A Little Princess (Lippa Musical)
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''A Little Princess, The Musical'' is a
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
with music by
Andrew Lippa Andrew Lippa (born December 22, 1964) is an American composer, lyricist, book writer, performer, and producer. He is a resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City. Early life Lippa was born in Leeds, England, to English parents. ...
and book and lyrics by Brian Crawley, based on the 1905 children's novel of the same name by
Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (published in 1885–1886), '' A Little  ...
.


Production history

Produced by TheatreWorks, the musical premiered at the
Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts The Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts is located in downtown Mountain View, California, Mountain View, California. It is operated by the City of Mountain View and hosts a variety of art events. Its home theatre companies include Thea ...
in
Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it has a population of 82,376. Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is the ...
, on August 28, 2004, following previews from August 25. This production was directed by Susan Schulman with a cast that starred
MacKenzie Mauzy MacKenzie Grace Mauzy (born October 14, 1988) is an American actress. She played the role of Phoebe Forrester on CBS daytime soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' from 2006 to 2008, and recurred as Abigail on the 2014 American Broadcasting C ...
as Sara Crewe and
Will Chase Frank William Chase (born September 12, 1970) is a Tony Award-nominated American actor, director, and singer, best known for his work on Broadway and for his role as country superstar Luke Wheeler on ABC's ''Nashville''. Early life and educatio ...
as Captain Crewe. Although ''A Little Princess'' was labeled as "
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
-bound", the musical has not, as of July 2016, been produced on Broadway. In September 2005, ''A Little Princess'' was featured in National Alliance for Musical Theatre's 17th Annual ''Festival of New Musicals'', held
off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
at Dodger Stages in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. A
cast recording A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...
featuring
Sierra Boggess Sierra Marjory Boggess (; born May 20, 1982) is an American theater actress and singer. She is best known for originating the role of Ariel in ''The Little Mermaid'' on Broadway, and for her multiple appearances as Christine Daaé in ''The Phant ...
as Sara,
Julia Murney Julia Kathleen Murney (born January 14, 1969) is an American actress and singer, also known for television commercial voice-overs. Until 2005, she was commonly known as the Broadway actress who had technically never appeared on Broadway. This wa ...
as Miss Minchin, Will Chase as Captain Crewe, and Remy Zaken was released in 2010 by
Ghostlight Records Sh-K-Boom Records is an independent record label and producer of recorded and live entertainment, which was founded in 2000 by Kurt Deutsch with the mission of bridging the gap between pop music and theater. In 2004 Sh-K-Boom created their second ...
. A new version of the musical was performed in a concert in October 2011 by the
Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...
musical theatre department, conducted by Lippa. On May 28, 2018, the musical received its premiere in London at
Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...
. The one-night-only production was the first to have a child ensemble playing its array of schoolgirls.
Amanda Abbington Amanda Abbington (born Amanda Jane Smith; 28 February 1974) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Miss Mardle in ''Mr Selfridge'' and Mary Watson in '' Sherlock'', the BBC adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stor ...
played Miss Minchin, and
Danny Mac Danny Mac (born 26 February 1988) is an English actor, best known for playing the role of Dodger Savage in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2011 to 2015. Early and personal life Mac was born in Bromley, London, but then grew up in ...
played Captain Crewe. The
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 (with the royalties generally split 50/50 between the two). Performances are considered "p ...
to the musical are available from
Musical Theatre International Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
.


