The Little Mermaid on Broadway

I recently did a discussion post on the theater board about the lighting and costume designs of Broadway show. Just wanting to get the assignment over with, I randomly choose The Little Mermaid on Broadway. I completed the post and as I was looking at pictures of the musical I quickly realized how awesome this play looked. The pictures were absolutely beautiful and they truly captivated me. The stage was cast in deep blue, green and purple light and the costumes were elaborate and metallic. It really caught my attention. I can just imagine how much I would actually enjoy this show. The fact that this was one of my favorite Disney movies as a child also has a big impact on how much I would like to see it.
So if you’re like me and would love to see this show, how would you go about doing it? It would be at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City. Tickets run from about $121.00 down to $50.00. You can purchase them online at Ticketmaster, by phone, or in person at the theater box office.
The show started its pre-Broadway try out at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts' Ellie Caulkins Opera House from July 26, 2007 through September 9, 2007. Every seat for its 6-week run was sold out. This adds up to about 95,000 seats! The show itself first officially opened on Broadway January 10, 2008 and is still running successfully to this day. It runs about 2 hours and 30 minutes with an intermission.
The play is directed by Francesca Zambello, a notable director who has dabbled in theater, film, and opera. The composer is Alan Menken, who also composed for Beauty and the Beast and several other Disney stories. The character of Ariel is portrayed by Sierra Bogess, who is making her Broadway debut. This seems to be the perfect part for her because she looks so much like the character from the movie. The handsome Sean Palmer plays Eric Smith and Ursula is played by the Tony Award winning Faith Prince. Overall the cast and crew seem competent and fitting for the roles they are in.
Most of the famous songs from the movie such as “Part of Your World” and “Under the Sea” are incorporated into the show’s score. This would be exciting for me because I absolutely love these songs. However, there are quite a few new songs that have been added to the play. I’m not really sure how I feel about this. Especially since the New York Times wrote that, “even the melodious wit of the original score (supplemented by new, substandard songs...) have been swallowed by an unfocused spectacle.” This might be seen as a downfall to the show, but could also bring new and interesting things to the storyline. The show was nominated for two Tony Awards in 2008, Best Original Score and Best Lighting Design of a Musical. It was also nominated for a Grammy for the Best Musical Show Album.
I also discovered, through my research, that the characters are meant to look like they are underwater, as most of the play takes place in the sea. Therefore, to make the actors look like this on stage they wore shoes with wheels on them, like skates. I found this to be an interesting fact about the production of the play. I truly do want to see this show performed some day. I think it would be an extremely fun experience and I hope to one day get the chance to!