Pre-Broadway Little Mermaid Could Use Some Work

I'm no professional theater critic, but the pre-Broadway production of "The Little Mermaid" could use some work before it heads to the Great White Way.

I saw a performance of the new show Aug. 5 in Denver, where cast and crew are rehearsing the musical until September. The stagings are part of the show's development phase prior to a Broadway opening scheduled for December.

The musical's creative team says it will use feedback from the showings to fix any problems, tinker with costumes and the like, and - in my opinion - they're probably going to need to tinker quite a bit.

The show is uneven at best. A wonderful first act that sticks closely to the Disney movie is followed by a mind-numbingly dull second act that takes liberties with both the plot and the dialogue - often ripping off scenes and situations from other Disney movies.

The musical has cut out the part where Ursula (played by the terrific Sherie Rene Scott, though hampered by an unwieldy and bizarre costume) poses as Prince Eric's rescuer, prompting an ill-fated wedding and a spectacular fight scene.

Instead, the prince holds a singing contest to find his golden-voiced savior, necessitating an annoying competition scene that practically plagiarizes the shoe-fittings from "Cinderella." Ursula than rises unspectacularly from the sea, reveals her evil plans and is thwarted by Ariel... throwing a sea shell.

The "drama" climaxes with a lame shrivel of smoke, which can't even begin to hide the stagehands frantically wheeling the sea queen to her "death" offstage. Seriously. At least add some strobe lights or something.

Perhaps worse than the ending, however, are the new songs that have been added. The tunes feel like unnecessary padding meant to give the audience its "money's worth," when, really, I'd pay extra for them to skip the uninspired ditties.

The biggest stinker by far is "Positoovity," a number that features Scuttle and some gulls (inexplicably clad in Ronald McDonald-esque tap shoes and tights) lame-braining around the stage, squawking goofy puns. At one point, Scuttle refers to his strength of character as "Gull Ability." Please. Don't.

The show does have many bright points, though. Ariel, played by Denver's Sierra Boggess, is amazing. And other members of the cast - Jonathan Freeman as Grimsby, John Treacy Egan as the French Chef Louis, the aforementioned Sherie Rene Scott - are equally good. Casting might want to work on finding better actors to play Triton and Prince Eric though, whose wimpy performances left much to be desired.

Most of the effects are stunning, especially whenever the stage transitions from underwater to land scenes with the help of glass prisms and exquisite lighting. But other set pieces could use some work -what's with the ever morphing plastic statues that look like bongs?

Musical numbers from the original movie, especially "Under the Sea," are vibrant and fun, helped by colorful and creative costumes (With the exception of Ursula's get-up. For the love of God, ditch the fake "hips" and let her move around a little more.) . And the use of Heelys on fish and mer-people made underwater swimming scenes look really realistic.

I think "The Little Mermaid" has the potential to be a great Broadway musical, following in the footsteps of "The Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast." Most of the kids in attendance seemed to love the show already - dancing in the aisles throughout. But, as a three-year-old's level of cultural understanding extends about as far as The Wiggles, that's not really saying much.

The show needs to re-jigger the ending, ditch at least some of the boring songs and work on cast issues before it will win over adults and critics alike.