Review: THE LITTLE MERMAID is Silly, Inconsequential Fun at the Dr. Phillips Center

Last night, Ariel and her underwater friends swam into the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts for a weeklong stay, appropriately at the Walt Disney Theatre. The limited engagement, which originated at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre in November 2016, is a silly dose of fun and nostalgia for theatregoers of all ages. Though there are performances and elements that seem less than fitting for the grand Dr. Phillips stage, the show as a whole ends up being more than the sum of its parts.

While Disney's original 1989 film launched the company's unprecedented animated musical rebirth, the stage adaptation feels less consequential, but nonetheless entertaining. The stage adaptation features the original songs written by Alan Menken (music) and Howard Ashman (lyrics), however, following Ashman's death in 1991, Tony-nominee Glenn Slater collaborated with Menken on original material for the musical. Pulitzer Prize-winner Doug Wright originally wrote the stage version's book, but it has been heavily revised since it bowed on Broadway in 2008.

What remains is a more slapstick approach to this now familiar fish-out-of-water tale. However, in tried-and-true Disney fashion, while the final product is most certainly geared towards children, the creators have been able to weave in some subtle social messages, and a few jokes that only the adults in the audience will understand.

At this point, the musical's story hardly needs repeating, but there are a number of new elements that have been incorporated into the narrative; including King Triton's late wife, his sibling rivalry with the Sea Witch, and Flounder's unrequited crush on Arielle. The show's early scenes keep the audience waiting for a familiar song, while setting up the enhanced plot, but "Part of Your World," "Under the Sea," and "Kiss the Girl" all eventually make an appearance, as do all of the familiar characters.

As Ariel, Diana Huey portrays a particularly wide-eyed princess. Her buoyant, bubbly personality makes her instantly likeable, despite an obvious naiveté. This falls in line with the more teenage approach to the character in this adaptation.

Unfortunately, her voice does not match that innocent persona. While Jodi Benson's soft head voice in the film, and to a lesser degree Sierra Boggess' legit blend on Broadway, became synonymous with the character, Huey sings with an occasionally harsh belt. Though there is no denying her vocal talent, it often feels out of place on the well-known songs.

Her Prince Eric, played by Matthew Kacergis, is your standard Disney prince, but he has a fantastic voice that adds gravitas to the role.

The strength of this LITTLE MERMAID is its humor, and the brightest spots come in the form of Melvin Abston's Sebastian and Jamie Torcellini's Scuttle. Both are incredibly funny and possess excellent voices while displaying some of the fanciest footwork in the show. The subtle, species-specific nuances that they put into their portrayals are fun little Easter eggs.

As Ursula, Jennifer Allen became a crowd favorite after adlibbing to grab a hand-mic when her original microphone went out before "Poor Unfortunate Souls." However, beyond that, it was difficult to put a finger on exactly what she was doing. The portrayal seemed to be a mishmash of character and comedy choices that didn't seem to make sense together. At times she was terrifyingly evil, but in the next she was a goofy jokester that cracked herself up, and there was little to no cohesion between the two.

Steve Blanchard is a little underused and underwhelming, as King Triton, and Connor Russell's Flounder borders on grating.

The scenery by Kenneth Foy is clever, and the costumes from Amy Clark and Mark Moss were fun and colorful, but neither seem especially unique, given the quality that Central Florida Disneyphiles are used to at the parks.

When the musical debuted in Denver in 2007, it was still attempting to find its way out of THE LION KING's artistic shadow, and one way that the show's original director, Francesca Zambello, attempted to do that was by having the underwater characters "swim" via wheels in their shoes. While the "heelies" are mostly gone from this production, directed by Glenn Casale (who is also responsible for the majority of the book changes since Broadway), the production employs one of the most impressive aerial systems I've seen on stage. Due to near perfect lighting by Charlie Morrison, the wires used to help the characters swim are practically imperceivable in many scenes.

Additionally, the characters use a clever, near-constant motion to signal underwater movement. While I found it fairly charming, many around me on Opening Night found it a bit distracting.

Overall, this new LITTLE MERMAID won't change the musical theatre landscape, or erase the loving memories of the immortal film, but it is a fun, vibrant opportunity to introduce a younger audience to the wonders of the theatrical stage.

THE LITTLE MERMAID runs through March 12th at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. To purchase tickets, visit their website or call 844-513-2014.

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Did THE LITTLE MERMAID wich that you could go under the sea? Let me know on Twitter @BWWMatt, or "Like" and follow BWW Orlando on Facebook and Twitter.

You can listen to Matt on BroadwayRadio or on BroadwayWorld's pop culture podcast Some Like it Pop.

Banner Image: Diana Huey. Photo Credit: Mark & Tracy Photography

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