The Little Mermaid on Broadway

[Flanger-Hanger]

Yes, it does. Despite a couple anomalies here and there (mispellings mostly), it's really quite good.

OK, thanks!

[Atlantica]

Does anyone know if it will actually come out in the UK ? Or will it be forever on Import? I pre-ordered it with Amazon.co.uk, and they said there was a problem with the ordering of it, and they advised me to cancel my order. I havnt tried again since

What do you guys think I should do ?

[ChrisLyne]

I'd try again later this week as it only comes out today in the USA.

Though I have to be honest and say that I'd actually go direct and get it from Amazon.com if the UK site is only doing it as an import.

I got the CD imported for £12 from Amazon.com (including shipping) and Amazon UK is charging £18.49 before shipping! The US site has the book for a very similar price to the CD so you can probably import it for about £12 including shipping. I'll import it when I next get paid.

[UmbrellaFish]

I have some questions of Broadway in general. Tickets, they're often 100-300 dollars? And do people dress up for shows? I'm not going anytime soon, but I plan to some day, and these are the questions that have always bothered me.

[nachonaco]

Brell,
Typically, live shows require some type of dressy outfit, somewhere between casual and formal....When I went to see Wicked in Chicago, I wore leggings and a black t-shirt, so...

[rb_canadian181]

For those interested, the songbook's up for preorder on Amazon.com. Already ordered mine.

Did anyone receive their book yet? Amazon sent me an e-mail saying it's out of stock. The listing is still coming up as a pre-order even though it's "released" since tuesday. I guess the publisher didn't send enough copies to amazon, not anticipating they would sell out for pre-order. anyone have any luck?

[nachonaco]

Still haven't received mine.

Although it is a little suspicious that the only sighting of this book is at Amazon. Has anyone tried calling stores in their town? I might try and call some local music places and see...

[amazon980]

what do u u guys think if they ended it like book with the musical?
also what if they connected her tail to hang from her wrist so when her arm moves the tail moves with her? she could were stockings or sum thin that was blue so it would blend in the background

ps
i know this was ramdom

[PeterPanfan]

If they ended the musical like HCA did the book, then it wouldn't really be a Disney theatrical production, as they changed the ending.

It would probbly also be a little.. too violent as mostly kids are attracted to it.

[Disney Duster]

what do u u guys think if they ended it like book with the musical?
also what if they connected her tail to hang from her wrist so when her arm moves the tail moves with her? she could were stockings or sum thin that was blue so it would blend in the background

ps
i know this was ramdom

Maybe a little random, but very on-topic. Your idea is similar to what I and others thought. The tail moves fine by itself, I don't think it needs to have strings so Sierra can move it around, but making her legs belnd in with the background so it's like we only see her tail is a good idea. Perhaps a dress that looks like water with some seaweed and rock formations.

[PeterPanfan]

If they ended the musical like HCA did the book, then it wouldn't really be a Disney theatrical production, as they changed the ending.

It would probably also be a little.. too violent as mostly kids are attracted to it.

[amazon980]

OMG look at this this is soooo funny http://youtube.com/watch?v=_38frTJzQTU

[yukitora]

If they ended the musical like HCA did the book, then it wouldn't really be a Disney theatrical production, as they changed the ending.

It would probably also be a little.. too violent as mostly kids are attracted to it.

Do kids really watch Broadway? I have no idea, I live in the good ol' Down Under

[SpringHeelJack]

Are you kidding? If kids didn't go to Broadway, Disney would have no market for any of their stage shows.

[CornyCollins]

I have some questions of Broadway in general. Tickets, they're often 100-300 dollars? And do people dress up for shows? I'm not going anytime soon, but I plan to some day, and these are the questions that have always bothered me.

In NYC, tickets range from $25.00-$450. That is, with student discounts, rush tickets, standing room only, orchestra, mezzanine, and balcony. Typically, buying tickets to a show like "The Little Mermaid" for a tourist who may not have time to try for student discounts/rush tickets - would have to opt for using ticketmaster and buy their tickets in advance. You can usually find discount codes for tickets on a few very good sites, but sometimes for shows that are fairly new, you won't get a discount. Student tickets and rush tickets you have to get from the box office and they are done with the lottery system - so for a tourist, you'd probably want to guarantee a seat - so therefore, as I said - Ticketmaster is one of your options.