Plot summary

''Note: Summary taken from
Music Theatre International Music Theatre International (MTI) is a theatrical licensing agency based in New York City. Description MTI was founded in 1952 by American composer and lyricist Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker. Along with the licensing rights to Lo ...
's website''


Act one

Sara Crewe is in trouble from the outset. She has been sent to her room without supper for coming to the table barefoot. Becky, a young maid about the same age, smuggles a muffin upstairs to Sara, and peppers her with questions about what life was like in Africa. Everyone else at the London school has been stand-offish, so Sara is glad to answer the questions, and invites Becky to picture the send-off she received from her friends in Fort St. Louis in ("Good Luck, Bonne Chance"). After the townspeople wish her the best, Sara's father, Captain Crewe, bids her a private farewell. He reveals he must send her to London as he is embarking upon a mission of exploration to the forbidden city of Timbuktu. He promises, once the Saharan trek is over, he will return to London to fetch her home ("Soon, My Love"). Sara and Becky's reverie is over when Miss Winifred Minchin surprises the two girls. Servants and schoolgirls are not meant to mix; Minchin asks Becky to fetch her cane. Sara protests that her father's instructions were that she was not to be corporally punished. Miss Minchin replies she is aware of the instructions and will beat Becky in Sara's stead. Between the bare feet and illicit camaraderie, Minchin is convinced Sara has no idea how to behave in a civilized fashion. She, therefore, forbids Sara to speak to anyone without permission. Once the monstrous headmistress leaves, Sara vents her frustration ("Live Out Loud"). The next day the other schoolgirls corner Becky and demand to know everything she learned about Sara. The girls are envious of Sara's wealth, and her privileges - she's out riding a pony while the rest take their exercise in a courtyard - but curious as well. Lavinia, the oldest and meanest of the girls, threatens to harm Becky just as Sara returns from her ride. Lavinia backs down when she sees Sara's riding crop. She continues, though, to tease Becky, joking about the accident that left Becky an orphan. To comfort Becky, Sara confides her own mother is deceased. She offers to help Becky get in touch with her mother's spirit. Miss Amelia, Miss Minchin's sister, can't resist this idea. Sara begins to tell the girls how to contact spirits. Her tales are so vivid they seem to come to life. Soon the schoolgirls are joined by imagined Indians in a joyous dance; a spirit enjoins Becky to let her heart be her compass ("Let Your Heart Be Your Compass"). It is Sara's first success with the other schoolgirls. But it is short-lived. During the dance Lavinia leaves to fetch Miss Minchin, who arrives furious. As part of Sara's punishment, Minchin tears a letter from Captain Crewe into pieces. She also sends Becky to the workhouse. Whilst this is happening, a schoolgirl named Ermengarde picks up the prices of Sara's letter. In Africa, Captain Crewe is met with one setback after another. His retinue dies off; his trade goods are stolen; he is detained by a tribal leader with deep suspicions as to an Englishman's reasons for being there. Feverish, despairing, Crewe imagines how happy his daughter must be in London ("Isn't That Always the Way"). Sara's defense of Becky has won her two new confidantes: Ermengarde, who has pieced together Crewe's letter for Sara, and Lottie, the youngest of the schoolgirls, who is intrigued by the doll Sara brought by her father, it was made in France and a gift upon his departure from her. Ermengarde reads the letter to Sara and they all imagine what her father is doing over in Africa (The Widow Zuma). Sara enlists Ermengarde and Lottie's help to create such chaos at school that Becky is recalled from the workhouse, and restored to her position. Miss Minchin, realizing she has been outmaneuvered, believes all Sara's advantages come to her because she has been born lucky ("Lucky"). Meanwhile, in Sara's room, Ermengarde and Lottie apologize to Becky for their past transgressions against her and promise to be her friends in future, just as Sara is. Becky is cowed at first. Sara assures her that wealth and position are mere 'accidents of birth'; Becky is willing to agree that even if it were the other way around, she and Sara would have wound up friends ("The Tables Were Turned"). Time passes and Sara's birthday arrives. Miss Minchin is a bit more disposed to be kind to the girl; rumors have reached London that Captain Crewe made it to Timbuktu. Minchin has made a small fortune on the resultant stock market speculation. Sara's classmates are fascinated by a large box from the London docks. It turns out to be full of presents Sara has ordered for the other girls. There is no time to enjoy them. A barrister brings news that not only did Crewe never make it to Timbuktu, he died in disgrace. At a stroke, Sara is left a penniless orphan, and Miss Minchin's own fortune disappears. She decides, rather than put Sara out on the street, to make her a serving girl, sell all her things, and house her in a dark attic room. Sara does not believe what she has been told, and is determined to find out the truth ("Soldier On").


