#1
Posted: 1/4/08 at 3:23am
This is the first time I've ever been that disapointed that I needed to write a letter about it. I may or may not send this letter, but it is a work in progress. I need to think about it more... wanted to get opinions. I know spelling/grammar will be plucked apart on this board! haha!
Dear Disney Theatricals,
“Tales as Old as Time,” Disney Theatricals has produced good wholesome family entertainment for over a decade now. Sparking and exciting the youth about theatre at a young age is a wonderful and beneficial. I have seen every show put on Broadway by your company. Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Mary Poppins, were all fantastic and imaginative and still but never strayed too far from what made them iconic Disney movies. I saw Tarzan, (or as I call it, the green headache) although did not particularly care for it, the show still kept the familiar elements of the movie, while being imaginative at the same time. I recently attended your production of “The Little Mermaid,” which I would say is one of your most beloved Disney Classics! I was more than disappointed, I was heartbroken.
I am a performer myself, and I appreciate all forms of theatre. I’m very forgiving when it comes to the stage sometimes, and I can be very easily impressed. What I am most disappointed in this show, is in the design elements of the show. Ariel’s costume alone was inconsistent in its designs. There were so many Ariel doubles! The vision of Ariel that people have in their heads is like in the show when she swims to the surface (just before losing the fins). Not to say that that vision can’t be changed, but Ariel was established as having this train of fabric covering her legs and a tail sticking out the back, as all the mermaids had. I felt they looked like dinosaurs at times and were very distracting! As for the rest of the sea creatures, well I know there were fish, but they were so far from fish looking, it was hard to tell what they were! Sebastian’s costume was great, minus the eyeballs on his hat! I thought the costumes in your “theme park shows” and “on ice” versions of the show are more familiar with audiences, and less distracting .The “Under the Sea,” number should’ve blown “Be Our Guest” out of the water, (excuse the pun)! Would it really have hurt the budget for the use of some bubble machines? I would’ve liked “Kiss the Girl,” more if I hadn’t seen it already in The Lion King. I liked all the “on land” scenes and the transitions between land and sea. I also liked how the “on land” designs were through the eyes of Ariel. I didn’t quite understand, nor like the giant corkscrew objects that drifted and spun in and out of the stage, however, I CAN see how they worked within the show. I give a standing ovation to Natasha Katz, who is brilliant in her work, even when what she is lighting isn’t.
My other concern has to do with why the creators of the show completely changed the ending of the “Disney Classic” gold they held in their hands? I can understand adding scenes here and there for character development, but “if something ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” By doing so, it created questions in the plot that didn’t need to be created in the first place. Like Ursula can’t survive without her shell, but what did she do before the shell was given to her? The character of Vanessa threw that monkey wrench into the protagonist’s wildest dreams! She made the audience say, “how is Ariel going to get herself out of this one?” By removing Vanessa, Ursula (a sea creature) had to unexplainably get to Ariel, who was on land. Also having Triton combine the land and sea worlds made very little sense to me. It took out the piece of the love story that Ariel loved Prince Eric so much that she was willing to sacrifice her world for him. Triton redeemed himself by allowing and approving her departure into the human world that he despised. Eric didn’t rescue Ariel in the show, and therefore didn’t prove anything to Triton to make him change his mind about the human world.
In this letter, I am not asking for my money back. When it comes down to it, I made the decision to see your production.If anything I'd like to think my money went to the performers and backstage crew who deserve it. I have seen many shows I didn’t like, but none have disappointed me as much as this production has. The Little Mermaid lost its charm from screen to stage. Maybe I just had such high standards that I was easily disappointed? Disney is lucky they are banking on the name, music and story of the show, which have already proved themselves worthy over time. I commend you for your efforts in the theatre, but beg you in the future to listen to your audiences. Ask people’s opinions out of town before bringing it to Broadway. You can’t please everyone, and I completely understand you don’t want to lose all creative control, so choose your battles, but listen to your audience; they’re the ones buying tickets.
