Julie Andrews Will Direct Mousical Musical for Goodspeed

By Kenneth Jones
18 Apr 2011

Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Photo by Aubrey Reuben

Julie Andrews and Emma Walton's "The Great American Mousical," the 2006 children's book about a community of theatrical mice living beneath Broadway, is being developed as a musical for Goodspeed Musicals' Norma Terris Theatre in Connecticut.

Andrews would direct the production in a future season at the Terris, the Chester, CT, venue for new and developing works. A writing team for the musical will be announced. No production timeline has been announced.

In "The Great American Mousical," a troupe of theatrical mice live and perform in a miniature world under Times Square. Theatrical terms like "ingenue" and "diva" and "musical director" are peppered throughout the book. Mice character names are borrowed from iconic Broadway shows (there's a "Mrs. Anna," a "Sky," a "Rose," a "Wendy"). Tony Award winner Tony Walton (Andrews' former husband) illustrated the book.

Andrews directed the 2003 Goodspeed Musicals revival of The Boyfriend, which is the show that made her a star back in the 1950s.

Julie Andrews — who was born in Surrey, England — starred on Broadway in the original productions of The Boyfriend, My Fair Lady and Camelot, the stage version of Victor/Victoria, and in the Off-Broadway Stephen Sondheim revue, Putting It Together. She won an Academy Award for her work in "Mary Poppins" and Oscar nominations for "The Sound of Music" and "Victor/Victoria."