMAID dubbed with Kerry's voice for Ariel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCINve80Hng
They are also casting roles. For more info, see:
www.littlemermaidbroadway.blogspot.com

 

[jacobsnchz]

'Beauty' out, 'Mermaid' in! ("Little Mermaid" to play at Lunt-Fontanne)

THE LITTLE MERMAID is based on the Academy Award®-winning film and the classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. In a magical kingdom beneath the sea, a beautiful young mermaid named Ariel longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. But first, she’ll have to defy her father, the king of the sea, escape the clutches of an evil sea witch and convince a prince that she’s the girl with the perfect voice. With a score composed by eight-time Academy Award-winner Alan Menken and his late partner Howard Ashman, THE LITTLE MERMAID will feature the classic songs “Part of Your World,” “Kiss the Girl” and the Academy Award®-winning Best Original Song, “Under the Sea,” as well as nine new songs by Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater. The book for the new musical is by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®-winning playwright Doug Wright.
Disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID visionary team of artists include Francesca Zambello (director), Stephen Mear (choreographer), George Tsypin (scenic design), Tatiana Noginova (costume design) and Tony Award®-winner Natasha Katz (lighting design).
THE LITTLE MERMAID will receive its pre-Broadway engagement at the Denver Center Attractions at Ellie Caulkins Opera House beginning July 26, 2007.
The production will then begin previews on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street) on November 3, 2007 and open officially on December 6, 2007.
The Lunt-Fontanne is currently home to Menken’s long-running Broadway hit Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST which will end its historic run on Sunday, July 29, 2007.

After enchanting audiences for more than 13 years, Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, the inaugural Broadway musical from Disney Theatrical Productions, will take its final bow at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street) on Sunday, July 29th. The Broadway production will have played 46 previews and 5,464 regular performances.
Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is Broadway’s longest running American musical and the 6th longest running show of all time. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has logged in more performances than shows like Miss Saigon; 42nd Street; Fiddler on the Roof; Hello, Dolly! and many others. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is the longest running production at both the Palace Theatre and the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
“For many theatergoers, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has been their first introduction to the magic of Broadway musicals,” producer Thomas Schumacher said. “That’s a wonderful legacy for all of us at Disney Theatrical Productions, and we’re so proud of the show’s record-breaking run on Broadway, throughout the country and around the world. Though the Broadway production is coming to a close, through our relationship with Music Theatre International (MTI), BEAUTY AND THE BEAST will continue to live on in regional and high school productions around the world.”
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, directed by Robert Jess Roth, features Alan Menken’s Academy Award-winning score, songs by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman (including the Academy Award®-winning title song and the show-stopping “Be Our Guest”), plus songs written especially for the stage by Alan Menken and Tim Rice (including “If I Can’t Love Her” and “A Change In Me”). The production also features a book by Linda Woolverton, author of the original screenplay and choreography by Matt West. Sets are by Stanley A. Meyer, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward (Tony® Award winner for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) and lighting by Natasha Katz (Tony® Award winner for Elton John and Tim Rice’s AIDA).
“BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has meant so much to me, both in remembering the joy of creating the animated film and seeing how audiences have embraced it on Broadway for all of these years,” said composer Alan Menken. “I have had the pleasure of watching so many diverse and talented performers sing these roles in the past 13 years. While it saddens me to say goodbye to BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, I am excited to watch THE LITTLE MERMAID take shape as a Broadway musical, and to be a part of its exciting journey to the stage.”
“The worldwide success of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is truly a testament to the creative team,” Schumacher said. “They conceived a production that has clearly resonated with audiences throughout the world as more than 34 million people have seen BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and the show has grossed more than $1.4 billion.”
Around the world, the Broadway production of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has played in a total of 13 countries and 115 cities, including record-breaking box office runs in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was the first Broadway musical to perform in Beijing, China in 1999 in the Chinese language. The show has been translated into six languages including Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, German, Portuguese and Korean.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST’s two North American National Tours combined played 137 engagements over 370 playing weeks in 90 cities in 36 states, Washington DC and throughout Canada from November 1995 through August 2003. The tours played a total of 2,893 performances to more than 5.7 million audience members. The tours grossed more than $271 million and traveled 83,848 miles – that’s enough to circle the globe more than three times!
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST officially opened on Broadway on April 18, 1994 and played at the Palace Theatre for the first five years of its run. The production transferred to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 11, 1999.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST received nine Tony® Award nominations, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Director (Robert Jess Roth), Best Book of a Musical (Linda Woolverton), Best Actor (Terrance Mann), Best Actress (Susan Egan), Best Supporting Actor (Gary Beach), Best Costumes (Ann Hould Ward), and Best Lighting (Natasha Katz) with costume designer Ann Hould-Ward winning the Tony® for Best Costume Design.
Since that time, more than 250 actors have performed on Broadway in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. The show boasts a star-studded list of alumni performers including Toni Braxton (Belle), Ashley Brown (Belle), Deborah Gibson (Belle), Andrea McArdle (Belle), Donny Osmond (Gaston), Christy Carlson Romano (Belle), Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Belle), John Tartaglia (Lumiere), Meshach Taylor (Lumiere) and Jacob Young (Lumiere).
In late 2004, Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was released as a licensed stage show by Disney Theatrical Productions and licensee Music Theatre International (MTI). Since then, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has been performed by nearly 1,800 school, community and professional theatre groups as well as international theatre groups everywhere from Finland to the Phillipines. It premiered as, and continues to be, one of MTI’s most popular musical titles and was the number one title in 2006.
Today, the cast includes Deborah Lew as Belle, Steve Blanchard as the Beast, Stephen Buntrock as Gaston, John Tartaglia as Lumiere, Jeanne Lehman as Mrs. Potts, Jonathan Freeman as Cogsworth, Jamie Ross as Maurice, Meredith Inglesby as Babette, Mary Stout as Madame de la Grande Bouche, Aldrin Gonzalez as Lefou, and Trevor Braun and Marlon Sherman alternating in the role of Chip.
There are three easy ways to get tickets to Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST on
Broadway – Online at www.disneyonbroadway.com, via Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4747 or www.ticketmaster.com, and in person at the Lunt-Fontanne box office (205 West 46th Street). Get your tickets before the final bow!

