Disney Theatrical Productions will welcome Tony Award® winner Faith Prince to the Broadway company of THE LITTLE MERMAID beginning Tuesday, April 7, 2009 (Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, 205 West 46th Street, NYC). Prince will star as "Ursula," the evil sea witch.
One of Broadway's most versatile leading ladies, Prince has appeared in 10 main stem shows, most recently the 2008 musical A Catered Affair, for which she received her fourth Tony and fourth Drama Desk nominations along with Outer Critics Circle and Drama League nods. She won the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for her turn as the perennially unwed "Miss Adelaide" in the 1992 Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls. She also received a lead actress Tony nomination for her role in the revival of Bells Are Ringing and a featured actress Tony nomination for her work in Jerome Robbins' Broadway, which marked her Broadway debut. Off-Broadway, she created roles in the original cast of Falsettoland and A Man of No Importance and regionally, she starred in the world premiere of Terrence McNally's Unusual Acts of Devotion.
"We are beyond thrilled that Faith Prince is joining the cast of The Little Mermaid," said Thomas Schumacher, producer and president of Disney Theatrical Productions. "She is that glorious creature - a leading lady in the great Broadway tradition and we think a perfect match for the role of Ursula, one of Disney's most uproarious villains. We can't wait to see what happens when she dons Ursula's trademark wig and tentacles."
Based on the animated Disney film and the classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, THE LITTLE MERMAID officially opened on Broadway on Thursday, January 10, 2008. The company celebrated its one-year anniversary last month.
THE LITTLE MERMAID was the #1 selling new Broadway musical of 2008, grossing over $60 million to date. Richard Zoglin of TIME Magazine named the show "top ten theater of 2008" and praised THE LITTLE MERMAID as "one of the most ravishing shows I have ever seen on a Broadway stage." Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal raved, "I expect it to run from here to eternity and back again. I'd see it again in a heartbeat." The Philadelphia Inquirer declared the show "a triumph of stagecraft." The Chicago Tribune hailed THE LITTLE MERMAID a "tidal wave of stellar performances!"
The cast of THE LITTLE MERMAID features Sierra Boggess (Ariel), Sean Palmer (Prince Eric), Norm Lewis (King Triton), Rogelio Douglas, Jr. (Sebastian), Eddie Korbich (Scuttle), Jonathan Freeman (Grimsby), Tyler Maynard (Flotsam), Eric LaJuan Summers (Jetsam), Robert Creighton (Chef Louis) and Trevor Braun and Brian D'Addario (alternating as Flounder). Heidi Blickenstaff assumed the role of "Ursula" on Tuesday, January 27 and will perform until Sunday, April 5.
THE LITTLE MERMAID takes place in a magical kingdom beneath the sea, where a beautiful young mermaid named Ariel longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. 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.
