Review: THE LITTLE MERMAID at Wilmington Drama League

Disney’s The Little Mermaid, loosely based on the fairytale of Hans Christian Andersen, tells the simple story of the beautiful young mermaid, Ariel, and her longing to leave her ocean home and live in the world above with humans. In true Disney fashion, the musical is the offspring of the very successful movie version by Mr. Mouse. With a book by Doug Wright, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman (written for the film), with additional lyrics by Glenn Slater, the current stage version developed by Glenn Casale in 2012 varies from the movie and original Broadway version by having a different opening scene, various line changes, omitted songs (Human Stuff, I Want The Good Times Back), new songs (If Only as solo songs, Daddy’s Little Angel), and other barely detectable tweaks.

Any live version of The Little Mermaid must overcome the obvious book to stage conversion technical obstacles - creating an underwater setting for at least half of the show and having actors portray underwater lifeforms. For Broadway, when Producer, Thomas Schumacher, faced difficulties in creating such underwater world, he tapped into Francesca Zambello’s experience with the fantastical world of opera. The decision was made that there would be no water, wires or flying in the production. (Coming from an opera background myself and knowing Francesca’s work, I fully support the decision.) The decision to have the audience, young and old, use their imaginations to fully realize the underwater world remains for most productions. When the stage is full of bright and lively under-the-sea set dressings, actors move with graceful fluidity, and lighting honestly mimics motion and reflection of water, entering into one’s imagination is easy. That being said, Wilmington Drama League’s production of The Little Mermaid doesn’t make diving into such a magical world effortless for most adults. However, Ariel is a Disney Princess and she’s joined by a singing crab as well as a goofy seagull, a naïve fish, and funny mersisters, which means wide-eyed youngsters will be engrossed with this production. My companion and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing the show experience with all of the dancing and singing pint sized audience members.

Co-Directors Darryl Thompson and Jason Messinger, along with Music Director, Denise Rose, have assembled a capable cast of 25, all of whom are no doubt having fun. Ariel is said to possess the most beautiful voice in the sea, and with Natalie Ruth portraying her, there is actual proof to back the statement. Ms. Ruth has not only the poise and grace of Ariel, but also the clarion vocals to match. Ariel’s heartthrob, Prince Eric, played by Christian Rodriguez, gives an effective version complete with the cute quirks that set Prince Eric apart from other Disney Princes. Ariel’s besties, Flounder (Amanda Cusick) and Scuttle (Shane Teal) blend nicely with their comedic shenanigans. Carlos Jiga provides even doses of comedy, frustration and heart in his portrayal of Sebastian, Ariel’s music teacher turned not-so-willing chaperone. Mr. Jiga and the ensemble liven up the stage with their renditions of Under The Sea and Kiss The Girl. The villain usually is the showstopper in these musicals. While Ashley Grantham’s sea witch, Ursula, garnered audience accolades from most, I was not inclined to join them. Ursula is a coveted character and many artists can handle her vocal material with aplomb, so I was left questioning the casting decision. Ursula’s sidekicks, Flotsam and Jetsam played by young artists, Maleeka Lawrence and Will Keenan, respectively, need to be given more direction on how to menace. (Personally, I love when young audience members gasp or boo when the villians come on stage.) Ricky Sciavicco turns in a serviceable portrayal of Ariel’s father, King Triton. The stage veteran of the cast, Alan Albert, delivers a delightful Grimsby. The adults, teens and youngsters of the ensemble get the job done with their depiction of mersisters, fish, turtles, cooks, servants, and more.

The vibrant, colorful set designed by Aaron Cook and wonderfully painted by Katie Gorman is the standout of this production. Since there were known problems with lighting (Aaron Cook) and sound (Jen Scorziello & Tom Pulcinella), I’ll give a shout out to the designers and wish them better luck with the remainder of the run. Costumes (Laurene Eckbold & Katie Donovan) are ordinary Disney costume renditions. The projections are standard fare. The video of Ariel swimming up to the water's surface after transforming is well done by both the video creator and Ms. Ruth.

Live theater is difficult even when everything goes according to plan. It seems this production suffers from one major setback to another. Technology in theater production not only adds to the quality and effectiveness but also to the stress level of those involved. This production uses pre-recorded music tracks, video projections and a dense lighting design program. I planned to attend Friday’s Opening Night but was made aware that there were technical difficulties including no communication between Stage Manager, Crew and Board Operators, lost lighting board cues, and music tracks that wouldn’t download. (Seems there were gremlins in the electric system.) I postponed going until the Saturday evening. There were still outstanding issues (the music track cutting off leaving the cast to sing acapella) but the cast and crew gave it their all and soldiered on. You can imagine my surprise when I learned that the Sunday matinee was cancelled because an outside transformer exploded. I know the electric was restored, but I don’t know if the technical issues have been resolved. Even if they haven’t, you should still see the show, especially if you have little ones who dream of being a Disney Princess someday.

Disney’s The Little Mermaid
Book by Doug Wright
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater
Stage Directors - Darryl Thompson & Jason Messinger
Music Director - Denise Rose
 

Wilmington Drama League
10 Lea Boulevard
Wilmington DE 19802
(302) 764-1172
www.wilmingtondramaleague.org

Delaware Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. ALICE BY HEART (Everett Theatre)

27.8% of votes

2. WEST SIDE STORY (The Milton Theatre)

15.7% of votes

3. JERSEY BOYS (The Milton Theatre)

8.8% of votes

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