de Kleine Zeemeermin [Dutch Mermaid] Question

First things first, here's a link to the show's recordings on castalbums.org. This are all the officially released recordings: http://www.castalbums.org/shows/2635

This version of The Little Mermaid is an original flemish (from Belgium) musical by production company Studio100. It ran for aproximately one month in Antwerp during Easter, 2004. The reviews were awfull and of the seven shows that Johan vanden Eede wrote for Studio100 this is the worst by far (their Robin Hood version was one of the best I've seen).

At the end of 2004 the Dutch themepark Efteling produced a new version of The Little Mermaid. They want to try to get the kinks out of it to make it good. They didn't make it good, just better than the original. Which wasn't very hard.

The musicals by Studio100 take fairytales and make them a little different. In this version the seawitch has a butt ugly daughter. At the end the seawitch sends her daughter up to the surface with the mermaid's voice to get the prince, so she'll be Royalty. At the end it turns out that the Mermaid was a human once.

In the staging concept there are no wires. No one is hanging in the air like that. It has something to do with hydraulics. The problem was that the show was hard to light and turned out extremely dark. Still it has some very good moments.

The song 'Geef me vleugels' means 'Give me wings'. I can hear you think: 'Why would a mermaid want wings?' Well, I thought the same. Still the song is catchy. There's also a very, very catchy love duet called 'Dit is liefde (This is love)'which is great and reprised in minor at the end under title 'Ken je me nog (Do you still know who I am)'. The daughter of the Seawitch sings a hilarious tango called 'Waarom vind ik toch geen man (Why don't I find myself a man)'.

The original Flemisch cast recording should be available although I don't exactly know where. It features a few amazing singers especially the parts of the Mermaid and the prince.

There's also a dvd of the revised show in themepark Efteling. You can order it via www.soundofmusic.de. This version features a 'not so good cast'. Especially the Mermaid and the Prince are off key, a lot! But the Seawitch on this dvd is wonderful. The dvd also features four scenes from the original production as a bonus, with the original Flemish cast. There are no subtitles on this disc.

If you really like the music you should give the cast recordings of Studio100’s Robin Hood and Doornroosje (Sleeping Beauty) a try.

It's like Mermaid-on-a-stick.

It works like a lever. On one side is the actress attached, on the other side two stage hands who balance her up and down. The stagehands stay in the dark.

I tried to draw it, but my drawing skills are awful, hahaha.

And without all the fabric around her...

It was very well done, the first time when I saw the show in Antwerp I couldn't even see how it's done. While in Wicked it's pretty obvious.

Updated On: 3/16/08 at 03:47 PM

If you've seen a clip with Kathleen Aerts you've seen a clip of the official dvd. She's from Belgium, but only did the Dutch version (just to make it complicated). I've seen her live and she was definatel off key. Even on the dvd she is, perhaps not on 'Geef me vleugels' but I don't exactly remember since I never watch it, it's for collection purposes...

Belgium and Holland are next to each other. The language is 99% the same.

But if you like Kathleen Aets you should definately hear Free Souffriau from the original recording.

The Studio100 version of Robin Hood is very very different from 'Robin Hood das musical' which is Geman. The composer's name is Johan vanden Eede, makes it easier to google...

"Thanks for all of the info so far. I'm surprised somebody knew something, let alone so much!! "

Coming from Holland really helps...

I like Free much better than Kathleen, who's quite grating.

Wow, I just listened again and it still doesn't seem off-key to me. Then again, I haven't heard the original version. Is she only noticeably off-key if you've heard the original, or should it be really obvious? I always prided myself on having a pretty good ear despite my hearing loss; I can't even watch shows like American Idol b/c so many of the singers have voices that hurt my ears. I don't know why I'm not picking up on her problems unless its something more subtle? *ponders*

Now I really need to hear the original version, I think!

Ah, and Lance, thanks for the extra info about "Robin Hood." I couldn't remember what country it was from, b/c it wasn't something I actually own and had just heard it the one time. I'll have to check it out one day. :) Thanks for the tip!