Act two

Lottie visits Sara in her new room just before the Christmas holiday. She is shocked by the drab, cold attic. Sara comforts her by describing it as a new, exciting place full of unexpected magic ("Another World"), though once Lottie leaves the depressing reality of it returns. Downstairs the schoolgirls are dressed in their best, ready for a holiday. It is almost Christmas ("Almost Christmas"), and all they can think of are the presents awaiting them at home. Sara is sent out on a cold Christmas Eve to buy a goose for Miss Minchin. She hurries past the happy last-minute shoppers, wondering where her father might be. She imagines she hears Pasko, a friend from St. Louis. That she does find a goose, and at the last minute, is quite impressive to Miss Amelia. She suggests sharing the holiday meal with Sara, who angers Miss Minchin. Miss Amelia resolves to leave the school and find a way to have Sara released; she tells the child how she and her sister once played at being virtuous little princesses too ("Once Upon A Time"). Miss Amelia leaves. Miss Minchin sends Sara to her room, but mourns her hollow victory over the girl ("Lucky Reprise"). She locks Sara and Becky in the attic for the night. Sara is disconsolate. Becky tries to use Sara's doll to invoke the magic of the imagination, to comfort Sara the way she has been comforted herself; nothing happens. Sara goes to sleep while Becky mourns the powerlessness of the broken doll ("Broken Old Doll"). The two girls sleep. Pasko sneaks in through the window, bringing food, fire-wood, and blankets to the girls. While he does so Sara and Becky dream of fantasy Indians bearing more exotic objects and luxuries, and of Captain Crewe becoming a hero by reaching his destination ("Timbuktu"). Becky and Sara awake from the dream smelling the breakfast Pasko has left them. They are startled to see him, and Becky cries out. Miss Minchin, hearing Becky's startled cry, comes up to check on the girls to make sure if they're okay. Pasko brought a plank of wood so the girls and him can escape via the rooftops. Becky, afraid of heights, stays behind, but promises to meet them later. The girls have heard of Sara's escape and gossip downstairs ("Gossip"). Miss Minchin seizes Becky and determines to have she Sara arrested. Sara arrives with the highest authority in the land, Queen Victoria, whom she has waylaid and regaled with stories of the cruel headmistress. It is Minchin who is arrested. Victoria acknowledges, just before Sara returns to Africa, that anyone can be a princess if their hearts are open and their actions true. Sara and her father are reunited. ("Finale").


Song list

''Note: from the Studio cast album, released in 2011'' Act 1 *Overture *Good Luck – Bonne Chance - Sara and Chorus *Soon, My Love – Captain Crewe *Live Out Loud – Sara *Let Your Heart Be Your Compass – Sara, Becky, School Girls, and Chorus * The Widow Zuma – Ermengarde, Sara, Lottie *Home by Christmas – Captain Crewe *Isn't That Always the Way – Captain Crewe *Lucky – Miss Minchin *If the Tables Were Turned – Becky, Sara, Ermengarde, Lottie *Timbuktu Delirium – Chorus *Soldier On – Sara *Be a Princess – Sara, Lavinia, Ermengarde, Lottie and other school girls Act 2 *Another World – Sara *Almost Christmas – Sara, Schoolgirls and Chorus *Captain Crewe – Pasko *Once Upon A Time – Miss Amelia *Broken Old Doll – Becky *Timbuktu – Becky, Sara, and Chorus *Soon – Pasko, Sara, Becky, and Miss Minchin *Gossip – Ermengarde, Lottie, Lavinia, Becky, and other schoolgirls *"Compass" Reprise – Chorus, School Girls *Finale – Full Company


Critical response

Richard Connema, for ''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".


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Princess, A 2004 musicals Musicals based on novels Operas set in India