NOEL KING, HOST:
A different kind of performance is spreading online.
(SOUNDBITE OF TIKTOK VIDEO)
EMILY JACOBSEN: (Singing) Remy, the ratatouille, the rat of all my dreams...
DANIEL MERTZLUFFT: So the "Ratatouille" musical movement started with a video posted by Emily Jacobsen.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Which gave Daniel Mertzlufft an idea...
MERTZLUFFT: I took that song and did a full Broadway arrangement.
(SOUNDBITE TIKTOK VIDEO)
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) Remy, the ratatouille, the rat of all my dreams...
KING: People went to TikTok and posted their own arrangements for songs and set design ideas.
(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: This is a song for Remy's dad. (Singing) Don't waste your whiskers on dreaming.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Singing) Grab a menu, and follow me. There's a whole buffet that I'd like you to see.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Singing) Ratatouille - I never stuttered or misspoke to. Ratatouille - is this some kind of twisted joke?
KING: This all added up to a crowdsourced musical. Disney gave Mertzlufft permission to do a one-time benefit performance, and ticket sales are going to go to artists affected by the pandemic.
MERTZLUFFT: What I'm really hoping is that we can take this model and use it to change the way that we conceive of theater. It's fitting that "Ratatouille" was the first one because it's literally the same thing that we say in Ratatouille - that anyone can cook - and that a musical can come from anywhere.
INSKEEP: "Ratatouille The Musical" has raised over $1 million so far for The Actors Fund. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
