Live musicals; aren’t they neat? ABC dives under the sea and into the live televised musical game with a live-action version of The Little Mermaid, according to Variety.
No, this isn’t a case of déjà vu, but rather a completely different production from the film version starring Halle Bailey. This adaptation will star Moana actress Auli’i Cravalho as the young mermaid, Queen Latifah as the iconic villain Ursula, and Shaggy (of “It Wasn’t Me” fame) will take on crab Sebastian. The television event aims to seamlessly blend new live-action elements with the iconic animation, the cast revealed at this week’s TCA presentation.
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The production, slated to air on Nov. 5, will include hit tunes from both the animated flick and the Tony-winning Broadway musical. This musical’s airdate serves as a promotional tie-in to the debut of the Disney Plus streaming service.
Let's go under the sea with @DiRealShaggy🦀 and @auliicravalho 🧜♀️! #TheLittleMermaidLive comes to ABC November 5! pic.twitter.com/yaNSSZiyrE
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) August 6, 2019
The event will take place at a “dive-in theatre” on the Disney lot, and Disney execs are hopeful this will lead to tremendous success, so they can make more live musicals part of their world of programming.
Photo: NBC Universal/Disney
