The Houston Ballet is staging its production for The Little Mermaid through September 15, but it's different from the version you think. The production of Houston Ballet's Little Mermaid is a dramatic interpretation of the original 1837 fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. This story features a mermaid falling in love with a human and exchanging her tail for a pair of legs to pursue him on dry land (an arrangement orchestrated by an evil sea witch), and that's where the similarities end. Houston Matters producer Michael Hagerty Neumeier explains that while there are many differences between Andersen's story and the Disney versions, perhaps the biggest one is the ending. Listen to the full conversation with acclaimed choreographer John Neumeier at HoustonMatters.org #Houstonballet #thelittlemermaid