Review: THE LITTLE MERMAID at Saenger

All little girls have a favorite Disney princess. Today, it's either Elsa or Anna, but for women who are still girls at heart, their princess could be Belle or Jasmine.

For me, my princess is Ariel.

THE LITTLE MERMAID holds a very dear place in my heart. As a child, I was always fascinated by the concept of mermaids and found them to be creatures of otherworldly beauty. Whenever I would go swimming, I would try to hold my breath as long as I could to know what it felt like to live underwater. THE LITTLE MERMAID was one of my favorite bedtime stories, and the film was one of the first Disney movies I had ever seen in a movie theater with my mother. To this day, Ariel is still my favorite Disney princess, and I was so delighted at the chance to recapture the magic of my youth by seeing Ariel's story told through a different media.

While the allure of Disney may be enough to hook an audience in, the show will need some polishing up in order to keep afloat. The magic of my childhood was ruptured right as the show began with a resounding crash of the scrim. The loud bang was at first disconcerting, and then downright worrisome when it hit the second time before opening properly. Technical difficulties can sometimes be forgiven, but the concern is warranted. After all, people were going to be flown during this show. To add insult to injury, part of the set crashed onto the stage immediately after and required a stagehand to come out in full view, placing the set on its mark.

The second act wasn't without its theatre sins either as stagehands were seen rushing about as the lights came up. Light cues themselves were peculiar, whether taking too long to transition or leaving characters' faces in darkness during their key moments. Whether spikes were not clearly marked, or light cues were rushed, there were too many tech flubs for a show of this caliber.

As the show went on, I remained hopeful that the story I loved would receive the treatment it deserved. While it did not share the same splendor of Broadway, the touring production still had its charm, albeit a clunky one. The major problem with Disney theatrical shows is the audience goes in with already high expectations, and it is difficult to adapt so much of the Disney magic to the stage.

Because of that Disney purists should steer away.

Since there are difficulties with adapting the original story, much is changed and enhanced by added songs and dialogue. Questions such as why King Triton hates humans are answered, and why Prince Eric doesn't care to become king. The biggest change from the film is the ending and is sans the epic battle that ends with the giant sea witch being ruptured by a broken mast. Instead, Prince Eric holds a singing competition to find his bride (sounds like something Prince Charming would do), and the story ends with Ariel destroying the source of Ursula's power. Normally, I would be overjoyed that Ariel gained some agency and saved herself, but it felt rather anticlimactic and, well, silly. How can there be any high stakes if defeating Ursula was really that simple?

It's surprising, but the film's most delightful numbers are also underwhelming. The diabolic "Poor Unfortunate Souls" and romantic "Kiss the Girl" are beautiful songs but fell flat. Notably, "Les Poissons" was one of the better musical numbers and was feel-good silly fun. And while Alison Woods is the perfect embodiment of a real life Ariel, her sweet, melodic voice does not hold the same resilience like Jodi Benson in the 1989 film. During "Part of Your World," her voice cracked, unable to hold up to the vibrato of the song. She was not alone as Ursula, played by Jennifer Allen, does not hold much menace and comes with more aside quips than sinister threats.

Still, the show has its charm. While there were technical flubs, the swim scenes were a thing of true beauty, and captured the Disney magic the audience was hoping to see. The choreography by John MacInnis is outstanding and the highlight of the entire show.

Another great element is the costumes designed by Amy Clark and Mark Moss. While not being the standout number of the show, "Under the Sea" was still fun to watch due to the colorful array of fish. With features of Cirque du Soliel-like feathers, headdresses, and saturated colors, the number is reminiscent of an aquatic carnival. The dancing mermaids were also delightful to watch as their tails held the graceful beauty of belly dancers as the sheer silk of their "tails" rippled with their movements.

Standout performances came from the characters of Sebastian and Scuttle. Jamie Torcellini gave Scuttle just the right amount of blunders and blusters and a dash of fun with his number "Positoovity." As Sebastian, the neurotic composer, Melvin Abston was an absolute delight and the crowd favorite for the evening, receiving well-deserved applause for his attempts to "nail that girl's fins to the floor."