The musical, which had originally scheduled a Dec. 6 opening, will now officially open for the critics Jan. 10, 2008, at 8 PM.
In a statement Thomas Schumacher, the producer of Mermaid and president of Disney Theatrical Productions, said, "This was an unprecedented experience for all of us, and we are excited to be going back into the theatre. We are eager to start performing again for our audiences, many of whom have been looking forward to seeing this show for a long time.
"The preview and rehearsal process is important to a new musical and despite missing nearly three weeks of performances, I give an enormous amount of credit to our brilliant cast, crew, musicians and entire creative team for keeping the momentum and picking up right where we left off. This is the joy of working with amazingly talented and driven people who want nothing more than to get back to work."
Sierra Boggess heads the cast in the title role of Ariel, who longs "to be where the people are" (as the lyric goes), above the water's surface. She's joined by Sean Palmer as Prince Eric, Norm Lewis as King Triton, Tituss Burgess as Sebastian, Eddie Korbich as Scuttle, Jonathan Freeman as Grimsby, Derrick Baskin as Jetsam, Tyler Maynard as Flotsam, Cody Hanford and J.J. Singleton as Flounder and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Aida veteran Sherie René Scott as the evil sea witch, Ursula.
The remainder of the cast comprises Adrian Bailey, Cathryn Basile, Heidi Blickenstaff (Carlotta), James Brown III, Robert Creighton, Cicily Daniels, John Treacy Egan (Louis), Tim Federle, Merwin Foard, Bahiyah Sayyed Gaines, Ben Hartley, Meredith Inglesby, Michelle Lookadoo, Joanne Manning, Alan Mingo Jr., Zakiya Young Mizen, Betsy Morgan, Arbender J. Robinson, Bret Shuford, Jason Snow, Chelsea Morgan Stock, Kay Trinidad, Price Waldman and Daniel J. Watts. "In a magical kingdom beneath the sea," according to Mermaid production notes, "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." The musical is based on both the Disney animated film (written and directed by John Musker & Ron Clements) and the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale.
The Little Mermaid features songs penned by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman for the Disney film ("Part of Your World," "Under the Sea," "Kiss the Girl," among others) as well as 11 new tunes by Menken and Glenn Slater. Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife, Grey Gardens) wrote the book.
Song titles include "Fathoms Below," "Daughters of Triton," "The World Above," "Human Stuff," "I Want the Good Times Back," "Part of Your World," "Storms at Sea," "She's in Love," "Her Voice," "Under the Sea," "Sweet Child," "Poor Unfortunate Souls," "Positoovity," "Beyond My Wildest Dreams," "Les Poissons," "One Step Closer," "Kiss the Girl," "If Only," "The Contest" and "Finale Ultimo."
The creative team also includes Stephen Mear (choreography), George Tsypin (scenic design), Tatiana Noginova (costume design), Natasha Katz (lighting design), John Shivers (sound design), Angelina Avallone (makeup design), Sven Ortel (projection and video design) and David Brian Brown (hair design). Associate producer is Todd Lacey. Fight director is Rick Sordelet. Technical director is David Benken. Production supervisor is Clifford Schwartz.
Dance arrangements are by David Chase, music coordinator is Michael Keller, orchestrations are by Danny Troob. Music direction, incidental music and vocal arrangements are by Michael Kosarin.
Sierra Boggess portrayed Christine Daae in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom — The Las Vegas Spectacular. She was seen in the national tour of Les Misérables as well as in regional productions of West Side Story, The Boyfriend and Pirates of Penzance. Boggess also created the role of Binky in productions of Princesses at Goodspeed and Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre.
Disney Theatrical Productions is under the direction of Thomas Schumacher.
Tickets, priced $41.50-$111.50, are available by calling (212) 307-4747 or by visiting the Lunt-Fontanne box office at 205 West 46th Street.
For more information visit Walt Disney Theatricals at www.disneyonbroadway.com.