As far as the dress code - well, if you go a matinee (2pm show) you'll see jeans and other casual attire - a few dressed up people though. Now, at an evening performance you'll see more dressing up but you will also have quite a few of the audience members in jeans and casual attire.

So basically, the attire you wear, is your call. You won't be looked down upon if you go casual - but you wouldn't feel overdressed if you went the extra mile and wore something other than casual wear.

I saw The Little Mermaid back in December and while it differs from the movie, it was a good show - and quite a spectacle. I did, however, enjoy "Beauty and the Beast" more.

[xxhplinkxx]

I have a question for those who have seen the show.

In the movie, "Under the Sea" occurs and then Triton destroys the Grotto. On the Musical Soundtrack, it seems that "The World Above (Reprise)" is the equivalent to "Destruction of the Grotto" but on the CD it comes before "Under the Sea". My question is, in the actual show, does "The World Above (Reprise)" come first, or does "Under the Sea"?

[SpringHeelJack]

It's the way it is on the OBCR. "Under the Sea" comes after.

[xxhplinkxx]

Hm. That doesn't make too much sense. How do they make it work in the musical?

[SpringHeelJack]

Not very well.

[Disney Duster]

Are you kidding? If kids didn't go to Broadway, Disney would have no market for any of their stage shows.

I think Disney could try to pull off shows more for an adult audience, and I think The Lion King serves adults enough. At least The Hunchback of Notre Dame looks like it may need older audiences.

But on that note, something I didn't like about The Little Mermaid was it did seem a little too kiddish. Everyone was acting big and I know that you need to do that on stage, but it sounded more like they were trying to get the message across so kids could understand and would like it, not just to reach people in the back rows. Sherie Rene Scott seemed less like she was performing for children, and I think her acting was better from it, if that was the case. Oh, that's right, I saw the show, and I want to review it here for you all!

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS But if you are okay with some spoilers and just not spoilers about the most important parts, like the end, then I will put a red SPOILER warning so you can try to avoid what I think are the worst spoilers! I will designate between a PLOT SPOILER, as in something pertaining to the story, and a SPECTACLE SPOILER, as in something pertaining to an amazing set, costume, or effect. You'll know it's safe to start reading again when I end it with END OF SPOILER.

So, Saturday, April 5, my friend Megan (who used to be on here as Jasmine1022, she has less time to collect Disney DVDs and more busy with school these days) and I went to see The Little Mermaid on Broadway! It was a trip organized for lots of friends of Megan's mom's, organized by some woman for her church. She apparently does lots of Broadway show trips and always gets great seats. I think all our people took up most of the middle row, the Orchestra seats (they're considered some of the best)!

So let me start off by saying I was excited to see The Little Mermaid on Broadway just because it's one of my top 3 favorite Disney movies. But I also knew it got bad reviews and saw pictures that didn't look good. I also didn't like the changes in the story I had heard. But I went in thinking it would still be magical, and I'd say it was!

I am going to try to say things that haven't been said before, a new take on the show. But for now I will get the things out of the way that people have already said and I can't help but agree. The costumes for creatures that are half human are the better ones, but the ones where they're a completely different animal need to make them look more like the animals. Scuttle's a little too clown and needs to be more seagull. Sebastian's crab on a hat sometimes had me focus on it and tricked my mind into thinking a crab was moving on stage, but it would be better if the crab eyes extended more, the costume had claws, and the actor crouched and acted more like a crab!

Some people said the sets were trying to be literal and abstract, but I think the whole thing was abstract, abstract, abstract like The Lion King. Also, a lot of the set looked flat, from the ship to the water to the pillars of Prince Eric's ballroom. I understand on a stage flat makes it easier because the stage can't go back that far and there's only so much room, but still. I thought the sun for land was actually fine, but when it was the sun of the sea, it needed to look a little more like what it was supposed to be (jellyfish?). The corkscrew pieces that occasionally came out were not good, like everyone said. They didn’t look like anything. If they had been seaweed in the sea and weeping willows in the lagoon, then it may have worked, but they were unknown objects that fanned out to have more unknown features and served unknown functions, except maybe to have birds able to be in the sky without wires, or to look pretty. But the main problem was the stage was so empty except for them! So they need to be bigger or get bigger or something. SPECTACLE SPOILERThe compositions for “Under the Sea” and “Kiss the Girl”, the two scenes the corkscrews were featured in, were bad and unfulfilling.END OF SPOILER

