Steve On Broadway (SOB)

Little Mermaid Begins Tonight

Little Mermaid Begins Tonight

As noted last Saturday, the out-of-town tryout for Disney's The Little Mermaid begins this evening at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts' Ellie Caulkins Opera House.

While I won't be in the Mile High City audience until September, I'm looking forward to seeing how director Francesca Zambello's vision transports this fairy tale from the big screen to the stage.

In his Personal Canon #98 of his top 100 movies he thinks about when he thinks about the movies, Nathaniel R. from The Film Experience Blog details his adoration for the silver screen treatment of "The Little Mermaid." Nathaniel incisively points out:

"The Little Mermaid" is justly credited with reviving interest in the animated film but it's less often mentioned in discussions of the rebirth of the musical and there it also proved pivotal. In the dark ages of the movie musical (that'd be the 1980s, people) nearly every live action musical failed financially and artistically.

Say what you will about Disney (I am generally inclined to enjoy their stage productions), but they also must be credited with contributing enormously to the rebirth of the stage musical as well. No wonder I'm looking forward to my September visit to Denver.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Click here for Denver tickets.
Click here for Broadway tickets.
Related Stories:
Little Mermaid: No Treading Water Before The Boards (July 21, 2007)
Mermaid Casting Anything But Little (March 20, 2007)
Beauty Out On Broadway (January 17, 2007)
Disney Moves from Continent to Continent (May 22, 2006)

Labels: Blogs, Broadway, Denver, Film, Musical, The Film Experience Blog, The Little Mermaid, Tryout

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Thursday, July 26, 2007