A Little Princess (Lippa musical)
Encyclopedia
A Little Princess, The Musical is a musical
with music by Andrew Lippa
and book and lyrics by Brian Crawley, based on the 1905 children's novel of the same name
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
.
, the musical premiered at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts
in Mountain View, California
, on August 28, 2004, following previews from August 25. This production was directed by Susan Schulman
with a cast that starred Mackenzie Mauzy
as Sara Crewe and Will Chase
as Captain Crewe. Although A Little Princess was labeled as "Broadway
-bound", no move has been made to stage a Broadway production.
In September 2005, A Little Princess was featured in National Alliance for Musical Theatre's 17th Annual Festival of New Musicals, held off-Broadway
at Dodger Stages in New York City
.
A cast recording
featuring Mauzy, Chase, and the original Palo Alto cast was released in 2007 by Ghostlight Records. The performing rights
to the musical were then acquired by Musical Theatre International
.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with music by Andrew Lippa
Andrew Lippa
Andrew Lippa is an American composer, lyricist, book writer, performer, and producer. He is a resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City.-Biography:...
and book and lyrics by Brian Crawley, based on the 1905 children's novel of the same name
A Little Princess
A Little Princess is a 1905 children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It is a revised and expanded version of Burnett's 1888 serialized novel entitled Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's Boarding School, which was published in St. Nicholas Magazine.According to Burnett, she...
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden , A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.Born Frances Eliza Hodgson, she lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester...
.
Production history
Produced by TheatreWorksTheatreWorks (Silicon Valley)
TheatreWorks is a non-profit, professional theater company based in Menlo Park, California and founded in July, 1970. The company is a member of the League of Resident Theatres and employs some 300 artists annually, including Equity and non-Equity actors, directors, designers and specialty artists...
, the musical premiered at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts
Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts
The Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts is located in downtown Mountain View, California. It is operated by the City of Mountain View and hosts a variety of art events. Its home theatre companies include Peninsula Youth Theatre and TheatreWorks....
in Mountain View, California
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
, on August 28, 2004, following previews from August 25. This production was directed by Susan Schulman
Susan H. Schulman
Susan H. Schulman is an American theater director.Intent on a career as an actress, Schulman studied drama at Hofstra University in Hempstead, Long Island, New York in the 1960s. She attended Yale University on a playwrighting fellowship, graduating with a Master's Degree...
with a cast that starred Mackenzie Mauzy
MacKenzie Mauzy
MacKenzie Grace Mauzy is an American actress.-Career:Mauzy played the role of Phoebe Forrester on CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful until December 2008 ....
as Sara Crewe and Will Chase
Will Chase
Will Chase is an American actor and singer, best known for his work in Broadway musicals.Chase was born in Frankfort, Kentucky to Jerry and Betty Chase and is the youngest of three boys...
as Captain Crewe. Although A Little Princess was labeled as "Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
-bound", no move has been made to stage a Broadway production.
In September 2005, A Little Princess was featured in National Alliance for Musical Theatre's 17th Annual Festival of New Musicals, held off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
at Dodger Stages in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
A cast recording
Cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast...
featuring Mauzy, Chase, and the original Palo Alto cast was released in 2007 by Ghostlight Records. The performing rights
Performing rights
Performing rights are the right to perform music in public. It is part of copyright law and demands payment to the music’s composer/lyricist and publisher . Public performance means that a musician or group who is not the copyright holder is performing a piece of music live, as opposed to the...
to the musical were then acquired by Musical Theatre International
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
.
Response
Richard Connema, in Talkin' Broadway wrote:- "I give credit to TheatreWorks, Mr. Lippa, Mr. Crawley and director Susan H. Schulman for working toward making this old-fashioned family musical work wend its way to Broadway. However, the show needs to flow more smoothly and the characters need to be defined more sharply. There is just too much going on, with too little focus on the central characters. It's not a sophisticated musical, but there are saving graces in this production's singing, exuberant athletic dancing, melodic score and good production values. However, something is lacking to make it a great musical. Two liabilities are the indigestible book and two stories presented side by side."