During the show I often thought, “I think I get the idea, but they need to execute it better.” I think the idea for the merpeople is they have a tail that can move and that you’re supposed to see from the back and the side, but when they are facing the audience, they have a tail/dress. I think the tail-dress should try to look more like a tail, maybe sort of have a flat front half of a tail sewn onto the front of skirt, and then transparent fin-like material for the rest, so it doesn’t look like the merpeople just have a skirt with a tail. Scuttle’s rock may be cloud-like because he is from the sky, but it looks more like bubbles on the surface that got too big. It should look more like a rock, but it can also look like a cloud at sunset, since they turn yellow. An idea that did seem to make it was for the chambermaids that wash Ariel. They had yellow, bouncy dresses, and I think it was supposed to remind us of yellow chicks, because they were gossiping like hens about this mysterious girl and the prince. You’ve heard of chatty women being compared to squawking chickens. Actually, the UD member Ariel'sprince noted they look like sponges, which fits even more since they are washing Ariel and even have sponges with them.

The special effects were mixed. The lightning bolts were great, and very loud, so the destruction of the ship and grotto were somewhat scary and powerful because of them. But I really didn’t like the video projections. They were behind the characters and almost like backgrounds, and I thought it would have been better to rely on lights and pyrotechnics instead.

Also, many people said the story was changed for the worse. Agreed. The destruction of Ariel's grotto was powerful but would have been much better where it had been in the original film. The contest that replaces Eric getting married to Vanessa took away the drama, the wondering of what would happen (of course he won't find the voice!!!!). PLOT SPOILERAnd Ursula staying small may have been easier but it would have been far better to have a sense she was an all powerful force taking over the kingdom and it took a lot to destroy her...not breaking a "bauble". And just because it hasn’t been said yet about this, destroying a supernatural villain by breaking a supernatural item has been done lots of times before this. Getting gutted by a ship bow was much more original.END OF SPOILER

Those out of the way, here are thoughts of mine I feel haven't been heard as much. Ariel's acting was...not so great to me. Yes, I know she conveyed emotion very well, but she seemed so underwhelming. She is considerably different from the Ariel in the film. That Ariel may have been bratty, and I did like that Sierra wasn't such a b*tch to her dad, like when they hugged after he berated her for going to the surface, but the determined Ariel in the film would not have needed Carlotta's comfort after some girls merely laughed at her. The original film's Ariel felt like a stronger character. But Sierra was still sweet, cute, and highly likable. Of course her voice was the best part, and she had the best voice in the entire cast (as she should!). What I heard on the internet didn't do her justice, she sounded much more gorgeous, clear, crystalline, soaring, and powerful in person. It's true what they say, you have to hear them live for they don't sound as good on the interweb!

People said King Triton was good but underused. Well, I only thought his singing was really good. He was not as strong, loud, and powerful as he should have been. I mean, it's so funny to hear the sailors talk about how a very loud, scary storm is King Triton’s doing. One thing's for sure, he is a far cry from the original film's Triton, and way less effective. Megan was the first to point it out, and I agreed. As for almost all the other characters, they were a little cute or a little funny, but they all had good voices. Flounder was really, really underused, he had like no purpose because Ariel conveyed her hopes and dreams to other characters or the audience. I didn't have the original Prince Eric, Sean Palmer, and maybe I didn't like that my blond, younger replacement didn't look like the film's Eric as much as Sean, but he was hotter. Megan thought he was a more personality-filled Eric, which was true but he still wasn't enough for me. In fact, maybe because his daring do from the original film was taken away, he seemed less impressive. And he was written so stupid. PLOT SPOILERWhen Flotsam and Jetsam electrocute the boat, he says it must have been a weird storm. Hehe, well, maybe it could be pulled off but the way he said it so nonchalantly was funny in a bad way.END OF SPOILER