 

[jacobsnchz]

Alan Menken Interview

Below is a transcript for the 3 minute interview. I have typed the transcript out (as accuratley as possible) for you also below:

"The new music, as I said, it's seamless. The score starts with a familiar moment in Fathoms Below, and but already entwined into Fathoms Below is a scene that becomes the next song called That World Above sung by Eric and then sung by Ariel later. Then you go to a familiar moment with Daughters of Triton and then you go to a new moment with scuttle. In every case I've tried to draw on the tone of the underscore for the movie, the tone of the characters for the movie, the moments of the movie to be as close as possible to what it would have been had we musicalised directly in the movie... and thats what i do with 'Beauty and the Beast' as well.

So, thats why i think it isn't to jarring, i hope it isn't to jarring for people. And i don't think it will be. And we have a number of songs that are showstoppers and new showstoppers that i think will make people very comfortable very early on with the new parts of the score."

There is a song for ursula called I want the Good Times Back . Thats her first number and its a real tour de force and she reminises about the good times when she had the power to completely dominate and ruin peoples lives. And its funny and Sherie Rene Scott from what i've seen in the earliest rehersesals is going to bring the house down with it.

We have a new songs, and these are all moments that if you know the film they are very familiar. You know the moment when you go back to the castle and one of the daughters says "Ariel's in Love". Well she's in love in a big production number thats sung by the sisters and flounder and all the merpeople. It demands a song and it's a big production number.

There is a song for Prince Eric called Her Voice and you know all those moments where he stands by the shore and moans about this girl that he's met. Well now he has a musical expression for that.

New song for Scuttle, two new songs for scuttle, one thats called Human Stuff, where he is expanding obviously in this completely fractured way about all his knowledge of human stuff, thingamabobs and then to start act two is a new song called Positoovity where he is basically giving Ariel a pep talk to help walk. There is over 12 new song moments"

 

[jacobsnchz]

Previews began tonight in Denver.

 

[Drtooth]

I wonder if this will flop as bad as Tarzan did... then again, Phil Collins wrote that music... so you can see where I'm getting at.

 

[jacobsnchz]

TLM has been getting some good public reviews.