Lee Mead Forum

Just as I predicted, The Little Mermaid is a Broadway flop. Even if the kids will like it, the critics go “thbbbbpppt!” in disgust. Same thing happened to Tarzan and it closed quickly.

The following is taken from Matt Windman of the amNewYork entertainment section:

"The Disney musicals just keep getting worse. We go through the same routine again and again: Pick out a trendy director, add a bunch of bland songs to make a 90-minute film into a two-and-a-half-hour mishap, recruit some legitimate Braodway singers, and poof, another Disney film is turned into a ridiculous spectacle."

There are some stark changes from the original film. King Trident and Ursula are brother and sister. (Fratricide again?) Ariel is supposed to be stronger and gutsier and ends up slaying the witch instead of Eric. And to show the mermaids have “fins”, they wear baggy jazz pants and have high heels with tiny wheels to “glide” across the stage.

“The resulting display looks like an ice-skating show within a Halloween party,” said Windman.

I do not intend to bash Broadway, Disney, or America for turning out poor-quality entertainment on a massive scale. In fact, Disney has excelled with the shows of Beauty & the Beast and The Lion King. Mary Poppins is also going strong and will stay on for long, I predict. Those shows remained grounded in the original story and while I haven’t seen The Lion King yet, I know the African dance & song that makes it distinct from other shows. Disney just needs to know when to set the limits instead of turning out the same thing again and again.

I hope Dreamworks will take a cue and squelch those whispering rumors that Shrek could be musically revised too. *Groans*

Guys, could we please forget those knockoffs and bring Joseph back to Broadway?

Ursula and King Triton were supposed to be brother and sister in the film originally, it was deleted in the cutting room, the storyboarding can be found on the special edition DVD.

I am a HUGE HUGE Little Mermaid fan, it is my favourite Disney film. I was really quite intrigued about the musical version, I hoped it would turn out good like Beauty and the Beast and Lion King. I am disappointed to read this...
Thanks for sharing though.

And Shrek the musical??? Gah noooooooo!!!!

I was afraid this would happen. When they were starting try-outs I heared some positive things, but that quickly deminished. Which is too bad, because Disney can make great musicals. I love Lion King (have seen the Dutch version and it was great!) and Beauty and the Beast (unfortunately haven't seen that one, but love the music). I just hope the next one will turn out good again!

I'd like to see a musical versie of Aladdin...

The girl playing Ariel, Sierra Boggess, played Christine in Phantom in Vegas... apparently she's good.

I've heard about the 'heelies' thing, that's a bit weird....