The Little Mermaid on Broadway

singerguy04 · Post by **singerguy04** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 1:44 pm

OMG i'm soooooo excited for this show, i've been hearing interesting stuff about for months now and i jsut cna't wait for it.

Hunchback is already playing in Europe from what i heard, it's on germany's equivalent to broadway and should be coming to American shores in a few years.

Mary Poppins opens this fall in NYC.

I've heard some rumors sturring about a broadway version of Pocahontas coming eventually, it kinda scares me because not too many people enjoy the movie, but then again it is music by stephen shwartz who also did the music for Wicked so i'm sure there'd be a disney audience and a stephen shwartz audience for this one. I would personally LOVE it.

i also have heard rumblings of Hercules coming, if they were to do this i would love to see them do it in a traditional greek theater style with a modern twist. I just think that would make it stand out much like the lion king does!

I would hope that Aladdin would make a broadway apperance, but i havn't heard anything which surprises me a lot!

Wonderlicious · Post by **Wonderlicious** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 2:27 pm

What I do hope is that whilst Disney should go on creating stage musicals for Broadway, they should try not to bring them to Broadway at such an alarming rate as they could possibly be doing. As well as Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King carrying on, they've just introduced Tarzan, and very soon the London production of Mary Poppins will be passing over the Atlantic, followed a few months later by The Little Mermaid on stage. Plus, there's a number of other projects supposedly in the work (such as the Hercules musical, and I heard about Pinocchio and The Nightmare Before Christmas as well). I'm nervous that if there's too much Disney stage product on Broadway (not so much the West End, as only Mary Poppins and The Lion King are playing at the moment), then the novelty of Disney on the Broadway stage will go away and there'll be less chance for Disney plays (which will start off a big run of sorts on Broadway).

BATBfan1 · Post by **BATBfan1** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 2:35 pm

I am still wondering how they would make it look like they are under water. I have ideas but I will keep them to myself and see if Disney uses them lol

Wonderlicious · Post by **Wonderlicious** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 3:09 pm

BATBfan1 wrote:I am still wondering how they would make it look like they are under water.

Simple. They'll suspend the whole cast from the celing.

slave2moonlight · Post by **slave2moonlight** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 7:54 pm

singerguy04 wrote:OMG i'm soooooo excited for this show, i've been hearing interesting stuff about for months now and i jsut cna't wait for it.

Hunchback is already playing in Europe from what i heard, it's on germany's equivalent to broadway and should be coming to American shores in a few years.

Mary Poppins opens this fall in NYC.

I've heard some rumors sturring about a broadway version of Pocahontas coming eventually, it kinda scares me because not too many people enjoy the movie, but then again it is music by stephen shwartz who also did the music for Wicked so i'm sure there'd be a disney audience and a stephen shwartz audience for this one. I would personally LOVE it.

Good to hear that about Hunchback and Mary Poppins. I think a Pocahontas Broadway show could be wonderful. I didn't enjoy the movie much either, but when I found out about the "If I Never Knew You" scene that was cut, I always thought that movie would be great if they put it back in. When they restored it for the DVD, my opinion of that film skyrocketed.

rb_canadian181 · Post by **rb_canadian181** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:36 pm

singerguy04 wrote:I've heard some rumors sturring about a broadway version of Pocahontas coming eventually, it kinda scares me because not too many people enjoy the movie, but then again it is music by stephen shwartz who also did the music for Wicked so i'm sure there'd be a disney audience and a stephen shwartz audience for this one.

Actually, it was Alan Menken for that one too! Stephen Schwartz was his collabortive lyricist for that and Hunchback but has never composed any disney music. I'm so excited for TLM broadway though! The demos have been circulating online and theyre great!

