THE LITTLE MERMAID Reviews- Page 8

[rflpfl2]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 11:16am

"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.

[rflpfl2]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 11:24am

"All I can say is, THANK GOD I swore off Disney last year! The dailies were merciless, but I feel like saying, "serves them right." Keep this sort of stuff in the theme parks."

The stuff in the theme parks work better than the poop they plop up on the bway stage- plus the Little Mermaid show they have in MGM studios is pretty ok to for what is is.

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 11:31am

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.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 11:36am

I think Sierra is excellent, and very surprised her notices werent more positive -

[BroadwayBound86]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 11:54am

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...

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 11:59am

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?

Exactly, BroadwayBound. This is the same thing that happened around the time THE WEDDING SINGER came out: there were plenty of people who were bashing the critics because "they didn't understand that the show is just a lot of fun".

[WestVillage]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 12:09pm

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 ...

[ohjustjake]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 12:16pm

It's too bad. I really wanted this show to do well. It had amazing potential. It's too bad that it was so badly received.

[ElphabaRose]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 12:23pm

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.

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 12:29pm

But on the flip side, there may be people who love it and spread the word to see it. The evening I saw the show, the theater was filled with kids. And it is one of the few times that I can remember being in a theater full of children that were not fidgety, talking, etc. They all seemed to love it and were dragging their parents to the table to pre-order the CD after the show.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 12:35pm

<< 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 !!!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 12:44pm

"What is the consensus on Sierra Boggess? Brantley only mentioned her in passing."

Perhaps that's because she doesn't make much of an impression. She's quite fine in the role, but she's also quite bland in the role.

You can have Raul Esparza wearing a clam shell bikini belting "Part of Your World" and not only would the audience still eat it up, but they wouldn't even the question the fact that he's wearing a clam shell bikini.

The problem is that Boggess is a dime-a-dozen - she's pretty, she sings well, but she's so interchangable in that part...

***

Critics don't go in with a "mindset," unless they've seen the show before, at which point they're comparing it to the production they've seen already. Only David Rooney of Variety went in with prior knowledge of the show.

And we all know that when the best compliment someone has is "I had fun," it ain't good.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 12:55pm

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?

[landryjames2]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 1:02pm

The reviews, especially, Brantley's, are right on the money, and couldn't be more correct. The Little Mermaid is possibly the worst stage adaptation of an iconic piece of pop culture that I have ever witnessed. I fled the theater at intermission like it was on fire because I did not want my memory of a masterpiece of a movie destroyed any longer. It could not be an uglier show if that was the actual goal (I don't know--was that the goal? To be the ugliest, most underwhelming show in recent Broadway history??)

I am generally a huge fan of Disney shows...loved Mary Poppins, Lion King, Beauty, and Aida. Did not care for Tarzan, but Tarzan was more bearable because Tarzan is simply Tarzan--the Little Mermaid is THE LITTLE MERMAID, for heaven's sake.

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 1:05pm

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.

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 1:12pm

rflpfl2: "The stuff in the theme parks works better than the poop they plop on the bway stage." I love that,especially 'the poop they plop.' Honey, you're a keeper. YOU need to write for the NY Times. Forget Brantley. I'm stealing that expression for the duration.
Updated On: 1/11/08 at 01:12 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 1:26pm

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.

[carymetorent2]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 1:36pm

I was surprised Boggess didn't garner better reviews. Most people I know who saw the show had nothing but good things to say about her. I thought she was phenomenal and if nothing else, her voice definitely is gorgeous.

For me, I read these reviews and move on. I enjoyed the show, but I think with a show made out of a movie so famous and it being Disney, the reviews won't matter as much as they do for other shows that are less known.

[blaxx]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 1:57pm

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.

[Miss Galinda]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 2:07pm

I don't know what to think about all the reviews. And (as I am in Georgia), it will probably be a long time before I get to NYC to see the show. I hate to think that they ruined what I consider the 2nd best Disney Movie of all time (Beauty and the Beast is first for me). Just looking at the pictures, I was a bit disappointed...I mean, Sebastian has a crap on his head! Either make him a crab or give him the red suit and the impression of a crab, but don't put one on his head! I agree about the theme park show...I know they couldn't have Sierra going about the entire show perched on a rock to make it look like a fake tail, but the simple theme park effects come off quite impressive! I didn't get to listen to the whole thing last night, but I did enjoy it. I wish they'd release some sort of video - like the previews they air on NY1 - on the internet, so I could see a bit of it in action.

[tgrabon]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 2:20pm

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

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 2:28pm

^ Yeah, but someone said earlier. Ursula isn't meant to scare adults. She is meant to scare the CHILDREN. And someone said the children are definitely being frightened by Sherie.

[singingbackup]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 2:37pm

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

[Tom1071]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 2:54pm

I'm sure Sierra Boggess has got some talent. This maybe her Broadway debut I think she has some pretty good credits and some great opportunities that you don't get by being mediocre.

She was Cosette in the National Tour of Les Mis and she was one of the two Christine's in the Las Vegas Company of Phantom. As far as Phantom goes, I do believe that Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron McIntosh had final casting approval for all the principals in that company.
Updated On: 1/11/08 at 02:54 PM

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 2:55pm

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.