Chanhassen Dinner Theatres to Present Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID, Begin. 2/28

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) has announced it will be producing the Midwest Premiere of Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID. Based on the beloved, best-selling Disney animated feature Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID will make its Main Stage premiere in 2014. The production will enjoy previews from February 28th through March 6th, 2014 with its grand opening taking place Friday, March 7th 2014.

THE LITTLE MERMAID, with an award-winning musical score by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman with additional lyrics by Glenn Slater and book by Doug Wright, had a successful and sold-out pre-Broadway tryout in Denver, Colorado from July 2007 to September 2007. Following this success, THE LITTLE MERMAID previewed on Broadway in November 2007 and officially opened on January 10, 2008 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. The production enjoyed 50 previews and 685 performances on Broadway, closing on August 30, 2009.

Originally rooted in Hans Christian Andersen's enchanting fairy tale, THE LITTLE MERMAID is a staged version on the 1989 classic animated Disney feature film. 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.

CDT Resident Artistic Director Michael Brindisi states, "It's a challenge to inject creativity and ingenuity into a stage musical that's been adapted from a highly-popular animated film. People know and love the film and come with certain expectations. When you're recreating something like this for the stage, the trick is to find a freshness to distance it from the animation, and give it a life of its own."

Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID has an award-winning score, including favorites: "Part of Your World," "Under the Sea," "Les Poissons," "Poor Unfortunate Souls," "Kiss the Girl" and several new songs written specifically for the stage version. This musical received two Tony Award nominations in 2008 including Best Original Score, and a 2008 Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Show Album. It was also ranked as No. 26 when it entered the Billboard 200 albums chart in March of 2008. This made Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID the second most highly-placed cast album on the list in 25 years, following RENT from 1996.

The musical is filled with recognizable and well-loved characters including: Ariel and her faithful companions Flounder and Sebastian, her strict yet caring father King Triton, handsome Prince Eric, cunningly evil Ursula, and many others. Casting has been completed and includes:

Caroline Innerbichler as Ariel, Tyler Michaels as Prince Eric, Kersten Rodau as Ursula, Keith Rice as King Triton, Thomas Schumacher as Grimsby, Michael Gruber as Flotsam, Tony Vierling as Jetsam, Jay Albright as Scuttle, Andre Shoals as Sebastian, Derek Prestly as Flounder, Sean Nugent as Pilot, and Mark King as Chef Pierre. The ensemble includes: Mathias Anderson, Michelle Barber, Emily King, Emily Madigan, Ann Michels, Adam Moen, Frank Moran, Wes Mouri, Kasono Mwanza, Laura Rudolph, Jon Michael Stiff, Janet Hayes Trow, Maura White.

Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID will run through August 30, 2014. It will be performed eight times weekly, Tuesday through Sunday evenings, with matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Ticket prices for dinner and show: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings $71; Friday $82; Saturday evening $82; Wednesday matinee $62; Saturday matinee $66 and Sunday early evening $72. Show-only tickets are available no sooner than 10 days prior to the performance. Student rush tickets may be purchased one hour prior to the performance with valid student ID, and are based on availability. Tickets for groups of 12 or more are now on sale for Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID by calling Group Sales at 952-934-1547. Tickets for parties of fewer than 12 are available by calling the box office at 952-934-1525.