''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 Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with music by

Andrew Lippa Andrew Lippa (born December 22, 1964) is an American composer, lyricist, libretto, book writer, performer, and theatrical producer, producer. He is a resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City. Early life Lippa was born in Leeds, E ...

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'' (1886), ''A Little Princess'' (1905), a ...

Production history

Produced by TheatreWorks, the musical premiered at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mountain V ...

, 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 Frank William Chase (born September 12, 1970) is an 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 education Chase was born i ...

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 Stre ...

-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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. A

cast recording A cast recording is a recording of a stage Musical theatre, 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 ...

featuring

Sierra Boggess Sierra Marjory Boggess (; born May 20, 1982) is an American actress, singer, and figure skater. 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 ' ...

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, becaus ...

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 seco ...

. A new version of the musical was performed in a concert in October 2011 by the

Texas State University Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...

musical theatre department, conducted by Lippa. The musical received its premiere in London at

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...

on May 28, 2018. The one-night-only production was the first to have a child ensemble playing its array of schoolgirls.

Amanda Abbington Amanda Abbington (born ) is an English actress. In a career spanning over thirty years on stage and screen, her most prominent roles include Josie Mardle in ''Mr Selfridge'' (2013–2016) and Mary Morstan in '' Sherlock'' (2014–2017). Her ot ...

played Miss Minchin, and

Danny Mac Danny Mac (born 26 February 1988) is an English actor. Known for a variety of roles on stage and screen. He has received a number of awards and nominations including Best Actor, Best Newcomer, Best Actor in a Visiting Production. Early and per ...

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 "pu ...

to the musical are available from Musical Theatre International.

Plot summary

Sara Crewe is a girl who was raised in Africa and now attends a London boarding school. She draws the ire of the headmistress, Winifred Minchin, for going to supper without shoes on and for mingling with Becky, a scullery maid at the school. Crewe's father, Captain Crewe, enrolled her in the boarding school while he undertakes an expedition to

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. ...

. He promises to return for Sara Crewe. Sara Crewe's father's wealth means provides her with privileges that her schoolmates are both jealous of and curious about. Crewe tells stories to her schoolmates and talks about contacting spirits, which Minchin disapproves of. Meanwhile, in Africa, Captain Crewe struggles on his expedition. Sara Crewe gains friends in classmates Ermengarde and Lottie, who moreover apologize to Becky for their previous behavior toward her. After time passes, the school celebrates Sara Crewe's birthday. Minchin, having made some money on the stock market based on rumors that Captain Crewe reached Timbuktu, is more amenable toward Sara than previously. However, a lawyer interrupts the birthday party to inform the school that Captain Crewe never reached Timbuktu and died. Sara Crewe is orphaned with no money, and Minchin's stock market gains are reversed. Minchin obliges Crewe to begin working as staff in the school. Sara Crewe endures her reversal of fortune. Christmas draws near. After disputation, Minchin locks Crewe and Becky in the attic. Becky attempts to comfort Crewe through imagination, but Crewe is inconsolable. After they fall asleep, Pasko—a friend of Crewe's from

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

—sneaks into their attic and brings food and amenities to comfort them. Upon waking, Becky is startled to see Pasko in the attic. Minchin, hearing the ruckus, goes to the attic to check what is happening. Crewe escapes with Pasko out the window. Becky, scared of heights, says she will rendezvous with Pasko and Crewe at another time. Minchin makes plans to have Crewe arrested, but then Crewe returns to the school in the company of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. Crewe having told her about Minchin's cruelty, Queen Victoria has Minchin arrested. At the show's end, Crewe's father is revealed to be alive after all, and she and he reunite.

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 Musicals set in London Musicals set in schools Adaptations of works by Frances Hodgson Burnett A Little Princess