Disney’s The Little Mermaid Musical Comes to Dallas

When I heard The Little Mermaid was coming to Dallas as a musical I was eager to take the kids.  Our family loves all things Disney and Ariel was Gabby’s favorite princess when she was little.  Thanks to Dallas Summer Musicals, the opportunity to attend one of the first showings made the perfect mom and daughter night out.  On Sunday we put on our dresses and headed to the Dallas Fair Park Music Hall to see the Broadway style show.

I love musicals.  I have seen almost ten Broadway shows plus the dozens of Disney musicals I have taken the kids to see rather be on our Disney cruises or at the theme parks.  Our whole family loves them.  DSM’s The Little Mermaid did not disappoint.  The vibrant colors of the sets and the elaborate costumes were stunning to watch.

Hands down my favorite scene was Sebastian singing Under the Sea.  Of course we know every word to the song but instead of singing along we were mesmerized in silence.  With each verse of the song a new sea creature came out on stage.  Floating jelly fish larger than life, brightly colored fish all surrounding Ariel and Sebastian parading around the stage belting out the chorus beautifully.  Thinking back on it now I am sure I missed some of the action during the musical number, there was no way I could have seen it all.

Before seeing The Little Mermaid musical I had not read anything about it.  Therefore I had no idea Dallas Summer Musicals hired Glenn Casale to rework the story so that it’s more than a mermaid’s longing for a prince.  I went into the theater expecting the story to be exactly the same as Disney’s The Little Mermaid movie.  I was a little surprised by some of the differences.

Although majority of the musical was the same scenes you would expect to see I was pleasantly surprised to see some additions.  Flounder has his own little musical number which was a nice twist.  He joins Ariel’s sisters in the song proclaiming she must be in love.  During intermission I was searching online the story plot of Ursula being King Triton’s sister.  Apparently the scenes that expanded on the story line of Ursula before she was banished got cut from the original Little Mermaid movie.  I learned something new since this plot is clearly told during the musical.

Casale hired magician Paul Rubin, who is known for his flying choreography, to assist.  I have personally seen Rubin’s work in the musical Wicked and I must say the acts that showcased his flying choreography in The Little Mermaid were beyond anything I have seen before.  When Eric falls off his ship and starts sinking into the ocean unconscious leading into Ariel’s rescue – I could not imagine the scene going more smoothly.  The true sensation of sinking in water and Ariel swimming away pulling him to shore is extremely realistic.  The same swimming/sinking sensation is displayed again when Ariel receives her legs for the first time from Ursula and turns back into a mermaid after the sun sets.  Each time the stage transitioned between above and below sea I was rendered speechless.  The first words I said to anyone after the musical was how amazed I was at the ability to make those acts stand out.

I highly recommend taking the family {kids of all ages} to see Disney’s The Little Mermaid at Dallas Summer Musicals. The Little Mermaid will be showing at Fair Park Music Hall until March 2, 2014.

What is your favorite song and scene from Disney’s The Little Mermaid?

Full Disclosure: My family received complimentary tickets to see DSM’s The Little Mermaid for review purposes.  All opinions are 100% my own.