[REVIEW] Disney's The Little Mermaid - The Musical

This week marks the debut of the Pittsburgh CLO & Kansas City Starlight's production of Disney's The Little Mermaid at the OKC Civic Center Music Hall. A veteran cast of Broadway's best bring this timeless fairytale's most beloved characters to life on stage!

The show opens to Ariel looking out over the ocean and pining to be a part of the human world (The World Above), before she's scared off by a sailing ship filled with sailors, Prince Eric, and his guardian Grimsby (Fathoms Below). After these opening set pieces, we move below the surface of the ocean and start to get a look into the world of the Merfolk and other sea creatures, led by King Triton (Daughters of Triton and If Only).

This production excels at the use of high-wire rigging to give the illusion of the mermaids swimming. I was very impressed how, through use of the wires and the character movement, that you got a real sense you were watching a show take place under the sea.

Throughout the show the set is constantly having to move between the world above the ocean and below, and this production does an excellent job at never letting you be confused about where you are in the world.

The acting and singing are top-notch in this production. Diana Huey absolutely kills it as Ariel. Her voice is seriously impressive, her stage movements are spot on, and she does a great job of transforming herself into the lead role of The Little Mermaid. Eric Kunze, who fills the role of Prince Eric, does so quite well. Not only is he attractive and fit, but he's also got a great voice which really shines during his solo (Her Voice).

The nemesis of the show, Ariel's Aunt Ursula, the sea witch, is performed to perfection by Jennifer Allen. A veteran of the stage, you can tell she's having so much fun in the role. It's actually kind of a shame that she doesn't get more time in front of the audience, because she's just delightful in the role and really hams it up in the best way.

Her two sidekicks - the eels Flotsam and Jetsam - played by Brandon Roach and Frederick Hagreen, are great as well. They really embody the slimy, slick nature of the eels and their song (Sweet Child) is one of my favorite in the entire show.

The supporting cast does an excellent job as well. Jamie Torcellini is wonderful as the seagull Scuttle, Marco Ramos does well with the character of Flounder, but the real stand out is Melvin Abston as the court-composer-crab Sebastian. Every time Sebastian is on stage, you want him to stay on longer because he's just that much fun to watch. Mr. Abston really brings the character to life in a way that's so much fun to see, and his range from the comedic to the dramatic is fantastic.

As you can see in the pictures posted, the costuming is awesome. I wouldn't say it's as great as Disney's most famous Broadway show The Lion King, but it's still really, really good. And it's very bright and vibrant and a feast for the eyes. You really feel the Disney-ness of the colors and costumes jumping out at you from the stage.

If you're like me and you listen to Broadway soundtracks before you go see a show, you will notice some changes. There are a couple of songs that have been dropped or outright changed. Towards the beginning of the show, you lose Scuttle's song Human Stuff, which while it doesn't affect the story one bit, it still kind of a drag just because it's such a weirdly fun song.

Also, Ursula's first song, which was originally I Want The Good Times Back has been changed to Daddy's Little Angel. This has been a change that has been in the show for a number of years, and while I agree that Daddy's Little Angel actually serves the show better to give more background to the dynamic to Ursula and King Triton, their familial connection, and why Ursula is pissed off at everything all the time, I still think that I Want The Good Times Back is an overall more fun song, so I hate that it was changed. But again, it does nothing to change the overall show and is just me being picky about which song I personally like better.

King Triton has a song switch. The World Above (Reprise) has been removed and replaced with the song If Only (Triton's Lament), which runs earlier in the show. And they've added in a version for Ariel called, logically enough, If Only (Ariel's Lament). The remaining changes are minor. I Want The Good Times Back (Reprise) is now, naturally, Daddy's Little Angel (Reprise), and the reprise for Sweet Child has also been lost.

It sounds like a lot of changes, but it's nothing you'd ever notice unless you were very familiar with the soundtrack or original production and honestly, while I always prefer the original version of a show, I think the changes serve to really help the pacing of the show, which can tend to drag at times, especially in the first act.

The Pittsburgh CLO & Kansas City Starlight's production of Disney's The Little Mermaid is definitely one that you should make time to go see. It's a delight of a show, plain and simple. All the classics from the original animated film are there (Part of Your World, Under The Sea, Poor Unfortunate Souls, Les Poissons, and Kiss The Girl) and so much fun to relive in this live performance.

There are still plenty of good seats available and a limited number of $30 rush tickets are available online (use code MERMAIDRUSH) for all performances for students, educators, senior citizens, and military personnel.

To find out more and to get your tickets to see The Little Mermaid before it swims away on Sunday, call 405-297-2264 or visit OKCBroadway.com!