The Little Mermaid 05/21 8.00pm

[brettystar]

Posted: 6/2/08 at 11:22pm

Hmmmnnnn... I really thought that I was going to like this show despite what I had read from reviews and posts.

Firstly let me state that I am a Disney fan. I really enjoy Disneyland and think that some of their musicals work well. I had already purchased the recording and thought it was good and couldn't see how I would not enjoy this show.

The moment I walked into the theater (the worst I have ever been in by the way) and saw that awful curtain with the dismal shells and starfish etc on it my heart sank. Then when the flashing lights started repeating the same pattern over and over again during the overture I thought to myself 'This is going to be wretched'.

The first scene showing the men on the ship looked effective and I thought that it might not be too bad. When we first go underwater I also thought that it looked effective. I thought the wheelies worked well and for me it did feel like we were under the water. Many reviews said that it never felt this way to them but I thought it did.

The performances were all very very good. Sierra Boggess, Sherie Rene Scott and Sean Palmer were delightful. Brian D'Addario; the actor who played Flounder was fantastic. I could have listened to his singing for another hour rather than endure what I did. I also enjoyed Norm Lewis, Tituss Burgess and Eddie Korbich in their roles.

Overall, the direction ruins what could have been a good show. The scene where Eric falls overboard is exciting, however Boggess acts more like Flipper the dolphin wheeling around on his tail than Ariel the mermaid during this scene. This is not a criticism of her performance but of the dreadful direction.

At times it feels like the cast have been told to do whatever they think is right in certain parts. They wander around aimlessly looking like they don't know what they should do. This is particularly evident for the chorus but is also true of the main cast at times.

Some of the numbers are effective;'Under the Sea' and 'Kiss the girl' come close to being magical.

The show is too long. There are too many ballads in Act two.

At the beginning of Act 2 many kids around me were either asleep or begging their parents to take them home. One little boy in front of me fell of his chair because he was asleep. He was not a happy camper when he woke up let me tell you, and I knew how the poor thing felt.

Some posters have suggested that this would be better placed at Disneyland. I disagree. I do not belive it is up to scratch.

I saw 'Aladdin' at Californialand last week and enjoyed it far much more. I much prefer the movie of The Little Mermaid to that of Aladdin so for me to prefer the version of Aladdin that I saw at a theme park over a Broadway show says a lot. I think Aladdin will be on Broadway in the near future for sure. It felt like a real Broadway show.

2.5 stars.