La Petite Sirène [Musical - 2007]

C'est le 3 novembre 2007 que debutera à Broadway la comédie musicale de La Petite Sirene (apres un passage par Denver cet été).

Alan Menken reviens et nous livre une adaptation enrichie de nouvelles chansons inédites!

le site officiel:
http://disney.go.com/theatre/thelittlemermaid/index.html

Le cast
Sierra Boggess - Ariel
Norm Lewis - Le Roi Triton
Sherie Rene Scott - Ursula
Eddie Korbich -Eureka
Tituss Burgess - Sebastian
Sean Palmer - Prince Eric
Jonathan Freeman - Grimsby
Derrick Baskin - Jetsam
Tyler Maynard - Flotsam
Cody Hanford and J.J. Singleton - Polochon
John Treacy Egan - Chef Louis
Heidi Blickenstaff - Carlotta

rencontre avec le cast:
http://www.broadway.com/gen/General.aspx?ci=549978

Tracklisting
1. Overture/Descent Into the Sea
2. That World Above (Ariel)
3. Fathoms Below (Eric, Ariel, Sailors)
4. Fathoms Below [demo] (Eric, Ariel, Sailors)
5. The World Above [reprise] (Ariel)
6. Daughters of Triton (Mermaids)
7. That Oughta Show Her (Sebastian, Triton)
8. Human Stuff (Scuttle, Gulls)
9. Wasting Away (Ursula, Flotsam, Jetsam)
10. She's In Love (Flounder, Mermaids)
11. That Oughta Show Her [reprise] (Sebastian, Triton)
12. The Storm
13. Under the Sea (Sebastian, Ensemble)
14. Sweet Child (Flotsam, Jetsam)
15. Her Voice (Eric)
16. Ursula's Incantation (Ursula, Ariel)
17. Positoovity (Scuttle, Gulls)
18. Beyond My Wildest Dreams (Ariel)
19. If Only/Her Voice [demo] (Ariel, Eric)
20. Ursula's Incantation II (Ursula, Ariel)
21. Kiss The Girl [end vox only] (Sebastian, Ensemble)
22. All Good Things Must End (Ursula)
23. If Only/ Her Voice II, Finale (Ariel, Eric)

Je suis fan de Sierra Boggess en tout cas. Dans la vidéo de Broadway.com elle a la fraîcheur et elle est pétillante pour le rôle. Vivement plus d'infos (photos sur scène et vids!!)

Nouvelle vidéo du casting de la petite sirène :

http://www.broadway.com/gen/general.aspx?ci=549978

J'attend avec impatience ce musical, je suis tellement fan de la petite sirène !!! j'espère sincèrement qu'il sera aussi bien mis en scène que Mary Poppins et Beauty & the Beast.

Le site officiel s'agrandit d'une partie "scrapbook" avec photos des répétitions! Le spectacle est actuellement en "test" à Denver.

Part of your world est remplacé par That world above??

Voici une photo d'Ariel lors du show:

http://images.broadwayworld.com/columnpic/SierraBoggessLittleMermaidlarge.jpg

Et voci une image de KISS THE GIRL:

Waouw, ces 2 photos sont absolument sublimes !

Franchement, je leur tire mon chapeau parce qu'il faut une sacrée imagination pour mettre en scène un spectacle qui se déroule à moitié sous l'eau avec une sirène qui doit "nager".

C'est vrai que la comédienne qui joue Ariel à l'air de très bien coller au personnage, bon choix.

C'est vrai que la comédienne colle bien avec Ariel, et j'aimerais bien voir la chanson poor unfortunate soul visiblement remplacé par Ursula's incantation, ou tout simplement ursula, comment ils vont faire ppour ses tentacules.

idem... Et qu'advient-il de la magnifique cultissime scène de Partir la bas (reprise) sur le rocher... "prince de la chance la vie commence pour toi et moi..." ou encore l'image somptueuse quand Ursula transforme Ariel et qu'elle jaillit hors de l'eau... ?

Les images sont magnifiques, vivement qu'on puisse écouter les morceaux !

Je n'avais pas encore vu ces photos, et je suis vraiment très emballé par ce que je vois! Ariel est sublime et les décors superbes!

Merci beaucoup pour ses photos, c'est vraiment superbe J'ai hâte d'entendre les chansons et de voir d'autres photos dont une d'Ursula.

Une nouvelle vidéo avec l'équipe créative.



Le spectacle a débuté depuis quelques jours et n'a pas un echo
hallucinant. espérons que ce n'est que le début et qu'il y aura
beaucoup de changements.



Et Ariel retrouve sa voix à la fin, non pas parce que le coquillage d'Ursula se brise, mais parce qu'Eric l'embrasse...



http://www.denverpost.com/theater/ci_6564406

Une 3e vidéo sur l'histoire :



http://www.denverpost.com/littlemermaid/ci_6681229





Mer-mania is on.

It began in earnest with Thursday's colorful and entertaining opening
of "The Little Mermaid," the latest entrant in Disney's quest to take
over Broadway, one children's spectacle at a time.

"Mermaid" was greeted by a thunderous and appreciative (and
undemanding) Denver audience. How likely that love is to carry over to
New York in December depends on how willing the creative team is to
accept that their very adorable little guppy has not quite yet found
its full sea legs.

