Will Little Mermaid survive on Broadway?

[TsWade2]

Hey everyone,

I'm in a bit of crisis about The Little Mermaid Broadway Musical. I heard when it performed in Denver, they recieve harsh reviews by those philistine critic and it got me worried. I hate critics! Now I'm starting to feel that it will be a flop since Carrie: The Musical. AAH! I try have faith with Disney Theatricals, but now losing it. They need to stop performing Little Mermaid right now, so they can fix the problem. What I'm trying to say is...

Will Little Mermaid survive on Broadway? Please let it survive! I want it to be popular, not a flop! Please please please!

P.S. Please be nice, don't make fun of me or the musical just because I'm obsess with it.

[quasimodo1384]

I loved it, and I've been reading nothing but good reviews...but who know. It still has some kinks to work out, but I think it'll make it.

I mean look at Tarzan...it was a flop and it was still sold out for months!

[mouseinphilly]

Never judge a play or musical on the criticisms. Right now, Disney will be crying all the way to the bank as the late Liberace once said.

[fizzog]

I think Mermaid has WAY more broadway power than Tarzan would ever have though, in that Mermaid is a treasured Disney classic unlike the successful but not particularly enduring Tarzan.

[Sir.Mouse]

well if the play is actually bad I'd hate for it to be popular. I guess what I'm saying the work should pay off and I would never hope for something to be successfully simply because i like the repitory.

[serenityandroses]

Here's the thing, people are treating the version in Denver like it's in its own house on NY, and saying it's too much like a touring production. Good news, right now, it is. From what I saw, it was amazing the second time. Disney is really getting their act together on this one. I'm trying to see it one more time, that's how much I enjoyed it (round 3). People are too set on the demo and the songs that changed. Honestly, if you go in without an open mind, you won't like it. I adored the new music, and once this hits Broadway, it will be great.

[Disney Analyst]

Don't forget, critics hated wicked, look at it now.. it's sold out every show.

[thrax]

how do they show ariel swimming in the play? thats what i'm most curious about

[Alice's Wonderland]

how do they show ariel swimming in the play? thats what i'm most curious about

Yeah I want to know too. I heard rumors of them wearing those rolley shoes but then the photos I've seen have ariel in a tail. How does that work? And I really hope that it is successful too, especially since Tarzan and Beauty just closed.

[thrax]

especially since Tarzan and Beauty just closed.
__________________

really both the plays are gone? dang I wanted to see tarzan, plus i wanted to see chelase from "thats so raven" as belle

[PleaseRemainSeated]

Personally, from what I've heard of the production, the critic's reviews could save the show for Broadway. In professional and public reviews alike, the show definitely has some weaknesses to work out, for instance, the lack of a really strong climax. If these problems are addressed by the critics now, then Disney has a chance to correct them before the show actually hits Broadway. That's the reason for doing a preview run in the first place, to identify the parts of the show that don't work or that audiences don't like, and the ones that work well.

So don't hate the critics. They're HELPING the show by picking apart its weak points now while there's still time to change them before the Broadway show opens. It would be much worse to ignore something that doesn't work and then consistently disappoint your audience. And as much as I want the show to succeed, I don't want people to buy tickets for it just because it's The Little Mermaid if it's not a good show - I want it to BE a good show! So finding out all the problems is a good thing. And don't worry. There IS time to fix problems and make the show really strong and therefore really successful.

As for swimming in the show - I haven't seen it, but apparently it involves Ariel and the other mermaids wearing heelies underneath long skirts that are coloured to match their tails. The tails themselves are attached to the mermaid's backsides as a kind of extra appendage. So they glide rather than swim, and the tail isn't really functional, they just swish it about a bit so it looks as if they're moving in water. Or something. Like I said, I haven't actually seen it - but it seems to me more like they're suggesting they're mermaids rather than trying to make the costumes look 100% like real mermaids.

[TsWade2]

Hi everyone,

I just want to say is thank you so very much for being nice about my concern. I didn't know the Denver critics can save the day and I just hope they follow their advice when they make it to Broadway. Well, only six more days left til it ends their performance at Denver. So now they can fix things up of what they did wrong. So again, thank you very much.

[serenityandroses]

The tail has a function, but it's only to make the 'swimming' effect more believable. The heelies are a little stop and go, but with the tails moving just so, it really works. Most of the show, you don't even focus on the other part of the skirt, just the tail. Because that's what gets your attention more, is the swishing and movement of the tail.

[kirbilicious]

Yeah I want to know too. I heard rumors of them wearing those rolley shoes but then the photos I've seen have ariel in a tail. How does that work? And I really hope that it is successful too, especially since Tarzan and Beauty just closed.

Well Beauty only closed really to make room for Little Mermaid, from my understanding. It was still doing fairly well when it closed. And Tarzan... well I don't know if that was a good idea. I loved the movie and the musical's soundtrack, but it got really terrible reviews. It had a lot of advance sales but died off pretty quickly after the terirble reviews came out. And Mermaid is only in previews too which means a lot can change when it opens on Broadway. Mermaid is also more of a "classic" and much more of a hit than Tarzan was. It seems like Disney didn't do much to save Tarzan once they realized it was doing poorly. Often times when a show doesn't do well, the producers will at least make major cast changes and try to pull in celebrities to gain more momentum for the show, but it seems like they didn't try very hard to save it.

[thrax]

i herd that tarzan was really a lot of acrobatics and not much storyline