‘Little Mermaid’ tests the waters

Disney musicals are popping up all over.

The studio’s theatrical division, hoping to repeat the success it enjoyed with “The Lion King” and “Beauty and the Beast,” is developing a stage version of the animated movie hit “The Little Mermaid.” The production will open next summer at the Caulkins Opera House in Denver and feature the songs from the film by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, plus nine new songs by Menken and Glen Slater.

Meanwhile, Playbill.com reports that the Disney Channel’s hit TV movie, “High School Musical,” is being adapted for a stage production at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. It is scheduled to run for 10 performances in January.