Sierra Boggess snags Mermaid role

By Amy Somensky Feb 24, 2007, 5:33 GMT

New York: Sierra Boggess has been cast as the title role in the upcoming Disney musical The Little Mermaid. Boggess is currently starring as Christine in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular.

Disney producer Thomas Schumacher said in a statement, "We are delighted to announce Sierra Boggess is our Ariel. She is a thrilling young talent and I am certain audiences will discover that she was destined to play the beautiful young mermaid."

Boggess added, "I am so excited to be able to play this role. Ariel is such an iconic Disney princess and to be able to bring her to life on the stage is a dream come true for me!"

Additional casting for the musical will be announced shortly.

The Little Mermaid will begin previews at the Lunt-Fontanne on November 3rd and officially open on December 6th. The musical will have a pre-Broadway tryout at the Denver Center Attractions at Ellie Caulkins Opera House beginning July 26th through September 9th.

The production features music written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman as well as 11 new songs written by Menken and Glenn Slater. The book has been written by Doug Wright.

The creative team includes choreography by Stephen Mear, set design by George Tsypin, costume design by Tatiana Noginova, lighting design by Natasha Katz, and direction by Francesco Zambello.

In a magical kingdom beneath the sea, a beautiful young mermaid named Ariel longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. But first, she’ll have to defy her father, the king of the sea, escape the clutches of an evil sea witch and convince a prince that she’s the girl with the perfect voice.