My response to Mermaid...and Roadmixer....

[ChenoMenzel]

Posted: 12/19/07 at 4:57pm

So after reading a couple posts, namely the ones by Elphie and Thesbijean, I must say that I absolutely agree with both your assessments of the show. I saw it with my boyfriend last night and I had the exact same problems as you did, from the staging, to the set design, to the new numbers, to the lack of characterization and to the presentational style. These elements combine showcase that there is something fundamentally that does not work within the show. There is a certain magic lacking.

To add a few more issue:

*At the end of Act I, Ariel is on the beach, standing with her arms raised. They open Act II with her on the ground and it is a big deal for her to learn to walk. That was a continuity problem that my boyfriend noticed and upon further thought, annoyed me.
*Also, "Enchanted" is a well executed example of Disney referencing Disney. But when you take "Les Poissons" (sp?) and you turn it in to "Be Our Guest," meaning you use the same exact music and different lyrics; it comes off as awkward and self-important. It falls flat.

But besides that, Roadmixer pointed out that we are about 1% of the Broadway going population and that everyone else loves it and it doesn't matter what we say. I'm paraphrasing, but that is how it came off.

However, what he fails to mention is that possibly unlike the public that goes to see these shows, we are actually actors or somehow interested/invested in the business. Therefore, we understand and can discuss theatre in a more educated and objective way. To further that, my problem is that the mass public thinks that "The Little Mermaid" is what theatre is or should be and that it is the best that it can do. The tastes people have are developed by our culture, which unfortunately doesn't allow us to get emotionally invested nor take us seriously as audience goers. It's basically the blind leading the blind. What was missing from "Mermaid" was that there was no heart and soul. It was just mindless entertainment to be consumed by a mass audience who has been raised to not push themselves intellectually or emotionally when it comes to theatre. I understand "Mermaid's" main draw is for family but I would say get off of Broadway and go back to Disney World, then. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Disney. But, I am an actor. Don't put on "The Little Mermaid" and not expect us to call a spade, a spade.

I am an actor an artist and an entertainer, much like many of you. Therefore I take my career and my community seriously. So, Roadmixer, don't you diminish my and others on this board's opinions because for the most part we know what we're talking about because we actually understand the potential of theatre. We know what dramatic tension is and what it takes to keep it alive. We know when something works. Sad this is, the general public seems to think everything works. That's the real problem, not the fact that you assume we are knocking Disney.