Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing Disney’s The Little Mermaid at the Fox Theatre. To say this was an ‘amazing’ show would be selling it short in so many ways. I’m not even talking about how great the show is, I honestly can’t remember the last time I had fun at one. This accomplished both.
It’s Disney’s classic tale of Ariel the Little Mermaid. A beautiful young mermaid who lives underwater that’s the daughter of a mighty sea king, King Triton. Everything seems ideal for someone in her position except for one thing: she has no interest in life under the sea. She is simply mesmerized by everything above the surface, in the human world. This curiosity leads her to discover a young prince named Eric. He too is the child of a king and is expected to marry a princess and handle business that he has no interest in. He’d rather be at sea with the sailors or out on an adventure. They sound perfect for each other.
Since her father absolutely forbids her to go to the surface and stay away from human ‘things’ (combs, forks, mirrors she was collecting), she was lured into a trap by King Triton’s evil sister Ursula. In a very devilish ‘squid-pro-quo’ she gave Ursula her voice in exchange to become human. She had three days to get the prince to kiss her or she would be Ursula’s slave forever. Along with her friends Sebastian and Scully, Ariel manages her way into Prince Eric’s path and he ends up falling in love with her. But do they get married? Did she get her voice back? For that you’ll have to see the theatrical version this weekend.
The stage setup was unlike anything I had ever seen before. For the entire production, all the characters that are underwater in the film actually moved like they were underwater on stage. It was truly incredible to see so many people at once emulate life under the sea. Scully the seagull actually “flew” across the stage multiple times and Ariel and her friends swam throughout the show (sometimes elevated, sometimes gliding across the floor).
The singing was simply incredible. Ariel (Diana Huey) and Ursula (Jennifer Allen) stood out the most to me so be prepared to be floored. 5th Avenue Theatre did a standout job with this and I couldn’t be more pleased.
This is a must-see but you have to act fast since the last show is on Sunday. You can get tickets HERE Disney’s The Little Mermaid is a perfect 10. Whether you go with friends, on a date, or want to take your kids to the theatre, this is the perfect atmosphere for a fantastic production.
-Jon J.