The Little Mermaid

Are you interested in seeing your imagination come alive? Well, there is no better place to go to see this happen than Lunt-Fontanne Theater located on West 46th Street in New York. In this theater, you can take a peek of what happens in a marine kingdom ruled by mystical creatures known as mermaids. Our imaginations diminish and our cynicism grows as we get older and learn of the existence of a fine line between reality and dreams, but “The Little Mermaid: the Musical” successfully reignites those imaginations back to life into fires filled with dreams and fairy tales.

“The Little Mermaid: the Musical” is based on one of the most famous Disney films, “The Little Mermaid.” A beautiful young mermaid named Ariel resides in a kingdom teeming with life beneath the calm surface of the ocean. Bored with same old singing lessons, sea water and her overly protective father, the king of the sea, she daydreams of a life above the water, far from her secure home. Her curiosity and obsession with humans eventually leads her to the world above, but she has to pay a price first: the loss of her beautiful voice. Ariel must convince the prince that she’s the girl with the enchanting voice in order for her to escape the eternal contract of servitude with the evil sea witch, Ursula.

The portrayal of the underwater kingdom brought many different elements of theater production together. “The Little Mermaid” is filled with flashy lights, and extravagant costumes. For every set, different lights were used to make the scene as realistic as possible. When Sebastian was trying to persuade Ariel to stay out of trouble by singing “Under the Sea”, a praise of the greatness of the ocean, green, yellow, and orange lights were used to accentuate the beauty and exotic world of the sea. In the cave of Ursula located outside the peaceful kingdom, bright lights were dimmed and green or purple lights were used to point to a darker, crueler place. Interestingly, neon green lights were used to characterize Flotsam and Jetsam; they had lights on their costumes making them look like as if electricity were flowing through them, a clever touch. When Ariel was singing “Part of Your World,” the spotlight was on her while the background was filled with blue and purple lights to show the color of the ocean during the night. The lights controlled the various moods and atmosphere of each scene well.

The costumes were definitely a memorable part of “The Little Mermaid.” All of the mermaids had sparkling fish tails that moved gently according to the movements of the character. The other actors had vibrant colored costumes to represent corals, fish, sea horses, and other sea creatures. Sebastian’s red suit and hat were perfect: he looked like a lobster that happened to talk, instead of an actor that happened to look like a lobster. Flounder, played by a little boy with blonde hair, had a yellow shirt, yellow pants and a pair of yellow shoes with blue strips. Flotsam and Jetsam wore body suits with the neon lights that glowed in the dark. Ursula wore most amazing costume. Her enormous hair and octopus tentacles were a direct transfer from cinema to stage.

Walking out of the theater with hundreds of kids around me, I felt no different from them at heart. I was still dazed by the lights and the costumes worn by the performers. “The Little Mermaid” will always be a favorite story among children; but this musical brought the story into a new light that can be enjoyed by an older audience while also bringing the nostalgia of a childhood almost forgotten where a happily-ever-after seemed only an arms-length away. This musical reminds us that hope for love and happiness, not money and power, is what keeps us going and that is exactly what music is meant to do: to remind us why we continue on this wary path of adulthood to our own happily-ever-afters.