Some Little Mermaid changes from Denver

[it'sjustshowbiz]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 1:19am

First off, I want to say that Norm Lewis should get his own song. Since Denver, they actually cut down his verse in “If Only”. I would love to see him sing a song about being a father and having trouble relating to his daughter now that she is growing up. Also, it would be great to find out what exactly happened to Ariel’s mom.

Differences from the Denver try-out include:

1. They show Ariel first thing after the curtain rises. Before, we first saw Ariel when she sang “This is Where I Belong”.

2. There was less intro to “Fathoms Below” when the ship came down. The singing started immediately. I really like this change because it makes the show start more powerful than before.

3. There were Mermen guards at the performance. Before there were no male merpeople except Triton.

4. The Mermaid tails have more disconnected pieces to make them move more. The photos of Ariel that have been released show the old tail.

5. Scuttle had feathers added to the sleeves of his costume.

6. Triton has a better Trident. It is that clear glass looking material. Very pretty.

7. Triton was angrier and his temper was worse.

8. “I Want the Good Times Back” had many changes. The second chorus was different, they took out my favorite line before the song, (“Like a shellfish, mamma knows when she’s been shucked.”) and they added extra eel dancers in addition to Floatsom and Jetsam. It looked good with the extra bodies, but I lost the feeling that Ursula and Floatsom and Jetsam were outcasts. The new eels had different costumes from Flotsam and Jetsam, who had lights on their new costumes which they didn’t have in Denver. Also, this scene had flashier lights in the background and Ursula seemed more energetic during this number, as well as throughout the whole show. She was much nicer to the eels by not calling them names and saying “sing before I skin you alive and turn you both into handbags”.

9. Ariel’s grotto in “Part of Your World” seemed bigger with larger “human stuff”. Previously, when she got up out of her grotto she swung her legs around the grotto and you could see her real legs come out of her skirt. They changed it now so you don’t see it.

10. There were some lines added between transitions, such as one of the mersisters saying, “I can do her part- I know every note” after a song.

11. They added in Sebastian’s line, “Someone should nail that girl’s fins to the floor”.

12. Ariel added in a much needed part about saying, “I don’t belong here, and I never did”. I would have liked to have seen that be more developed, but at least it is out there.

13. They omitted Ursula’s line when she tells Ariel not to be scared of her because “I’ve known you since you were a minnow”.

14. After Triton destroys Ariel’s grotto he goes to storm away, then turns back to talk to her again, but then changes his mind. Ariel said her next line about hating him with such hatred! Very emotional. I don’t remember it being that dramatic in Denver.

15. Now, Eric must marry by his 25th birthday.

16. They changed “If Only”, but not for the better. Some of the lines were changed, i.e. “My shakles would be broken” to “The silence would be broken” and “How I hid behind my smile” to “How I ached behind my smile”. They also cut some of Sebastian’s speaking before his part of the song. I liked all those line changes; however the end of the song is where I had issues. They cut Triton’s verse, so now he only sings two lines by himself. They cut the lines “I’m still getting over having lost her poor sweet mother…If I loose her too, I don’t know how I can go on”. Before Triton started his verse very powerful with strong music, but it is much softer now. The parts all four sang at the end were different from before, but they seemed to blend together so I couldn’t understand much of what was said. All and all, I liked the old way better.

17. One of the contestants in the singing contests runs off while the other contestants are still onstage. She is changing to become an Ariel double.

18. There is now a battle between Ariel and Ursula at the end of the show, and it is under water. Ariel is now back to being a mermaid. There is lots of smoke, and Ursula’s demise is different. She goes though a trap door, and Triton comes up shortly after.

19. Triton changes her back to a mermaid. While many people on this board thought that was a necessity, I didn’t think it was very important. However, I loved how he helped her swim up out of the water. That was an emotional part for me, and I’m sure adults in the audience will really be touched by that part.

20. When Triton sings his “If Only” reprise Ariel sings his line saying “Oh, I love you so, if only you could know”.


The audience loved the show! There were cheers before “Part of Your World” and ‘Under the Sea”. They went crazy with when Eric drowned. It seemed to be a “wow” moment. Of course they loved Ariel’s transformation. Some people cheered when Ariel came out in her pink dress.

I enjoyed the show more than I did in Denver, but I thought it was good then. The show got a bad rap on this board, and it seems like some of the biggest critics were people who didn’t even see the show. The biggest improvements were the ending battle and Triton helping her up out of the water.

Again, I would like to see Triton sing a song about his challenges being a king and a father. Not only would it show off his voice, but adults would relate to this song. Many parents struggle with being successful at work, but not having much control over their children. Also, I would love to know what happened to Ariel’s mother. At one point Triton says “Don’t you remember what happened to your mother?” That would be a perfect time to answer that question.

This show is going to be very popular.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 1:22am

Ooh! You saw this tonight, did you?!

[it'sjustshowbiz]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 1:25am

I'm sorry???

I saw it about a week and a half ago. I've been too busy with my own life to post about it since then. You can drop the attitude.

[FutureAladdinOnB'Way]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 1:31am

Thank you for posting the differences between Denver and New York it'sjustshowbiz; I was interested in hearing how much has been changed.

[BillFinn]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 1:33am

Sebastian's dialogue before his part in "If Only" is a little bit important. It's reminding the audience what's at stake since time seems to pass by so quickly in this musical. We might forget what day it is. Etc.

"Two sunsets have passed and the Prince hasn't made a move. And now there is only tomorrow and he'll have his pick of any princess in the land."

It should stop there. Cut out all that "God bless you child. Oh, how can such a little mermaid get such a big wish." excess faux-calypso stuff.

I think it's more active to say "How I ached behind my smile" instead of "How I hide behind my smile." Cutting Triton's verse during the quartet part seems right. He had really ridiculous lyrics like "If only she were home, I'd try to make it right. If only she'd swim by me... I should have started listening" Really generic and boring lyrics which don't do anything for him.

In Denver, Triton revealed that Ariel's mother was killed by humans. That's why he banished the kingdom from going to the surface. I guess they cut that part.

My favorite lyric is when Sebastian sings in "If Only" --- "I would give my life to make this happen." I just never would imagine Sebastian saying something like that. Maybe it's out of character. Or maybe it fits now. But that's so noble of him to think that of Ariel.

Updated On: 11/19/07 at 01:33 AM

[it'sjustshowbiz]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 1:33am

You are very welcome. I know others were very curious as well.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 1:39am

I'm just saying you posted with no context and didn't give a date when you saw it.

[BroomstickBoy]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 11:39am

What? No handbags? I loved that line.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 2:47pm

I saw the show Friday, November 9 at the Lunt-Fontanne. I did not see it in Denver, so I have nothing to compare to. But I liked it...a lot. Sherie Renee Scott scared my daughter to the point of tears, which is what Ms. Scott was shooting for, right?

Personally, I found her thrilling.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 3:05pm

Thanks so much for writing about the changes.

Incidentally, I watched a DVD from the Denver run was about to start searching this board to read about the changes done to the show since Denver.

I was actually quite surprised how much I enjoyed the show, even in it's Denver incarnation. Yes, it still looked like a work-in-progress, but you could see the potential.

Sherie was sensational and Sean (Palmer) could give Cheyenne Jackson a run for his money regarding those thighs. Ouch!