"Hey, I'm positive. I hope Ariel is cast with an unbelivably talented 19 year old, who is age appropriate for the role! Butler's fab, but sorry, she's pushing 40."
So? She played a 16 year old in Hairspray. Looks aren't always important. I mean, okay, you're not going to get a 70 year old grandma to play Arial. But in Kerry's case, looks don't matter because she looks young. Any flaws could be fixed with makeup. All in all, if you have the talent, why not?
And no, in response to what someone said before, Prince Eric didn't have any songs. But they'd most likely write songs for Eric for a musical.
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611