The real stand-out for me, and it seems the obvious best actor in the bunch, was Sherie Rene Scott as Ursula. She may not have made me laugh at jokes that were written to be funny like "eating caviar before it hatches", but her delivery of other lines and lyrics and the way she did things made me laugh. I usually had a giggle when she called people names like "babycakes!" Sherie Rene may not have been scary except for her music and her second costume, but she was still a great Ursula and the best part of the show for me. PLOT SPOILERSpeaking of the music and costume, possibly my favorite part was when Ursula comes for Ariel at sunset. With Ursula arriving in shadow, Ariel's voice singing and Sherie finishing the singing sarcastically, and the loud, foreboding music, it felt so cool.END OF SPOILER

But actually my favorite part was probably what it was in the film, when Ursula takes Ariel's voice. Ursula is wearing her second costume, the best costume in the whole show. SPECTACLE SPOILERIt trails like a beautiful train, very queen-like for someone who once was a queen, but then it opens up to become a webbed, black shape that looks like it might consume Ariel. Maybe it is a little two spider-like and could be better with more slimy, blubbery looking tentacles, but it was still so cool. Then she cast her spell over the shell and it glowed. Ariel’s transformation was also cool, and perfectly fine. People said it needed to be magical but it was better than the Beast’s transformation (in my opinion), with Ariel in silhouette, then her tail falling off in a burst of purple light. Someone said it looked bad, falling in a heap. Well that’s not where your eyes are supposed to go, and it’s in the dark, and personally I think it was great because it’s like Ariel is really losing her old self, like she lost her voice. She kicks it off like she tries to break free of her father’s rules and the sad underwater world. I had heard Disney wanted the Act I Finale to be like Wicked’s. I guess this is similar, with the green lighting, Ursula’s black webbing like Elphaba’s black cape, and Ariel rising to the surface defying what’s watery.END OF SPOILER

Of course, the scene's still a little less powerful without those smoky green hands grabbing Ariel's voice from her throat. And that's just it. The original movie was more powerful in most scenes than in the stage counterparts. King Triton destroys Ariel’s grotto, but not a statue that represents Ariel’s other desire, and it doesn’t move Ariel enough to make Sebastian think maybe singing “Under the Sea” won’t cut it. Maybe it’s good Ariel spent less time crying and thought of actually leaving home? It’s certainly feminist.

Oh, that’s another thing. In many interviews Sherie’s talked about making the play a little more feminist. Pat Carroll said in one interview she hated Ariel because she was sweet and beautiful. Sherie wanted to hate Ariel because she was a woman throwing away her voice and power in a sea ruled by a big strong man. So she was allowed to have lines like that, and I wonder if she pushed the feminism so far we ended up with lines like, “So you’re the prince who came to rescue her? Maybe you should have thought she could save herself?” or something like that. PLOT SPOILERAnd I was like…uh, it was still you’re phallic trident that made her happy, and you had to save her from being Ursula’s prisoner. Then again, Ariel saved her father after he saved her, and saved the whole kingdom, including herself, and destroyed the villain. This puts her close to Cinderella, who saved herself (in a way) and defeated the villain. Both involved objects breaking. The big difference is Ariel is saving herself from what Ursula did without a man’s help in any way. I still don’t think Ariel was really saving herself that much since Ursula wasn’t doing anything to her in particular. Or maybe Triton meant Ariel saved herself because she tried to make herself happy. But that’s what got her in trouble to be saved from. Whatever. It’s just a story, we don’t have to see if these characters fit feminist ideals. But did Sherie influence the whole play this much?END OF SPOILER

All in all, I had a magical time at the theater! Of course I would never want to miss The Little Mermaid as a Broadway show, unless it was totally different like they weren’t really mermaids and there was no magic, but after seeing it I can honestly say I’m so glad I didn’t miss it, and I’m very glad I saw it with the original cast. If you love the movie and want to know whether you should see it, it will depend on what your reasons for loving the movie are. People have said Sierra is just like Ariel and if you are fans of Ariel, you’ll probably like this. But if you like Ursula or the movie itself as a whole, you may be slightly disappointed. Look at some of the pictures and listen to some of the songs before you decide. But even I was a fan of the whole movie, especially for Ursula, and I enjoyed myself immensely and loved the time I had, even if I don’t think I can say I love the show itself, as it is. I went in with an open mind and I think everyone must realize this will be a new, very different interpretation of the film. To my surprise, the people we went with enjoyed it even though it was so different and..."out there" in the designs.