-Disappointed Disney Fan.
Dear Disney Theatricals,
“Tales as Old as Time,” Disney Theatricals has produced good wholesome family entertainment for over a decade now. Sparking and exciting the youth about theatre at a young age is a wonderful and beneficial. I have seen every show put on Broadway by your company. Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Mary Poppins, were all fantastic and imaginative and still but never strayed too far from what made them iconic Disney movies. I saw Tarzan, (or as I call it, the green headache) although did not particularly care for it, the show still kept the familiar elements of the movie, while being imaginative at the same time. I recently attended your production of “The Little Mermaid,” which I would say is one of your most beloved Disney Classics! I was more than disappointed, I was heartbroken.
I am a performer myself, and I appreciate all forms of theatre. I’m very forgiving when it comes to the stage sometimes, and I can be very easily impressed. What I am most disappointed in this show, is in the design elements of the show. Ariel’s costume alone was inconsistent in its designs. There were so many Ariel doubles! The vision of Ariel that people have in their heads is like in the show when she swims to the surface (just before losing the fins). Not to say that that vision can’t be changed, but Ariel was established as having this train of fabric covering her legs and a tail sticking out the back, as all the mermaids had. I felt they looked like dinosaurs at times and were very distracting! As for the rest of the sea creatures, well I know there were fish, but they were so far from fish looking, it was hard to tell what they were! Sebastian’s costume was great, minus the eyeballs on his hat! I thought the costumes in your “theme park shows” and “on ice” versions of the show are more familiar with audiences, and less distracting .The “Under the Sea,” number should’ve blown “Be Our Guest” out of the water, (excuse the pun)! Would it really have hurt the budget for the use of some bubble machines? I would’ve liked “Kiss the Girl,” more if I hadn’t seen it already in The Lion King. I liked all the “on land” scenes and the transitions between land and sea. I also liked how the “on land” designs were through the eyes of Ariel. I didn’t quite understand, nor like the giant corkscrew objects that drifted and spun in and out of the stage, however, I CAN see how they worked within the show. I give a standing ovation to Natasha Katz, who is brilliant in her work, even when what she is lighting isn’t.
My other concern has to do with why the creators of the show completely changed the ending of the “Disney Classic” gold they held in their hands? I can understand adding scenes here and there for character development, but “if something ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” By doing so, it created questions in the plot that didn’t need to be created in the first place. Like Ursula can’t survive without her shell, but what did she do before the shell was given to her? The character of Vanessa threw that monkey wrench into the protagonist’s wildest dreams! She made the audience say, “how is Ariel going to get herself out of this one?” By removing Vanessa, Ursula (a sea creature) had to unexplainably get to Ariel, who was on land. Also having Triton combine the land and sea worlds made very little sense to me. It took out the piece of the love story that Ariel loved Prince Eric so much that she was willing to sacrifice her world for him. Triton redeemed himself by allowing and approving her departure into the human world that he despised. Eric didn’t rescue Ariel in the show, and therefore didn’t prove anything to Triton to make him change his mind about the human world.
In this letter, I am not asking for my money back. When it comes down to it, I made the decision to see your production.If anything I'd like to think my money went to the performers and backstage crew who deserve it. I have seen many shows I didn’t like, but none have disappointed me as much as this production has. The Little Mermaid lost its charm from screen to stage. Maybe I just had such high standards that I was easily disappointed? Disney is lucky they are banking on the name, music and story of the show, which have already proved themselves worthy over time. I commend you for your efforts in the theatre, but beg you in the future to listen to your audiences. Ask people’s opinions out of town before bringing it to Broadway. You can’t please everyone, and I completely understand you don’t want to lose all creative control, so choose your battles, but listen to your audience; they’re the ones buying tickets.
-Disappointed Disney Fan.
"I'll eat some breakfast, then change the world."
Updated On: 1/4/08 at 03:23 AM
