THE LITTLE MERMAID Reviews — Page 8

"I am pretty sure we won't see Zambello touch ANYTHING Disney, even with a ten foot pole, EVER again."

Why???? It's her job to pull this crap together- and she failed. I mean really- yes Disney has produced messes- but both Tarzan and Little Mermaid suffered from directors who can't tell stories.

They should have fired her and brought in someone new is what they should have done.

I thought Sierra was wonderful. I watched the movie 2 days before I saw the show and she captures the animated Ariel perfectly. It was kind of amazing how well she does it.

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I think the negative pre-buzz for this show really had a lot to do with why it sank last night in the reviews. When critics go into a show expecting it to be bad, they take on a mindset that doesn't leave many doors open for an overall fun or positive experience. WHICH is what the show is all about... having fun.

But they are critics. Their job is to go in whith an open mind. If they can't do that then why do they have the job they do?

How long does anyone think it will be before advanced ticket sales slow down? That's what happened with Tarzan. Tickets were hard to come by for months in advance until the reviews came out, and then they slowed. With this getting a worse review, I can sort of see it following the same patter. Of course you can't compare LM to Tarzan, but all is fair in the world of Broadway...

Bad reviews aside, word of mouth is not going to do any favors for this show either. One of my co-workers alone has already convinced at least 10 other people not to bother seeing it. He took his daughter; daughter didn't like it and got really fidgety because it is too long for a little kid to sit thru, and he and his wife thought it was a complete waste of money. So they're spreading the word among both their offices and the school that their kid goes to that Little Mermaid is a dud. I know of at least 2 other sets of parents who are doing the same thing. You know these are not the only parents forewarning other parents. It doesn't take long for word to get around in workplaces and school situations that "oh, so and so saw it and said it was awful." And he told two friends, and they told two friends, and they told two friends ...

I have to agree with the majority of the reviews, but I find it a little funny that they all keep saying that its just a bigger, longer theme park show. The Disney World version of The Little Mermaid is enchanting and keeps the spirit of the movie so well. In fact, when I first heard that it was being adapted for the stage, I was hoping that it would be pretty much an extended version of the theme park show (more in the style of Beauty and the Beast). In my opinion, that would be a far more interesting, visually stunning, and enchanting piece of theatre.

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<< The Disney World version of The Little Mermaid is enchanting and keeps the spirit of the movie so well. >>

Not to mention the fact that the "transformation" scene is handled so much better at Disney World !!! At least there is some smoke !!!

Yankee,

Do you think it could be the way the role is written or perhaps the way she was directed that causes her not to make much of an impression?

I am not surprised.

Disney has always gotten bad reviews with every single show they put up. That kind of a show is critic-proof, as it should be. People will come to see it and will pay no mind to what any critic says. It's a famous name, people love it, it will run for a long while.

I will be optimistic about this production and hold my anger in check.

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Tom1071,

I haven't seen Boggess in anything else, so I can't say whether or not she's a talented actor/singer who trained enough to elevate herself above a poorly written part or a mediocre, dime-a-dozen soprano who got lucky.

As I stated earlier, the impression I got was the latter. Part of the problem is that Doug Wright's characterization of Ariel allows for no growth - she's naive from beginning to end. She's not in love with the Prince, it's a crush.

I agreed with what was mentioned before, it's not the quality of her performance, it's just a role that you could replace with virtually anyone and the overall look of the production won't change.

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I saw the show in Denver and thought it a bore. It doesn't sound like anything major changed. That's too bad. I really like the movie and wanted the stage production to succeed.

Chris Jone's review in today's Chicago Tribune review hit the nail on the head:
"Although in no way cheap or predictable, the set tends too far toward the sculptural -- it's more interior design than theatrical environment. Most problematic of all, it doesn't give you any kind of crisp dividing line between verdant land and aquamarine sea. Which, if you recall the movie, is pretty much the whole narrative point."

Jones on Sherie Rene Scott:
"The only human off-note is the esteemed Broadway comedienne Sherie Rene Scott, who turns Ursula into a campy cabaret queen with green tentacles (a conceptual rather than a performer's choice). Scott is an incomparable vamper, and the show needs laughs. But it ignores the little matter of Ursula being the force of evil that drives the story. Scott -- who communicates nothing more strongly than a desire to be loved by urban sophisticates -- is no scarier than you could find in your typical singles bar around closing time."

I disagree with him about Scott. I very much enjoyed her performance.

For what it's worth - Chris Jones gave Tarzan a very nice review.

The Little Mermaid Review link:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0111_mermaidjan11,0,916637.story

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If only they would have used bubbles.....

Going solely off of her rendition of "Part of Your World," I think that, yes, she has talent, but she completely butchers that song and sings it completely wrong.

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