My Sherie Rene as Ursula Costume Design

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 10:39pm

Okay, so...The Little Mermaid is coming to Broadway. There are 5,3048 things I can think of that will be QUITE a task getting on stage...but...well, it IS Disney. They make Mary Poppins fly and ride up the banister, which are just two examples of the amazing theatrical effects they've put up on stage. Their creative teams are absolutly amazing, and I'm sure it has plenty to do with their budget...but The Little Mermaid. Well.

So they just recently released the cast list. As I'm reading the article I see that my beloved Sherie Rene Scott (Aida, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Last Five Years) will be starring in the new Disney show. Um? I'm thinking, wow, she must be starring as Ariel.

Beautiful, blonde, skinny belter. She isn't playing Ariel. She's playing Ursula. My jaw dropped. I was like...what...the...omg. But then I got to thinking. I got past thinking Ursula would be much better played by an obese man in drag and realized. Sherie can do anything. Her Ursula won't be ugly and disgusting, it will be FIERCE. She will be so...amazing. I can't wait to see how she'll perform the role. But her costume. Is a totally different issue. So I started thinking. How do you turn SRS into a giant, fabulous OCTOPUS...on stage? How?! This is my attempt:


There are some weird flaws, but I'm working on fixing them. Any comments or suggestions?


Updated On: 4/12/07 at 10:39 PM

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 10:42pm

I think it's nice - probably a hell of a lot better than what will actually happen (though Sherie has big tits) - but don't you think you should put "MY DESIGN" in the subject or something? People arre going to come here thinking it's THE design.

[MungoGypsy8232]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 10:42pm

Wow, that's some major skill!

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 10:43pm

I like it, but one question: Is the big thing under the tentacles a large skirt or a rock? Because if it's a rock, how's she going to move?

[CapnHook]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 10:43pm

While I applaud your effort, and am strongly impressed by your sketching skills, I think there is an execution flaw. One hand raises half the tentacles. I think all of the tentacles need to be independent. Ursula has the ability to manuveur each tentacle on its own.

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 10:46pm

Your beloved is Sherie Rene, not Renee

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 10:52pm

Ooooo!! I really like it! It's sort of in the same mindset as the Ariel costume sketch that was posted a while ago.

[BDrischBDemented]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 11:04pm

But...will Ursula still be large? Because otherwise "Wasting Away" becomes pretty lame. It really only works well when it's a heavy character winging about how thin and starving they are.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 11:12pm

Blahh..I hope they won't hide her under tons of makeup etc...

[actor]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 11:27pm

Whoa!

[Tag]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 12:57am

Where are the Heelys?

[BroomstickBoy]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 1:02am

If I may be picky, Ursula is a squid with 6 legs, not an octopus with 8. Well, she was in the movie.

Pat Carroll mentioned that she's a squid because it was less expensive to draw.

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 1:08am

To this day, Ursula remains one of the creepiest, most intriguing Disney villains to me. There's just something about her -- the name, the tentacles, the evil ooze that she just exerts -- she's a fantastic villain, I think.

I applaud your effort for the costume -- I think you've got the basic idea down on how to achieve it. However, as others have said, movement is probably the biggest issue. I don't think she should be hoisted THAT much off the ground yet; otherwise, her big transformation (if done onstage) won't be as grand. Great job, though!

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 1:23am

Wow...that looks a LOT like how I did my Ursula costume my freshman year of college...great minds, eh?

Beautiful sketching...and for the record, octopi/squid don't typically use individual tentacles unless grabbing, and on stage that'll be terribly difficult to pull of successfully...so there is a good chance for this one to end up similar.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 9:15am

Too Skinny, but nice try.

[My2cents2]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 10:28am

That's a great sketch. You've definitely got some talent..I'd be interested in seeing your ideas for some other costume pieces as well.

I'm curious...are you interested in costume design or do you just draw as a hobby?

*and Curtain Pull Downer - this IS Sherie Renee we're talking about, she is a thin woman. Sure she's broad shouldered but her body is pretty thin nonetheless....

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:08am

Oh I know My 2 cents, but as Ursula, they are putting her in a baloon or puppet of some sort.

[ChrisLovesShows]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:18am

Very creative!

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:27am

"Oh I know My 2 cents, but as Ursula, they are putting her in a baloon or puppet of some sort."

Really?

Source, please?

[sally1112]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 1:31pm

Great sketch. Thank you for sharing!

Got any more ideas?

Do you do this just for fun?

[Sykes24]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 1:40pm

I think this design is pretty fantastic. What's great, is you create a really LARGE asethtic in the costume without having to do anything too crazy, it's a fun mix between a fabulous evening gown and an actual fish costume. Congrats!

I'm very impressed! Would love to see more ideas from you!

[Sykes24]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 1:42pm

I think this design is pretty fantastic. What's great, is you create a really LARGE asethtic in the costume without having to do anything too crazy, it's a fun mix between a fabulous evening gown and an actual fish costume. Congrats!

I'm very impressed! Would love to see more ideas from you!