Their latest book, The Great American Mousical, [140 pages, Abrams Books] is a charming family affair filled with adorable mice—with memorable character names—who perform on the Broadway stage at a precarious time in the theater’s history.
When they sit down to begin a new project, they first brainstorm the story. Then, Hamilton is the scribe who types while they tell it aloud.
“When children read this book, we hope it will help them become interested, passionate, and curious about the theater, and find their own way into loving it,” Andrews exclusively tells Parade. “It is also an entertaining educational tool. As writers, we also enjoy being teachers.”
The Great American Mousical, book jacket. Illustrator: Tony WaltonBeneath the Sovereign theater, in the basement, there is a long-forgotten architect’s model—the Sovereign’s miniature replica—where an adorable troupe of theater mice busily prepare to stage their own show, Broadway Airs.
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All of this harkens back to Andrews’ Broadway and film roots, including starring roles in her first film, Mary Poppins, and soon after, The Sound of Music. These are two classics, which, after 60 years, are still beloved today.
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“The children have such respect for the character of Mary Poppins and eventually, even though she is pert and a little strict, they see she is actually full of goodwill and a good heart.”
The Sound of Music, Andrews says, is “all about love and affection for the arts and one’s homeland. Eidelweiss is such a beautiful song and one of my favorites from the show.”
Andrews began her Broadway career in The Boyfriend, My Fair Lady, and Camelot. She eagerly passed on her passion for the theater to Hamilton, who, with her husband Stephen, built and ran a theater in Sag Harbor, New York, for 17 years. She also acted, directed, and produced many shows.
An illustration from The Great American Mousical. Illustrated By Tony Walton“We put wonderful actors that we imagined playing the parts, and that helped us visualize who the characters were, and we leaned into every theatre troupe we could think of so that it would be a loving valentine to the theater.”
They also updated and colorized the original line drawings from Hamilton’s father (Andrews' first husband), three-time Tony Award-winning set designer, the late Tony Walton. All of this made it feel like a new book to the collaborators.
Andrews shared that Walton also did the designs and illustrations for Mary Poppins, including the costumes and houses, which was also his first movie.
“It is such a sweet theater musical,” Andrews says proudly, “and it’s for both adults and children—it has a double-edge to it, doesn’t it?”
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When it comes to overall life advice, Andrews says it is important to her that there is still so much she wants to do and get accomplished, including more books, so she “doesn’t want to waste too much time. My best legacy is to have made somebody’s day better; to have made someone smile.”
An illustration from The Great American Mousical. Illustrated By Tony WaltonThese authors are hopeful they have “spun a good yarn,” and made it stimulating enough to make children want to go to the theatre.
“The fact that these mice could save a Broadway theater, not just mice, but the smallest mouse of the mice, could be so instrumental in saving the theater tells us that, ‘It doesn’t matter how small you are, you can still make a contribution, ” adds Hamilton.
The Great American Mousical is available wherever books are sold.
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