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Posted: Wed., Jan. 16, 2008, 8:00pm PT

'Little Mermaid's' Broadway splash

Art of Elysium holds 10th anniversary gala

By VARIETY STAFF

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Palmer, Boggess

'Little Mermaid' stars Sean Palmer and Sierra Boggess take center stage at the musical's opening-night party.

At the opening-night party for the musical, Alan Menken, who composed both the original and new songs in "Mermaid," said he has more Broadway-bound legit material in the works, like tuner adaptations of movies "Leap of Faith" and "Sister Act."

"The older I get, the more I realize that once you start a new musical, it sucks up 10 years of your life," he said. "That said, I'm a sucker for it. I can't not do it."

- Gordon Cox

A fashionable fund-raiser

HOLLYWOOD — A slew of stars headed east on Saturday to downtown L.A. for a fashionable fete at Vibiana for the Art of Elysium 10th anniversary gala.

Guests such as Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Casey Affleck and Topher Grace were treated to a fashion show presented by Vogue followed by a black-tie dinner where they dined on French cuisine.

Ellen DeGeneres, who was recently introduced to the charity, which encourages actors, musicians and artists to share their craft with sick children, said, “It seemed right up my alley.”

Org founder Jennifer Howell told the crowd, “We need your time, and we need your talent.”

— Jaime Netzer