It was a huge week for the Denver-born, Broadway-bound “The Little Mermaid,” as principal casting was announced and ticket sales got off to a blazing start.
“All of us are all really excited with our cast,” said director and former Denverite Francesca Zambello, “and of course it’s an incredible event of serendipity that Sierra is a Denver native.”
Zambello said she had no idea that Sierra Boggess, her Ariel, was from Denver, something she found in hindsight to be hilarious.
“She somehow brought that spark into the room that ignited everyone,” Zambello said, citing a perfect mix of warmth and a real sense that she’s a teenage girl. “Everyone was so clear that she felt absolutely right.”
“The Little Mermaid” will play the Ellie Caulkins Opera House from July 26 to Sept. 9, and nearly 60,000 of the 100,000 seats have been snapped up just a week after they went on sale, a remarkable clip for an untested product – in form at least.
“We are thrilled with the response so far, but we knew it would be great there; that’s why we picked Denver on the first place,” said Disney vice president Jack Eldon. “We’re excited, but there are still 40,000 available seats, so people should pick up the phone and call now.”
We learned last week Boggess will be joined by a Broadway-tested cast led most notably (and controversially) by Sherie René Scott as Ursula.
Additions include Norm Lewis (King Triton), Tituss Burgess (Sebastian), Sean Palmer (Prince Eric), Eddie Korbich (Scuttle), Jonathan Freeman (Grimsby), Derrick Baskin (Jetsam) and Tyler Maynard (Flotsam).
You may not know the names, but trust me: Broadway is abuzz with this talent roster. A story is posted at denverpost.com/theater that lists all their credentials, but stars are coming directly from shows like “The Drowsy Chaperone,” “Jersey Boys” and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”
Lewis was the first black man to play Javert in Broadway’s “Les Miserables.” Scott was nominated for a Tony in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and played Amneris in Disney’s “Aida.”
So what’s the controversy? She’s gorgeous. Some Broadway bloggers say maybe even too gorgeous. It was revealed in the recent “The Little Mermaid Special Edition” DVD that Ursula was originally inspired by Divine, the 350-pound man who played Tracy’s mom in the first “Hairspray” movie.
Zambello admits Ursula will be a huge departure from the animated film. “The animated feature is only 62 minutes, and her back story is not developed, said Zambello, who was an assistant to founder Nathaniel Merrill during the early years of Opera Colorado.
“So as her character evolved, it became so clear to me that we had to give her more weight, more gravitas, more of a real antagonist to Triton and to Ariel – and we wanted somebody with wonderful acting chops who could deliver that suave sophistication, as well as that really clever, biting sarcastic humor the character calls for.”
Locals updates
1988 Denver East grad Mary Bacon is getting raves for her work in off-Broadway’s “The Madras House,” playing a single pregnant gal in Harley Granville-Barker’s 1909 tale. Playing her sister: Angela Reed, so winning last year as Ashley in the Denver Center’s “After Ashley.” Next Bacon plays Kate in “The Taming of the Shrew” at the Dallas Theatre Center …
University of Colorado graduate Jacquelyn Ritz has been cast in the Chicago premiere of “Bingo The Musical,” opening Monday at the Windy City’s Apollo Theatre.
Briefly …
On Thursday, El Centro Su Teatro took possession of its new property at 215 S. Santa Fe Drive. The theater secured a $1.55 million loan from the City’s Office of Economic Development. Next up: a $3.5 million capital campaign to pay for renovations (303-296-0219)… Town Hall Arts Center’s “Footloose” will close today as the third-most attended show in its history. There are two closing performances, at 2 and 6:30 p.m.(303-794-2787).
This week’s theater openings
TUE-APRIL 8 | National touring production of “The Light in the Piazza” (at the Buell Theatre)
THU-APRIL 21 | Denver Center Theatre Company’s “Pure Confidence” (Stage Theatre)
THU-APRIL 14 | Burdette Parks’ “Benjamin Franklin, Printer, Etc.” (at the Avenue Theater)
FRI-APRIL 15 | Fine Arts Center’s “The Complete History of America Abridged” | COLORADO SPRINGS
FRI-MAY 6 | Union Colony Dinner Theatre’s “Steel Magnolias” | GREELEY
FRI-APRIL 22 | Backstage’s “Hidden” | BRECKENRIDGE
FRI-APRIL 22 | E-Project’s “Sylvia” | LAKEWOOD
SAT-MAY 12 | Bas Bleu’s “The Imaginary Invalid” | FORT COLLINS
This week’s theater closings
TODAY | Aurora Fox’s “Almost, Maine”
TODAY | Town Hall Arts Center’s “Footloose” | LITTLETON
SAT | Colorado Stage Company’s “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress” | LONE TREE
APRIL 1 | Theatre 13’s “Prison Writings: My Life is My Sundance” | BOULDER
APRIL 1 | Evergreen Players’ “Moon Over Buffalo”
