OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill.—Who could have imagined that an animated movie about a mermaid from an undersea world could be adapted into a full-scale stage musical?
The challenges seem immense. The underwater setting would be difficult to recreate on a theatrical stage. Only the Disney company, which produced the 1989 movie, was able to stage a live-action remake in 2008. Still, it hasn’t been easy for many theater companies that have tried to recapture the Disney magic with their own revivals. That is, until the Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook, Illinois decided to make “The Little Mermaid” its end-of-year presentation.
