Denver Center Attractions 2007 season contains the world-premiere production of Disneys THE LITTLE MERMAID musical at The Ellie Caulkins Opera House in the summer of 2007.
This project is terribly exciting and a huge coup for Denver, said Randy Weeks, president and coo of The Denver Center for the Performing Arts. We are looking forward to taking our relationship with Disney Theatricals to a new level this season.
We are thrilled to be a part of this announcement of the 2007 Denver Center Attractions season, said Thomas Schumacher, producer and president of Disney Theatrical Prods. We have enjoyed terrific theatrical engagements in Denver through the years, and so it makes perfect sense to work on our new musical here and have Denver become a part of our process.
Based on the Academy Award-winning animated film and the classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, THE LITTLE MERMAID is the story of a young mermaid named Ariel who longs to leave her fathers underwater kingdom and be where the people are, a fathers struggle with his strong-willed daughters attempts to grow up too soon, a sea witch conspiring to settle a score and a prince looking for 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 Glen Slater. The book for the new musical is by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Doug Wright.
THE LITTLE MERMAID will come to life thanks to Menken, Slater, Wright and a team of artists, including Francesca Zambello (director), Stephen Mear (choreographer), George Tsypin (scenic design), Tatiana Noginova (costume design) and Tony Award-winner Natasha Katz (lighting design). Casting will be announced at a later date.
Denver Center Attractions (www.denvercenter.org) is the Broadway touring division of The Denver Center for the Performing Arts and is supported in part by the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
