Customer Reviews

The Little Mermaid: From the Deep Blue Sea to the Great White Way

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This colorful book is a treasure. Part Broadway program, part coffee-table book, part fairy tale history, it's for fans of both the Hans Christian Andersen tale as well as Disney's spunky 1989 animated film, which of course has recently become an award-winning Broadway show. It's also a fascinating primer in how a Broadway show is put together.

The focus is on the Broadway show. Writer Michael Lassell includes interviews with director Francesca Zambello, choreographer Steven Mear, writer Doug Wright, composer Alan Menken, designers George Tsypin and Tanya Noginova, lyricist Glenn Slater and Sierra Boggess, who plays Ariel onstage. The book is lavishly illustrated with photos showing not only the Broadway show itself but the backstage sets, rehearsals, costumes, wig makers, storage rooms and models. There are also scores of examples of concept art and sketches, scale drawings and historical illustrations.

A page called "Eels on Wheels" is devoted to the special shoes used by performers that allow them to glide across the stage, emulating swimming. Another spread called "Tentacle Rehearsal" details the laborious routine used to get villain Ursula's octopus tentacles to move properly onstage.

I loved a section called "Songs." Each tune in the show gets a full page. In "Under the Sea," a photo of Ariel shimmying with her underwater friends is accompanied by the lyrics "Just look at the world around you, right here on the ocean floor, such wonderful things surround you, what more is you lookin' for?"

The hardback book has a padded cover.

A fun final touch: the last page is titled Fin.

I direct children plays and Disney has as yet to release this play but, it gives me an idea as to costumes/sets what the cost would be to perform it.