An open letter to the Disney Organization (or my- Page 2

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 1:28pm

I guess those damn bongs are here to stay...

And it seems that nobody likes the ending. Is nobody at Disney paying attention to what fans are saying? I don't think there's been a single positive thing said about the denoument. Hop to, Disney! Start paying attention!

[Elphie3]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 1:54pm

I agree with all of you!

Thanks for the clip posting by the way!

And kudos for calling them out on the costumes! I commend you!

[yankees1253]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 2:19pm

hey. i cant wait to see the show. i agree send your letter directly to disney. the two flounders for replacement of jj and cody are already casted. one is from les mis and the other just ended his run as chip in beauty and the beast. i hear and see videos of tarzan in netherlands and it looks way better there. i loved mary poppins.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 2:25pm

Have been cast.
Were cast.
Will be cast.
Are cast.

No "casted."

And Disney doesn't care about what everyone has to say. Tom cares about Tom.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 2:33pm

That was a great review. I love that you backed up each point you made with solid evidence.
It's a pity this show has turned out to be another Disney vanity project instead of the fantastic musical it could have been.
And having listened to Sherie's "Poor Unfortunate Souls" I have to say I agree with you. I love her rendition of it but it lacks any sort of evil, sexiness, etc.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 2:44pm

Just so you know, Ursula and Triton were always siblings. That storyline didn't make it into the original movie, but it was the idea from the beginning.

Watch the special features on the DVD. They talk about it. Completely blew my mind when I found out.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 3:29pm

Elphie, I just have to reiterate that your piece is so incredibly well written. You detail everything you had a problem with, and rather than making a snarky remark about it, you back it up with evidence. I think they used to teach people how to write that way.

If only more people remembered.

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 3:35pm

As Yero my Hero said, the fact that Triton and Ursula are siblings isn't new - watch the cut extended scene of "Fathoms Below" on the DVD. They definitely mention it, and how she was exiled.

Anyways, I haven't seen the show yet because I've been so busy, but I think your letter is a great arguement and should be sent to Disney. Screwing up such an important piece of Disney history isn't a good idea.

[bluetuna]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 3:40pm

The stage does look very empty from the rear mezz., and it probably would look better from the orchestra section. From the rear mezz., most of what you see is blank stage with waves that are set with large gaps in between them, meaning that you just see a lot of large empty spots. The scenery seemed very sparse to the extent that none was really used in some scenes.

[Elphie3]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 5:43pm

Thank you Yankee!

Yeah, I had heard about the sibling thing - that's why I said I could let that one go. But then they chose to elaborate on it, and not in a way that made it make any more sense.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 6:13pm

CurtainPullDowner: Is Zambello flying over to Vienna for the final week of performances for her musical Rebecca?

Updated On: 12/13/07 at 06:13 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 6:19pm

A friend of mine saw Rebecca in Vienna and brought a program back for me. Really nice program. He said the show was pretty stunning.

[BillFinn]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 7:11pm

Triton should have had his own song.

Scuttle should have been cut.

and... the new songs should have been better. They're so generic. "If Only," "Beyond My Wildest Dreams," "I Want the Good Times Back," "Her Voice." I mean, you can argue it's a fairy tale and the language has to be simplistic all you want, but the original songs are the best because they are first and foremost, smart. Clever and specific. The new songs are too washed out (with the exception of "She's In Love").

And why didn't they delve more into what the days were like when Ursula was in power? So many questions they could have explored.

Updated On: 12/13/07 at 07:11 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 7:41pm

I agree. They could have taken a more creative approach to the show. I would have liked to see them break some conventions and bring the audience into the show more - a la Lion King. Everything just looks like a theme park that was put on Broadway. I can't wait to read the reviews - not that they'll matter all that much.

[Elphie3]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 7:50pm

I totally agree.

I have to admit, I love Scuttle. Not this Scuttle, but Scuttle in general.

I actually wasn't a huge fan of "She's in Love"

[Elphie3]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 9:49pm

Note - all the photos are back up on the site.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 10:57pm

I watched the out of town try out yet from what people are saying nothing has changed (and it really needed to)

It makes me laugh that people like disney etc dont check boards like this, see whats been said and take action.At the end of the day it will be the audience that keep the show open and if the audience (especially regular theatre goers) have a problem with the show then the critics will probably find fault also.

We had the same problem with Rent Remixed here in the UK
The show was in a constant stake of flux through out its rocky previews where even the theatre ushers were saying it was a train wreck.They kept making changes every night but non of the changes made were what people were saying the problems were.
It opened and the critics savaged it.

I fear the Little Mermaid will suffer the same fate

Listen to those who care enough to comment

[Elphie3]

Posted: 12/13/07 at 11:29pm

It's so important to listen to audiences.

[amalou]

Posted: 12/14/07 at 12:18am

Thanks for the review. Even if Disney doesn't read it.

I can't say I'm surprised. Tarzan was kind of a hint that Disney's Broadway magic had run its course. I'm just sick and tired of having to convince myself that something I spent my money on was worth it so I think I'll give this one a pass. I was in such denial after Tarzan because I thought it might be fun and exciting but the problems were just too much to ignore. I didn't want to admit it was a waste of time and money but sadly, it was.

...oh, and that thing about playing Little Mermaid in the tub...I did that too. hehe

Updated On: 12/14/07 at 12:18 AM

[Elphie3]

Posted: 12/14/07 at 12:22am

I totally still want to be Ariel! (Just not in this show.) Honestly, I'm somewhere between Elphaba and Ariel - if you can imagine that!

To be fair, I didn't see Tarzan. I was never offered a free ticket (like I was for "Mermaid") and I refused to pay for it!

[Jilani]

Posted: 12/14/07 at 12:51am

Thanks for your very thoughtful review, Elphie3! What is so sad is that it could easily have been written in response to the performance of the show that I saw in Denver, in late July - i.e., nothing appears to really have changed, so what the heck was the point of having the pre-Broadway run? I'm so incredibly disappointed - this was the Disney musical I have been looking forward to for the longest time, because it was languishing in development for so long. I suppose that in itself was a sign of trouble.

[Elphie3]

Posted: 12/14/07 at 1:09am

The sad thing is, I bet if you asked the creative team they'd say they made a lot of changes between Denver and B'way.

I just don't know what's going on with the guys at Disney. I honestly would have loved to see Gabriel Barre, or Joe Mantello take a crack at it.

By the way, in my tired stupor I was thinking - what would a Sondheim "Mermaid" be like?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/14/07 at 1:32am

Elphie, thank you for your detailed review AND for saying what has been all over the theatre world for MONTHS. Bad Director changing nearly everything that worked and made us love the film. Sad.

[Elphie3]

Posted: 12/14/07 at 1:38am

Thanks so much. I just don't know what the problem with Disney is? It's almost like instead of saying "lets just do a good job" they do market research and find out:

- Oh, we shouldn't do too much spectacle
- We shouldn't just put the movie onstage
- We should make the characters more 3-D
- We should make the whole thing more politically correct

And they don't really do any of those things when it comes down to it, because they keep second guessing what formula is supposed to work.

[bluetuna]

Posted: 12/14/07 at 2:46am

In terms of the spectacle, it's unusual, because you'll have Ursula come out in her tentacle bubble, and there is pretty much no set at that point, so it looks awkward.