Dottie · Post by **Dottie** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:24 pm

BATBfan1 wrote:I am still wondering how they would make it look like they are under water. I have ideas but I will keep them to myself and see if Disney uses them lol

Maybe they'll us the same technique as in Disneyworld in Florida.
They used some kind of "Black theatre". You have actually almost no stage lightning and then you have like puppets that "glow" in the dark so you can see the puppts, but not the actors, or puppeteers playing them.

singerguy04 · Post by **singerguy04** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:56 am

Dottie wrote:
BATBfan1 wrote:I am still wondering how they would make it look like they are under water. I have ideas but I will keep them to myself and see if Disney uses them lol
Maybe they'll us the same technique as in Disneyworld in Florida.
They used some kind of "Black theatre". You have actually almost no stage lightning and then you have like puppets that "glow" in the dark so you can see the puppts, but not the actors, or puppeteers playing them.

Actually i heard that were going to use some of this technique. i would doubt they would actually do it for the entire underwater portion of the show however. i bet they have something new and very inventive in the works.

the blacklighting effoect would look awesome for poor unfortunate souls however!!!

silenceisgolden · Post by **silenceisgolden** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 5:49 pm

hi im a huge ariel fann!!!!!! and im curious if anyone has the broadway demos for les poisson,, andd under the sea

totallyminnie86 · Post by **totallyminnie86** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 6:01 pm

There was a link on here under a thread about the musical a while ago, but I visited it and they have all been taken down.

Starsong · Post by **Starsong** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 12:30 pm

Simple. They'll suspend the whole cast from the celing.

I doubt that they would use this technique for The Little Mermaid musical seeing as it is already being utilized in Tarzan: The Musical, with mixed results. Besides, it's heavily taxing on the actors who have to completely relearn how to act during such sequences

. I think the idea of a black-out onstage coupled with strategically placed lights in varying shades might be a step in the right direction although I'm having difficulty imagining it. I'm sure everyone will agree with me that one of the most memorable things about Ariel's character is her lovely, luxuriously flowing red hair that almost seems to have a life of its own...I wonder how they'll manage to capture that? I'd had to see a lifeless and dull wig

.

Billy Moon · Post by **Billy Moon** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 5:37 am

singerguy04 wrote:Hunchback is already playing in Europe from what i heard, it's on germany's equivalent to broadway and should be coming to American shores in a few years.

It closed in Germany several years ago already. The last I heard was that they were going to film a TV version of it instead of doing another theatrical production, but it was some time ago and even that may have been cancelled.

Tascar · Post by **Tascar** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 8:52 am

As excited as I am about The Little Mermaid musical, I am still worried about how it will turn out. I am feeling extremely lukewarm about Mary Poppins after listening to the London Cast Recording, whose arrangements and new material both seem pretty weak compared to the original's. In addition, I was highly disappointed with Tarzan as a musical, which I thought had a decent amount of potential.

I just don't understand why they don't bring The Hunchback of Notre Dame over. It's an extremely good musical that I felt, while watching the German performance, was even better than the animated film in alot of ways. And Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz's music actually felt like music and songs for a musical as opposed to adapted pop songs.

Starsong · Post by **Starsong** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 4:22 pm

I agree with Tascar about the London Cast Recording of Mary Poppins. In general I've never been a fan of this particular movie so naturally I had my reservations. When I heard the music those reservations were cemented.

On the other hand, I adored Tarzan: The Musical. I felt that the music went perfectly with the story, and that the cast performed wonderfully. I went to high school with Josh and it was fantastic to see him in the role of Tarzan. Merle Dandridge as Kala and Jenn Gambatese as Jane (despite what I've frequently heard from others about her sounding old

) I feel did absolutely fabulous.

Given the live stage "performances" seen at Disneyworld and Disneyland--which anyone can view over at Youtube.com--I'm almost tempted to say I hope The Little Mermaid musical doesn't happen. But then again, had I been older when The Lion King was being adapted for Broadway I probably would have said the same thing. I'm sure that Disney will find someway, somehow of bringing this masterpiece alive.

Kram Nebuer · Post by **Kram Nebuer** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:27 pm

After listening to some of the demo recordings someone posted here a while ago (I can't find them again, anyone remember the thread they were in?), I am looking forward to this musical! Also the fact that most of it will be underwater somehow sounds like it will certainly be an interesting stage performance.

