The beloved Disney classic The Little Mermaid comes to the historic Cohoes Music Hall from July 22 through August 17, as the Playhouse Stage Company continues its 37th Summer Season.
This will be the first time in the Playhouse’s history that the company will be concurrently running productions across their venues, as Oklahoma! continues to play at Park Playhouse and GPAC in Guilderland’s Tawasentha Park during the run of The Little Mermaid.
Released in 1989, it was the first Disney film to score Academy Award nominations since 1977, and Composers/Lyricists Alan Menken and Howard Ashman would go on to win the Oscars for Best Score and Best Original Song (for “Under the Sea”) for their work. The film was a box office blockbuster and is considered the start of “The Disney Renaissance.”
The musical adaptation premiered on Broadway in 2007, with a Book by award-winning playwright Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife), and new songs by Menken and Ashman. The story follows the adventures of Ariel, a beautiful, spirited young mermaid who dreams of life beyond the ocean and falls in love with a human Prince.
The Playhouse Stage production is directed by Playhouse Stage Co. Director Michael LoPorto. He previously directed productions of A Christmas Story, Something Rotten, Ragtime, and others for the company. Choreography and musical staging will be done by PSC Associate Artistic Director and Director of Education AshleySimone Kirchner. Former Playhouse Stage Academy student and recent Pace University grad Jake Goodman, a stand-out performer in PSC productions for nearly a decade, musically directed the production.
The production features a mix of both Playhouse Stage Academy’s advanced teen students, as well as Broadway, touring, and regional professionals, all in age-appropriate roles.
The twenty-five-person cast is led by Playhouse Stage Academy student Molly Kirby (Ariel), following her acclaimed performance earlier this season as Veronica Sawyer in Heathers at Cohoes Music Hall. After playing Professor Callahan in last summer’s Legally Blonde, Broadway veteran Patrick Ryan Sullivan (Beauty & The Beast, 42ndStreet) returns to play Ariel’s father, King Triton. Long-time PSC veterans Molly Rose McGrath and Brandon Jones are featured in the well-known roles of the Sea Witch Ursula and Sebastian the Crab respectively. The production features scenery by Benny Pitt, with lighting by David Heguy, and originally crafted costumes by Danica Martino.
Presented by Playhouse Stage Co., the theatrical adaptation of Disney’s take on the classic Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale will play from July 22 through August 17, with evening performances on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 p.m. and matinee performances on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets for Disney’s The Little Mermaid are on now sale online, by phone at (518) 434-0776, or in person at the Cohoes Music Hall box office. Youth tickets start at $20, with $30 tickets for Seniors ages 65 & up, and $40 tickets available for adults.
The 37th Playhouse Stage Company season continues in August with Disney’s Moana Jr. at the historic Cohoes Music Hall, performed by Playhouse Stage Academy Kids-level students. More information about Playhouse Stage Company and its productions can be found online.
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