Producer and president of Disney Theatrical Productions Thomas Schumacher and Shiki Theatre Company announced they will continue their ongoing producing partnership with Mermaid, which will open in Tokyo April 7, 2013, at Shiki’s Natsu Theatre.
The production utilizes a new version of the show. The family-friendly musical is helmed by a creative team that includes director Glenn Casale (Beauty and the Beast) and Tony-winning set and costume designer Bob Crowley (Tarzan, Mary Poppins, Aida), who join composer Alan Menken, lyricist Glenn Slater and book writer Doug Wright.
The Little Mermaid will mark the fourth collaboration between Disney Theatrical Productions and Shiki Theatre Company following the successful and current runs of Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and AIDA.
Disney's lavish Broadway musical, The Little Mermaid, played its final performance at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre Aug. 30, 2009, following 50 previews and 685 performances. The stage version of the hit animated film borrowed Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's movie songs and added new songs by Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater. Opera director Francesca Zambello directed. Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife, Grey Gardens) wrote the book.
"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. 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."
