Review: DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID at Murry's Dinner Playhouse Brings the Disney Magic to Central Arkansas

The entertainment this holiday season has been pure magic here in Central Arkansas, and DISNEY'S LITTLE MERMAID, playing now through Dec. 31, at Murry's Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Col. Glen Rd, in Little Rock, has made it to my must-see favorites list. In fact, this is my favorite show that I have seen at Murry's thus far. Everything about it was fabulous. The singing...the dancing...the costumes...the characters-they were all worthy of the name Disney.

With music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater, and book by Doug Wright, the stage musical is based from the original 1989 Disney movie, which was taken from the Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale of the same name. It's a common tale of a typical teenage girl ready to explore a world beyond her boundaries and a father who isn't ready to give up his little girl. This take of the theme involves Ariel (Bridget Davis), the little mermaid, who likes to hang out above the ocean, and falls in love with a prince (Tim Cooper)that she rescued when he fell overboard. In true musical fashion, she sings to him, he falls in love with her voice, and then she swims away before he can find out that he was just rescued by a mermaid. Due to family strife, Ariel enlists her Aunt Ursula (Leigh Anne Marchesi) to turn her human. For payment, Ariel has to give up her voice. As a side note, I have not read the Hans Christian Andersen's story, so I enjoyed that the musical gave a more convincing backstory to why Ursula was the bad guy. Anyway, Ariel races the clock for true love's kiss. Does she get to keep her soul and win the Prince? Go see the musical!

Before I give you all of my heart-eyed thoughts, let's talk about the delicious food served on the buffet. Murry's Dinner Playhouse has a themed feast for every show. I had a little of almost everything. There was the maple glazed pork loin with apple butter, the cod (sorry Ariel) green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, twice baked mashed potatoes (yes, I had both), brussels sprouts, salad, rolls, and assortment of desserts. I was sad that the cheesecake ball was not on the menu this time. I did not get the signature drink, but we did have some super-hot chocolate at intermission. It was all tasty! The chefs and wait staff are wonderful and are worth the ticket price alone.

Now this cast-So many of my friends who came to the show prior to my visit Thursday said I was in for a treat. That was an understatement. Where do I even start? Directed by Don Bolinger, with music direction by Matthew Mentgen (my favorite) and choreographed by Moriah Patterson, this cast swam their way into everyone's heart. Even my 12-year-old son Johnny said "That was great," which was the highest praise he has given any show in a while. Bridget Davis is a perfect Ariel. She embodies the spirit of the Disney Princess in every way. She is beautiful, her voice floats on air, and her personality shines through her eyes. We loved the interactions she had with Prince Eric (Tim Cooper) as well. The way he looked at Ariel was swoon worthy. Johnny's cast pick is Caelon Colbert as Sebastian. "I liked him the best," said Johnny. Colbert cracked us up, and we especially enjoyed the numbers that featured him.

Other favorite songs included "She's In Love" with Mersisters Aquata (Taylor Bumann), Andrina (Moriah Patterson), Arista (Katherine Greer), Atina (Janette Robinson), Adella (Sarah Nichols), Allana (Melody Small) and Flounder (John Isaac Small); "Daddy's Little Angel" with Ursula plotting her plan with her sidekicks Flotsam (Ryan Whitfield) and Jetsam (Walter Dodd), not to mention "Poor Unfortunate Souls" where she takes Ariel's voice; and "Positoovity with Scuttle (Michael Pere) and the gulls. And, I don't want to leave out the super funny Chef Louis (Michael Klucher) and the regal King Triton (Christopher Noyes), who rounded out this fantastic group of storytellers.

If you are looking for a fun event for New Year's Eve, ring in the new year at Murry's Dinner Playhouse! For only $65 per person, you get to enjoy their current production of THE LITTLE MERMAID, their dinner buffet, and then after the show, dancing, party favors, a champagne toast at midnight and also a breakfast buffet! Sounds like a great time to me!

For more information, visit their website at https://murrysdp.com. Broadway World would like to thank Warren McCullough for the use of these wonderful pictures. You can email him at wjmcasting@gmail.com for questions about your photography needs.

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