Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Mermaid Casting Anything But Little

Mermaid Casting Anything But Little

Sherie René Scott is among the big Broadway names that will be attached to the upcoming stage adaptation of The Little Mermaid, which makes its debut in Denver this summer prior to heading toward the Great White Way. The tuner will make its bow on July 26 at Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts; the production's premiere gala takes place August 24.

As previously noted, Scott is by far one of the few younger actresses of the stage who I'll go out of my way to see perform live. And she possesses one of the most exquisite singing voices to be found in musical theatre today. In The Little Mermaid, she'll take on the role of the eponymous character's nemesis Ursula (portrayed in the 1989 animated film by the incomparable Pat Carroll). Previously announced for the title role (a/k/a Ariel) was Sierra Boggess.

In addition to Scott, I'm thrilled that Sean Palmer has been cast as Prince Eric. As noted in my SOB Review and "Curse of the Understudy, Part Two," Palmer was terrific when taking over The Apple Tree roles originally filled by Marc Kudisch. This former "Sex And The City" cast member has a great singing voice and certainly offers tremendous stage presence.

Other cast members include Norm Lewis (currently with Les Misérables), Tituss Burgess (Jersey Boys), Eddie Korbich (The Drowsy Chaperone) and Disney favorite Tyler Maynard (Mary Poppins).

With songs from the original film by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, along with new ones penned by Menken and Glenn Slater, the Francesca Zambello-helmed Little Mermaid is set to make a splash at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 3; opening night is scheduled for December 6.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:
Beauty Out On Broadway (January 17, 2007)
Disney Moves from Continent to Continent (May 22, 2006)

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2 Comments:

At 21 March, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Could not believe that she's been cast as Urusla. And I don't know if that's good or bad.

Pat Carroll's persona in the film is soooooooo rigid in my mind as that character. Also, that performance was seminal in my own personal creative development.

I'm almost thinking of going to Denver to see how they pull this off...

 
At 21 March, 2007, Blogger Steve On Broadway (SOB) said...

Since they say that Ursula was modeled after the late Divine (from early John Waters films), I half expected them to name Harvey Fierstein in the role (after all, he took on Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. But Mr. Fierstein is reportedly gearing up for his own new musical due on Broadway in 2008 called A Catered Affair.

Personally, I think Sherie René Scott will be excellent (she's been wonderful in everything I've seen her perform).

 

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