I love the Tarzan: The Musical Soundtrack, but I have to admit the new songs were a bit weaker and the styles strayed from the film's originals, but this is understandable since it is a musical. I have yet to see it, but I have heard good and bad things. I really want to see all the Disney Broadway shows (maybe not Lion King) and I can't wait for Mary Poppins and TLM to come to NY since I am now so much closer when I'm at school.

Sailor Eric · Post by **Sailor Eric** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:17 pm

I'm extremely happy that Little Mermaid is going to Broadway... It's certainly gonna be a hit!!! I have a musical enthusiast friend who says it will probably be great. He said it would probably be a better musical than say The Lion King. I agree, it has a very vivid spirit apt for musicals, and its world is a very colorful, lively, magical one. Let's hope whoever is making the musical brings all the magic to the stage. I'm sure it will be a hit because, after all, The Little Mermaid is one of the most loved Disney movies and Ariel is the most liked princess.

I read in the August issue of Elle magazine that if The Little Mermaid is succesful, Bambi the Musical will be produced.

Kram Nebuer · Post by **Kram Nebuer** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:21 pm

Sailor Eric wrote:I read in the August issue of Elle magazine that if The Little Mermaid is succesful, Bambi the Musical will be produced.

I can't decide if that's a joke or if you're serious.

Tascar · Post by **Tascar** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 8:32 am

Tarzan is very well casted and although I do feel that the new songs are for the most part inferior to the original songs (although I really like "Who Better Than Me"), I did enjoy them (well except for "No Other Way" and "Sure As Sun Turns to Moon").

I just had a really hard time getting into the musical because of what I felt was a series of bizarre alterations in the plot and characters that really makes me wonder where the creative team for the musical really understand the original film, a doubt I did not feel with Julie Taymor's interpretation of The Lion King.

I really loved the Tarzan movie but I really hated Rosie O'Donnell's Terk, which I thought really weakened the film. As such, I really like the new portrayal and interpretation of Terk as well as the performance by Chester Gregory II. However, I felt that the original film did a good job introducing the Tarzan-Terk friendship, showing how and well they became close, and bringing their friendship as a continuing arc as the movie progresses. The musical gives a fantastic introduction to Terk with his new song, but it doesn't really cement his friendship with Tarzan. In addition, there is pretty much no development of his role at all as the plot progresses. I don't really miss Tantor, but at least it might have given Terk someone to talk to and give him more of a purpose in the musical.

The change to have Kerchak actively abandon Tarzan in the jungle really destroys, at least for me, my ability to sympathize with the character. The insertion of a hokey jokey relationship between Kerchak and Kala is just simply embarassing to watch, seems forced and does not really work, and reminds me of "Do You Love Me" from Fiddler on the Roof. They reduce Clayton's role to such an extent (especially with regards to the climax) that I wish they had just eliminated the character instead of unsatisfactorally trying to keep him. I don't feel that the transition from young Tarzan to adult Tarzan is particularly handled well in the musical. I felt that the character of Jane comes off far less likeable in the musical, especially in the way that she urges Tarzan to come back with them whereas in the animated film Jane, seeing the family that Tarzan has in Africa, seems reluctant to actively voice her desire for Tarzan to return with her.

I realize that an adaptation is not going to be the same as the original. I just felt that although I was quite open to changes for Tarzan, being arguably the weakest of the animated film stories that has made it to Broadway, but the changes that were made just not only doesn't seem to gel together regardless of whether or not you consider the original film in the equation.

Mermaid Kelly · Post by **Mermaid Kelly** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 12:22 pm

I thought the idea was scrapped a long time ago...well I'm glad to see it hasn't been!

Dottie · Post by **Dottie** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:15 pm

Sailor Eric wrote:I read in the August issue of Elle magazine that if The Little Mermaid is succesful, Bambi the Musical will be produced.

Bambi!!!???

That's what I didn't like about TLK-The musical, that humans were portraying animals. It just doesn't look that good in my opinion. And does Bambi have enough songs too make a musical out of it? I mean, all the other ones were more on a musical basis and Bambi is not known as one of the many Disney musical movies.

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