Finding Nemo – The Musical

Finding Nemo – The Musical is a live puppet musical stage show based on Disney/Pixar's 2003 film Finding Nemo, located at the Theater in the Wild in DinoLand U.S.A at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The 40-minute show (which is performed five or six times daily) started holding previews on November 5, 2006, officially opening on January 24, 2007. The music, composed by Robert Lopez and his wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez, the same couple that composed the music of Frozen and Frozen II, uses direct lines from the film, bringing the film characters to life on stage.

No source that this is a permanent closure.

Finding Nemo – The Musical
The Theater in the Wild, home to Finding Nemo – The Musical
Disney's Animal Kingdom
AreaDinoLand U.S.A.
Coordinates28.3571592°N 81.587295°W / 28.3571592; -81.587295
StatusOperating
Soft opening dateNovember 5, 2006
Opening dateJanuary 24, 2007
ReplacedTarzan Rocks![1]
General statistics
Attraction typeMusical show
ThemeFinding Nemo
Audience capacity1,500[2] per show
Duration40 minutes[3]
DirectorPeter Brosius[2]
Production DesignerMichael Curry[2]
ComposersRobert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez[2]
Fastpass+ available
Wheelchair accessible
Assistive listening available
Closed captioning available

History

The stage musical Tarzan Rocks! occupied the Theater in the Wild at DinoLand USA in Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida from 1999 to 2006. When the musical closed in January 2006, it was rumored that a musical adaptation of Finding Nemo would replace it.[4] This was confirmed in April 2006, when Disney announced that the musical adaptation of Finding Nemo, with new songs written by Tony Award-winning Avenue Q composer Robert Lopez and his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, would "combine puppets, dancers, acrobats and animated backdrops" and open in late 2006.[5] Years later, Anderson-Lopez explained that she had written a compact 15-minute a cappella version of the story of Oedipus; someone at Disney read it and recognized her talent for condensing material, and offered her the opportunity to make a pitch for the Finding Nemo project.[6]

Tony Award-winning director Peter Brosius signed on to direct the show, with Michael Curry, who designed puppets for Disney's successful stage version of The Lion King, serving as leading puppet and production designer.[7]

Anderson-Lopez said that the couple agreed to write the adaptation of "one of their favorite movies of all time" after considering "the idea of people coming in [to see the musical] at 4, 5 or 6 and saying, 'I want to do that'....So we want to take it as seriously as we would a Broadway show".[8] To condense the feature-length film to 30 minutes, she and Lopez focused on a single theme from the movie, the idea that "the world's dangerous and beautiful".[8]

The show started holding previews on November 5, 2006, officially opening on January 24, 2007.[2] January 2007, a New York studio recording of the show was released on iTunes, with Lopez and Anderson-Lopez providing the voices for Marlin and Dory, respectively.[7] Avenue Q star Stephanie D'Abruzzo also appeared on the recording, as Sheldon/Deb.[7] Finding Nemo was the first non-musical animated film to which Disney added songs to produce a stage musical.[7] In 2009, Finding Nemo – The Musical was honored with a Thea Award for Best Live Show from the Themed Entertainment Association.[9]

When Walt Disney World reopened in July 2020 following the COVID-19 shutdown, all stage shows such as Finding Nemo – The Musical, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, Festival of the Lion King, and the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! remained closed due to a dispute between the Actors’ Equity Association and Walt Disney World over allowing performers to wear face masks and providing regular testing.[10]

References
  1. Rasmussen, Nate. "Vintage Walt Disney World Resort: Building a Theater in the Wild". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  2. "Finding Nemo - the Musical at Disney's Animal Kingdom". allears.net. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  3. "Finding Nemo - The Musical". Walt Disney World. Disney Parks. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  4. "Finding Nemo - The Musical Overview". www.wdwmagic.com. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  5. Hernandez, Ernio. "Avenue Q Composer Lopez Co-Pens Musical Finding Nemo for Disney,"Playbill.com (April 10, 2006).
  6. Gross, Terry (April 10, 2014). "Transcript of "Songwriters Behind 'Frozen' Let Go Of The Princess Mythology"". Fresh Air. NPR. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  7. Brown, Sophie (June 19, 2012). "Pixar Week: Finding Nemo: The Musical is a Hidden Gem | GeekMom". Wired. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  8. Maupin, Elizabeth (November 26, 2006). "Swimming with big fish". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 11, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
  9. "14th Annual Thea Awards Honor Outstanding Achievement | Theatre content from Live Design Magazine". Livedesignonline.com. January 31, 2008. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  10. Carter, Ashley (29 July 2020). "Disney World, Actors' Union Rift Keeps Shows in the Dark". Spectrum News. Bay News 9. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
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