The Little Mermaid...

I just read about how Disney may doing The Little Mermaid, and was curious as to how they would present it. The Disney MGM version is pretty lame, so it would be a daunting task to make it neat on Broadway....Here is an idea I had...

There is this neat park in Florida called Weeki Wachee. It is built around a large spring and has an underwater theatre and stage. Since like the 50's they have been doing underwater shows with props, music, etc. I know it is very far fetched, but any chance Disney would do something like this when, if ever , The Little Mermaid comes to Broadway. Weeki Wachee actually does a 30 minute non-disney version of the little mermaid now, which is awesome! I know it isn't very Broadway like (performers basically lip sync ) , but it is innovative and very shocking, I think.

Here is the link to the park, check it out for pics and stuff.....
http://www.weekiwachee.com

Here is another link to a great story CBS did about the park.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/06/06/earlyshow/living/travel/main511362.shtml

I have been to the park , so if you have any questions about it let me know and I would be happy to answer them...

Updated On: 10/3/05 at 04:27 PM

is it just me or does that first post reak (sp) of shill?

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well, my senses are not very atuned.

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Wait I don't understand...I went to the website and the picture they have on there shows a "mermaid" underwater sipping a coke...how can someoene actually do a show underwater??? Wouldn't they have to keep coming up for breathing because it doesn't look like there's an oxygen tank.

With the right creative minds, giving the Little Mermaid the illusion of being underwater isn't that difficult...it's all in the lighting...like if they got blueish ripply lights...it's a little difficult to explain but maybe someone else can explain better.

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can we not criticize the first post and maybe just discuss the ideas Zoneace and Sorry?

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Updated On: 9/30/05 at 04:50 PM

It sounds to complicated for some reason...air hoses/singing/acting for 2 1/2 hrs? What if something malfunctions? Anyways once again, with the right creative minds, they can make the underwater illusion onstage possible.

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No, yeah, i've seen the shows before. I saw the Simple Life thing about it, so I get how its done. But I dunno, I just think its sorta cheesy - no offense.

supergrass rocked! I think we should wait and see how little mermaid turns out... when you think what they can do on stage now (saigons helicopter, chitty flying, Elphaba flying, les mis and the barricades etc) we all know that they are props helping the actors but suspension of disbelief allows the audience to accept this... i think it'll be ok! Disney has got the budget to make it look good!

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They might want someone in the mezzo-soprano range to be Ariel. I'm currently wondering about costumes and casting and speical effects Here's what I think they might do Ariel's tail. The have a slim skrit with scales swen on it and fake fins swen on the sides.

Updated On: 9/30/05 at 06:29 PM

Yeah, I'm excited too. If Disney gets the right creative people they can really make it great....

*BUMP* I think this is an interesting challenge.

I'd like to hear people's opinions on what could be done to resolve these

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I can't give answers to everything, but I tried my best:

* The Overture sequence where Atlantica is unveiled:
>>>Can't be that difficult for people in charge of the music. They can just have a big backdrop depicting Atlantica and have all the creatures come onstage in their costumes, with the big shell in the middle of the stage Ariel was supposed to sing in...the opening number can be during Ariel's missed concert.

* The ship in the storm. How in the world will they handle that? This would have to be the most complicated scene in the show (besides Ursula's demise); because it takes place on the ship, floating on the water, then under-sea, then ship etc. etc. and an exploding ship and wreckage floating about:
>>>Two levels of the stage? Like the top level can be the ship and the bottom level can be the "sea". And lots of bright lighting and flashes...they made it rain and thunder in Beauty and the Beast, right?

* The destruction of the grotto. How will this be done? How will the actors walk in the mermaid suits? How will Triton's trident operate?
>>>Regarding the trident, how did the Phantom of the Opera shoot fireballs from his staff? Maybe they can do something similar to that effect.

* How will Ariel's stolen voice be depicted? How will she shoot up to land?
>>>If heard voices onstage "morphed" almost to an echo. Maybe Ariel can start off singing, then she can move into a "lip sync" and make the lip synching parts an echo, almost as if her voice is travleing...they can also use lighting to show the traveling of the voice.

* All the land bits are easy: but the transition to land and sea is gonna be hard
>>>Scene changes? Also, Ariel going from sea to land as human can be a transition between Act 1 and 2.
* Ursula's transformation to Vanessa: how will they accomplish this?
>>>How did they accomplish the Beast to human at the end of Beauty and the Beast?

Although I can't think of anything for every questions, I do believe that these things can be achieved if some of the most brilliant creative minds are put together. Once again, they accomplished the Beast transformation, didn't they? We can't imagine certain things happening until they're accomplished.

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Updated On: 10/1/05 at 01:22 PM

Here are my.. OPINIONS.

>>>The entry of the Ship and floating on the water<<<
They made a ship sink in Titanic and the whole thing took place on the boat so I'm sure they will make it work.

>>>The Overture sequence where Atlantica is unveiled<<<
Either an elaborate back drop with lots of lights or an elaborate set piece with lots of lights.

>>>The chase sequence with Ariel, Flounder and The Shark (are they going to use puppets for Flounder? and what about the Shark?)<<< I don't know how they'll do this one... but if I had to make it up I would use some neat lighting effects. Never really show the shark but have the shape of one in shadow or a projection onto the stage. You'd never really see it but it'd still be scary.
>>>How are they going to dress Scuttle? How will they depict the scene where he's standing on a rock in the middle of the ocean?<<< I hope they don't do him like Zazu. It worked for the lion king but I don't think it'll work for TLM.
>>>Ursula's little cronies: Flotsam and Jetsam: I can imagine these really cool, serpent-like puppets... writhing around (really hi-tech modern stuff)<<< See I think it depends on how they depict all the animal characters. Who knows... maybe they wont do puppets and they'll just be shady looking actors onstage.
>>>The ship in the storm. How in the world will they handle that? This would have to be the most complicated scene in the show (besides Ursula's demise); because it takes place on the ship, floating on the water, then under-sea, then ship etc. etc. and an exploding ship and wreckage floating about<<<<
I don't think they will make it EXACTLY like the movie... they'll find a way to make it adaptable to the stage. I'm thinking it's going to be very theme-park ish.

>>>The destruction of the grotto. How will this be done? How will the actors walk in the mermaid suits? How will Triton's trident operate? <<< Lots of intricate pieces that fall apart is my guess. The trident can use those flash things. And about mermaid suits... who knows maybe they will all actually be flying... now that would be a spectacle.

>>>How will Ariel's stolen voice be depicted? How will she shoot up to land?<<< Thats easy to do on a sound board with an echo effect. And the shoot up to land bit... they could use a silohette with a double thing for that and I think it would look nice. That way ariel can be ready for the next scene of "surfacing" on land.

>>>All the land bits are easy: but the transition to land and sea is gonna be hard <<< It won't be that hard... they can use both sides of the stage simultaneously.

>>>Ursula's transformation to Vanessa: how will they accomplish this? <<< Probably like how millie said... similar to the beast.

>>>Ariel swimming to the ship... how will they do that. She'll need to float on water, and not just under it.<<< With the right lighting and skrim/material I'm sure it'll look nice. If they even include that... I mean I think thats one of those things that you can "imply" during scene changes.

>>>The inflated Ursula and the huge end bit before her demise. This will either come off (extremely) corny or very powerful<<< Perhaps you wont really see the full ursula. Similar to the Giant in Into the Woods, she could be off stage and we just see her very large tentacles.

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Updated On: 10/1/05 at 02:37 PM