DISNEY - DISNEY'S THEATRICAL UNIT GETS NEMO FOR A SONG

Disney's marriage to Pixar took a new turn Monday when the company announced that it would be turning Finding Nemo into a musical. Unlike The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan and the upcoming The Little Mermaid, Nemo will not be finding a home on Broadway. According to the company, Finding Nemo -- The Musical will be presented at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, FL, will last only a half hour, and will feature puppets and live performers. "It is the first time in theme-park history that we have taken an animated film that is not a musical and turned it into a musical," Anne Hamburger, executive director of Disney Creative Entertainment, told the Orlando Sentinel. "Nemo is the next generation of theatrical entertainment for the company. It will encompass a lot of visual spectaculars and will be a very popular show." The music is being written by Avenue Q composer Bobby Lopez and his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who wrote the book, music and lyrics for the a cappella musical Along the Way.

11/04/2006