The Little Mermaid is one years old!

The Broadway musical The Little Mermaid celebrates its first anniversary on Broadway. The musical opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on the 10 Jan 2008, following previews from the 7 Nov 2007, and is currently selling tickets through to 12 Jul 2009.

The Little Mermaid is loosely based upon the story by Hans Christian Andersen. Ariel, youngest daughter of King Triton, is dissatisfied with life in the sea. She longs to be with the humans above the surface, and is often caught in arguments with her father over those 'barbaric fish-eaters'. She goes to meet Ursula, the Sea Witch, to strike a deal, but Ursula has bigger plans for this mermaid and her father.

The score features the songs 'Part of Your World,' 'Kiss the Girl' and the Academy Award -winning Best Original Song, 'Under the Sea,' composed by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken and his frequent collaborator, the legendary Howard Ashman. There are 11 new songs by Mr. Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater. The book for the new musical is by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning playwright Doug Wright.

The principle cast currently features Sierra Boggess who stars as 'Ariel', the musical's title role. Joining her are Sean Palmer as �Prince Eric,� Norm Lewis as �King Triton,� Rogelio Douglas, Jr as �Sebastian, Eddie Korbich as �Scuttle,� Jonathan Freeman as �Grimsby,� Derrick Baskin as �Jetsam,� Tyler Maynard as �Flotsam,� Trevor Braun and Brian D'Addario who alternate as �Flounder,� and ***Sherie Ren� Scott as �Ursula.�
***Heidi Blickenstaff assumes the role of 'Ursula' from 27 Jan 2009.

The musical opened to mostly poor reviews: "If the kids hound you, take them to see the show, take earplugs, and maybe a magazine." (New York Theatre Guide); "Achieves the dubious miracle of translating an animated cartoon into something that feels like less than two dimensions." (New York Times); "The production is busy, not exciting; mechanical, not magical." (New York Daily News); "Its flippers in a sea of almost calculated mediocrity." (New York Post); "Doggedly conventional, well-performed, middling bore of a show." (newsDay); "A show of chiefly juvenile distractions." (Variety).

The Little Mermaid is directed by Francesca Zambello and features choreography by Stephen Mear. The creative team includes set design by George Tsypin, costumes by Tatiana Noginova and lighting by Natasha Katz and sound by John Shivers.