Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

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Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/3/08 at 10:55pm

Hey! I'm seeing it next week...any opinions/critiques on it?

=)

"I told you, NO Rodgers and Hammerstein!"- Bart Simpson

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:00pm

I hated it.

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:04pm

Google the review in the Village Voice, it is a great read.

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:04pm

I really enjoyed it. It was not the best thing ever but it is a fun show!

"I'd rater be nine peoples favorite thing, than a hundred peoples ninth favorite thing"

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:05pm

I saw it a week ago, and I really enjoyed it. Granted, it's definitely family fare and isn't exactly, well, deep, but it's colorful and fun. Sierra Boggess has a lovely voice and Sherie Rene Scott was amazing the night I saw her.

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:16pm

Tituss Burgess is the one single redeeming factor, of this show.

it sucked. but I love Tituss

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:16pm

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re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:43pm

My friends and I all loved the show! Enjoy!

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:52pm

I liked it, but I am a big Disney fan. Of course it isn't profound in any way, but It was a spectacle. Sometimes that's just what you need :)

#10

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:54pm

It's a mess. The sets are awful, the heelies are ridiculous (Sierra is the only one who really makes good use of them), the new songs are blah. BUT, I had a really, really good time when I saw it. The Little Mermaid is my favorite movie of all time; even if it's really bad theater, seeing it on stage and hearing that music live is still a lot of fun, and there's something to be said for that.

A work of art is an invitation to love.

Updated On: 4/8/08 at 11:54 PM

#11

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:56pm

but even compared to the other Disney musicals.. this is an extreme dissapointment.

I could SEE the actors crawling, on stage, to get to their positions for the various transformations. c'mon.

and a piece of fabric falling off Sierra's body-double as THE big transformation??

#12

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/4/08 at 1:05am

i loved it!!!!!!!

#13

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/4/08 at 1:10am

I loved it, and I think it's a great show. Not the best I've ever seen, but it's a very entertaining and enjoyable experience.

#14

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/4/08 at 1:39am

I really enjoyed it! I'm a disney guy at heart so really any Disney show will put a smile on my face. Honestly though, I went to see it with an open mind after hearing all of the negative bashing towards the show and I still found it enjoyable. Have a great time!

#15

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/4/08 at 2:55am

I loved it, but its definitely flawed. Franchesca Zambello was one of the worst decisions Disney could have made as far as choosing a director. However, the show survives despite itself and its inherent flaws.

The score is the show's saving grace, along with the cast. The new numbers do some really great fleshing out of the characters, especially "Her Voice", "One Step Closer", and "If Only". Sierra Boggess has a gorgeous voice with a beautifully classical flair to it which lets her deliver both a powerhouse belt and a smooth as glass soprano. Sherie Scott is...she's Sherie Scott. The things Tituss Burgess does to "Under the Sea" are unreal.

Yes, several of the the costumes are ugly, but some of them are kind of neat. The sets are not really ugly so much as they are impressionistic and suggestive. While the effects are few and far between, there are some great ones. Eric's sinking/rescue is done simply, but artistically and is stunning to watch.

The book isn't great, but its not horrific.

#16

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/4/08 at 9:12am

After I saw it I wasn't sure what to think. In other words I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. Part of Your world did bring tears to my eyes (don't know what to say considering the fact that I am the straightest of straight men.) But, I would re visit the show to get a second personal opininon.

"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear" Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll

#17

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/4/08 at 9:43am

I really wanted to like it but it fell a little short of my expectations. The cast is great, but most of the production values, including the book and the new songs are subpar IMO. The costumes ran the gamut from "ok that's kinda interesting" (like Ursula's costume) to "I don't even know what those people are supposed to be". The set was ok, there were a few rare moments where the stage picture looked really pretty. Unfortunatly there are two big corkscrew towers that move on and offstage that are just eyesores and clutter up the stage.

The new songs were for the most part, forgettable. The only standouts were "I Want The Good Times Back" and "Her Voice". But I have to say, I was really disapointed at how Ariel's transformation was handled. This is Disney! These are the people who pulled off the Beast's transformation in B&TB and all those great special effects in Mary Poppins. And all they could think of for TLM was to have some fabric fall off while the body double is squirming around in mid-air??? I usually don't emphasize special effects, but Ariel's transformation is a moment that we've been anticipating all through Act 1 and it just really fell flat for me.

"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Updated On: 4/4/08 at 09:43 AM

#18

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/4/08 at 9:51am

i really loved the show! i am a big fan of disney and the show was what i expected and more...the and more lay mostly in the superb cast on stage. i especially enjoyed boggess and scott, thought their performances were excellent and id love to see the show again. i highly recommend it!

#19

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/4/08 at 10:17am

I am seeing it on the 12th so I will let you know what I think. I asked my partner (who is not as obsessed with theater as I am) what he wanted to see and he did not hesitate when he said "The Little Mermaid"

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."

#20

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/4/08 at 10:33am

I agree with Emcee's opinion. If you're a fan of the music and the movie, it's worth seeing if you can get a good discount.

The morning star always gets wonderful bright the minute before it has to go --doesn't it?

#21

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/4/08 at 10:48am

I loved it, just a good night out, no need to do any heavy thinking!!

#22

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/4/08 at 1:00pm

You couldn't pay me enough to see it again. My 11 year old LIKED it. My 7 year old kind of liked it. BOTH thought JUMP was a much more entertaining show.

I was terribly dissappointed. There was little focus, direction was weak, the costumes were distracting and frankly, I was BORED. Terribly. And I so wanted to enjoy this: as I had Mary Poppins and Lion King. I put this CLOSE in enjoyment level to Chitty, Chitty...UGH.

If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

#23

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/4/08 at 1:36pm

The cast is excellent but the direction and sets are a mess. There are good things about it too but not enough to overcome the bad. Worth watching at least once.

#24

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/4/08 at 3:05pm

"I loved it, just a good night out, no need to do any heavy thinking!!"

That sounds like great advise for Xanadu or Avenue Q or Hairspray, but The Little Mermaid comes with much love and history, via the classic children's story and the amazing animated achievement on the big screen, so a bit more thinking is inevitable. The problem with the musical as it is currently playing is much of the magic is missing. And it really shouldn't be. The blueprint was there, but no one could a) find it or b) wanted to follow it. There are very few "Disney moments" in this incarnation, and the way they muddies the narrative is a shame. I really wanted to love this show, but it (pun semi intended) left me high and dry.

Some say it's a kids show, but it wasn't approached that way, so things like the costumes, the 'interesting' sets, etc. don't really fit. And we all know that kids aren't paying 100+ dollars on their own.

What it does have in it's favor is the brand name "THE LITTLE MERMAID" and all that it means to various people for various things. If it's dear to you, then perhaps you should check it out, if only to see "Under The Sea" or "Kiss the Girl" played out live in front of you, capturing a bit of the "disney dust" of the film.

#25

re: Opinions on the Little Mermaid?

Posted: 4/7/08 at 11:22pm

But I have to say, I was really disapointed at how Ariel's transformation was handled. This is Disney! These are the people who pulled off the Beast's transformation in B&TB and all those great special effects in Mary Poppins. And all they could think of for TLM was to have some fabric fall off while the body double is squirming around in mid-air???

Yet another reason to thank freaking Franchesca Zambello.

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