About the work
The Little Mermaid is a musical by Alan Menken (music) with lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater and a book by Doug Wright, premiered on Broadway in 2008. It is based on the 1989 Disney animated film and the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen.
Plot
The young mermaid Ariel, daughter of the sea king Triton, is fascinated by the world of humans. When she falls in love with the human prince Eric, she makes a fateful pact with the sea witch Ursula: she trades her beautiful voice for a pair of legs so she can go ashore. But the bargain is a trap. Against Ursula's intrigues and with little time, Ariel and her friends—the crab Sebastian and the fish Flounder—fight for true love and for Ariel's fate.
Cultural significance
The Little Mermaid brings one of the defining films of the "Disney Renaissance" to the stage, with worldwide hits such as Under the Sea and Part of Your World. Howard Ashman's lyrics are among the last before his early death. As a colourful family musical with imaginative solutions for the underwater world, it is especially popular at family, school, and regional theatres worldwide.