Helsinki City Theatre’s giant investment The Little Mermaid premieres
The Helsinki City Theatre’s biggest musical production of all time, Disney’s The Little Mermaid musical, will have its long-awaited premiere on the big stage on 29 August. An international group of designers from the top of musical theatre promises unprecedentedly stunning visuals and magically beautiful music, but also a strong, contemporary story about a young person who finds himself and his identity.
Disney’s The Little Mermaid musical will now be seen in Finland for the first time, and the Helsinki City Theatre’s own, solid musical expertise has been strengthened with world-class professionals familiar from Broadway and West End theatres and the film world.
There will be amazing flight technology, puppets from the makers of the Star Wars films, fantastic rococo-inspired costumes designed by Pirjo Liiri-Majava, Peter Ahlqvist’s magnificent set design, video projections designed by Toni Haaranen, demanding and spectacular choreographies by Gunilla Olsson-Karlsson, and Samuel Harjanne known from the super hit Kinky Boots as the director.
“We will create a magical underwater world where mermaids and wonderful animals, octopuses, crabs and fish move. Our musical is technically one of the most difficult works ever made here,” says director Samuel Harjanne, who also emphasizes the topicality of The Little Mermaid’s story.
“Mermaid Ariel wants to be part of the human world, to walk and participate in balls, to have legs instead of tails. The world around him and his own body prevent him from being himself. This resonates with the current world’s topics of discussion about identity and gender, and is the most important theme of the musical. Ariel isn’t just a naïve young mermaid who falls in love with a handsome man – she even gives up her voice to get a pair of legs for three days and finally be herself. He defies his father, the king, and others who dictate to him what he should be like and who he should associate with. Ariel is the first feminist Disney princess!”, Harjanne says.
The role of Princess Ariel is played by Sonja Pajunoja, who is playing her first leading role in HKT, and her Prince Erik is also played by her real-life lover, Martti Manninen, who is making his HKT debut. Other roles include Tero Koponen (Sebastian), Sanna Saarijärvi (Ursula), Mikko Vihma (King Triton), Paavo Kääriäinen (Kiero), Antti Timonen (Liero), Tuukka Leppänen (Scoot), Tuomas Uusitalo (Chef Louis) and Matti Olavi Ranin (Yrjö). The role of Ariel’s fishing friend Pärsky is alternated by Valo Eklund, Lenni Kallela, Alek Pèrez Lahtinen and Samuel Vihma.
The conductor of the 13-piece orchestra is Risto Kupiainen. The Finnish translation is by Reita Lounatvuori and Hanna Kaila. The lighting designer is William Iles, known from many HKT musicals, and the sound designer is Kai Poutanen. The camouflage and hairstyles were designed by Milja Mensonen. James Veitch and Nick Porter, experts from the renowned Flying by Foy, are visiting the designers of the flights. The dolls related to the characters of the underwater world were designed by Becky and Paul Vincett, a top professional duo from the British company Stitches and Glue.
Based on H. C. Andersen’s classic fairy tale (1837) and the beloved Disney animation (1989), the Disney musical The Little Mermaid (2008) is written by Doug Wright, composed by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater.
Alan Menken’s enchanting music made the film one of the world’s biggest successes. For the musical, he has composed more than 10 new songs, and of course the hits Part Of Your World and the Oscar-winning Under the Sea are included.
The Little Mermaid musical premiere on 29.8.2019 on the big stage of the Helsinki City Theatre
31 € – 88 € (includes PM)
Helsinki City Theatre ticket office, Ensi linja 2, Mon-Fri 9 am – 5.30 pm, Eläintarhantie 5 Sat 11 am – 7 pm and one hour before the performance and Lippupiste Mon-Sat 9 am – 9 pm, Sun 10 am – 6 pm, tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/min + local network charge)
www.hkt.fi
Press photos can be found in the image bank and press releases in the newsroom.
Further information, media ticket reservations and interview requests: Helsinki City Theatre, Communications Officer Kaisa Pelkonen, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 040 552 3788
Helsinki City Theatre, Ensi linja 2, 00530 Helsinki