See the Cast of THE LITTLE MERMAID Fly at Paper Mill Playhouse! — Page 2

The costumes, while already better than the Broadway version, are not there yet.

My big problem is this: the flying is cool, no doubt, and will make for a better effect than the heeley's, but as a regional/community theater director - how is this going to be the licensed version? How many community theaters can fly their cast? I know that flying isn't required, but this is hopefully the new licensed version of the show and I can see the calls to the flying companies now :)

I didn't think my post was that confusing.

There's a tail piece on the back that actually moves during flight like a mermaid tail.

There's a tail piece on the front that is just sitting in front of the long skirts the actors are wearing to simulate moving in water.

The tail piece in the back actually moves like a tail when the actors are flying.

The tail piece in the front just sits on the skirt.

I find the static tail in the front distracting compared to the actually flexing tail in the back.

they obviously dont have a broadway budget so sets wont be lavish and yes tritons costume is odd (ariels looks ok though) but if the broadway production with their budget, cratives etc had done the flying aspect i think it woukd have been a much better show and far more effective

I have to admit with those who feel the "flying" is rather sad. As someone who has flown actors in PETER PAN, CINDERELLA and THE WIZARD OF OZ, I would suggest that the harness be connected to the actor's lower back to simulate swimming. Right now the connection is in the upper back and it just looks like their being pulled through space. Some sort of frontal support may be required if the connection is lower, though.

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Well the sound hasn't worked on either time I viewed the clip. Sorry.

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How is this going to work with big dance numbers like Under the Sea? So is basically the entire show done with the flying I guess (except for obviously the parts on land)? It seems cool, but impractical.

I just got back from the show.
The flying was beautifully done - the flowy costumes worked well, and Triton's costume does not look as "miranda-esque" in real life as it does in the video.
Scuttle flies for most of the show, and he does land and has the tap number with the other gulls. There is no flying in Under the Sea.
The costumes were beautiful, with the exception of Flounder. I know he's supposed to be young, but his costume was ugly and I couldn't stand the skateboarding he does to get around. Flotsam and Jetsam are on heelies, otherwise everyone "swims" or walks.
The cast was terrific - standouts for me were Liz McCartney as Ursula and Alan Mingo Jr. as Sebastian.
It was a really fun show. I've never seen the original Broadway production, so I don't have anything to compare it to, but it was very well done and fun for adults and kids alike.
Alan Menken was in the audience and we had the privilege of meeting him during intermission.

Ursula does not fly at all. Her tentacles move around some, and Flotsam and Jetsam wrap themselves around in them. She sings "Daddy's Little Angel" and two of the dolls representing her sisters are attached under her tentacles.
Her demise was a low point of the show. It was very abrupt.
They do have the singing contest, which seemed silly and stolen from Cinderella. At the end of that Eric decides he loves Ariel despite her lack of voice. They don't have any of the storyline from the movie where Ursula becomes Vanessa, which to me seems to be a major plot point. At the end of the singing contest, Eric states his love for Ariel, then Ursula's eyes are projected onto a screen behind them. Ariel is taken, and Triton comes down to get her and turns over his kingdom to Ursula. Eric, meanwhile, just kind of wanders around on the beach saying how he won't rest until he finds Ariel again. Then Ariel grabs the shell containing her voice, gets her voice back and smashes the shell, which in turn kills Ursula. They hold up a sheet and some electrical currents are projected on that, and Ursula is gone. Triton gets his power back, gives his blessing to Ariel to marry Eric, turns her human again and they live happily ever after. Is that how she was killed in the original production? That definitely could have been handled better.
Overall I still really enjoyed the show. The audience loved it and gave an immediate standing ovation.

Updated On: 5/30/13 at 07:53 AM

Thank you for the reply, Bumbrake. It really does annoy me that they really haven't changed anything at all despite saying how they "retooled" the show. The only real change seems to be the replacement of Good Times with Daddy's Little Angel. Of course I'm just talking about the libretto and not the production design and staging which does seem like a vast improvement. Hope they put out some production stills and video soon.

Edit: And Darreyl, when I saw the show with Heidi as Ursula, she did go down the trap but Triton just entered in from the wings.

Updated On: 5/30/13 at 10:44 AM

Please tell me the Poor Unfortunate Souls (Reprise) is still in the show!

Ariel has a lament? That's interesting. Does it come off as redundant so shorty after Part of Your World?

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That's too bad - I prefer "Good Times Back" to "Daddy's Little Angel"

I thought that was pretty good. Ariel looks like she was really struggling in the harness a few times, and I could here a few vocal quivers that I'm going to guess come from the flying. I actually like the projection of Ursula's eyes a lot more than I thought it would.

Updated On: 5/30/13 at 07:20 PM