But that's exactly why these multimillion-dollar high-risk ventures
incubate in smaller cities like Denver before going up against a school
of nasty New York piranhas (critics!) who, if given the chance today,
might pick this fish to the bone.

This Denver run (through Sept. 9 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House) is
an opportunity for the team to confirm what works, identify what
doesn't (most notably, a chaotic ending and a few bizarre set pieces) —
and fix them, fast.

What's good about "Mermaid" is very, very good, starting with
diminutive Denver native Sierra Boggess as the animated Ariel virtually
come to life. Boggess simply inhabits the headstrong, 16-year-old
princess who defies her well-meaning but ill-equipped single father.
Bet on it: This tiny kid's gonna be a big Broadway star (hey, it's not
homerism when she obviously hit a home run).

More propitious is its faithfulness to the beloved 1989 film, which all
but guarantees the show a long life in Times Square. There are those
who will quibble with its liberties — Prince Eric's wedding to
disguised sea witch Ursula is replaced by a silly singing contest, for
example — but this expanded telling from an essentially slight source
solves far more storytelling problems than it introduces.

(Though I'm still not sure just how the Mer-king Triton and the octopus
Ursula can be siblings. And while writer Doug Wright smartly addresses
that nagging question, "Just what did



Denver native Sierra Boggess stars as Ariel in "The Little Mermaid." (Joan Marcus / Disney Theatricals)

happen to Ariel's mother?" he never answers it — and therein could lie
a much more satisfying explanation for Triton's feud with his "sis.")

The waterless staging conceit is original and magical in execution,
though not without its problems. Through an innovative intermingling of
lights, multimedia projections and lots of streaming clear plastic
strips, director Francesca Zambello and scenic designer George Tsypin
move us fluidly (sorry) from above water to below simply by having "sea
level" rise and descend. One moment we're on the ocean's floor,
mingling with fishies gliding around effortlessly on their "heelie"
shoes; the next Eric's ship lowers until it hovers just a few feet
above the stage, the waving plastic strips underneath creating the
sense his ship is floating on water. Wonderful.

Despite the intoxicating spectacle — and there is lots of it — Zambello
wisely isn't trying to fool anyone into thinking we are actually
underwater, or that her human actors don't really have legs. It's a
much more evocative and suggestive approach. She establishes place,
then lets your imagination do the rest. And by not simply trying to
replicate the animated creatures on stage, she smartly allows the
humanity of the actors to come through.

The inhabitants of this underwater world owe much to "The Lion King."
These aren't puppets, but their headdresses similarly imply species.
Actually, there's fairly liberal borrowing throughout the show from any
number of stage spectacles: Ariel's wonderful human transformation is
pure "Peter Pan"; the hit-and-miss costumes are in league with "Beauty
and the Beast"; and, most evidently, Sherie Rene Scott's fantastic
first entrance as the eight-armed Ursula will make you think "Audrey
II" from "Little Shop of Horrors" — with a little Madam Morrible thrown
in ("Wicked"). You'll also notice trace elements of "Cinderella," Crazy
for You" and more.

Ironically, it's only when the story moves to dry land that we start to
encounter real staging problems. At the messy climax, we don't know
whether we're in water or on dry land. The writer, Wright, wisely takes
the final conquest of Ursula away from Eric and gives it to Ariel,
where it belongs, but how the

Audio

LISTEN to an excerpt from John Moore's interview with Sherie René Scott, who talks about her 3-year-old's take on Ursula.

LISTEN Director Francesca Zambello talks about returning to her roots in Colorado.

LISTEN Denver native Sierra Boggess talks about embodying Ariel.

LISTEN Sean Palmer, who plays Prince Eric, on seeing the film for the first time.

LISTEN Book writer Doug Wright on the influence of Howard Ashman.

LISTEN Norm Lewis, who plays King Triton, talks about dancing on "heelies."

LISTEN Tituss Burgess on playing Sebastian the crab.

LISTEN Choreographer Stephen Mear on how heelies aren't roller skates.

LISTEN Alan Menken talks about Sierra Boggess.

girl fells the great and all-powerful sea witch is ridiculously easy —
and no amount of strobe lights and smoke can cover that up.

The casting is impeccable. Boggess and Scott could be destined for Tony
Award nominations (Tyler Maynard and Derrick Baskin would, too, if
there were a category for best dastardly, slithery eels). Lighting
designer Natasha Katz ought also be Radio City-bound. John Treacy Egan
nearly steals the show in a brilliant cameo as chef Louie.

The gigantic white elephant here are actually two gigantic, (probably
million-dollar) corkscrew columns that anchor Tsypin's stage, but to
what effect I have no earthly idea. All I can say is that corkscrews
are for bottle-opening, not for undersea set-anchoring.

As might be expected, the familiar songs are the strength of the score,
while much of the new material doesn't quite flow together yet. The
strongest new entrants are Ursula's "I Want the Good Times Back"; the
Mersisters singing a delightful "She's in Love" with a young Flounder
who's been polarizingly reimagined as a pouty, spiky-haired teen; and
Eddie Korbich's glorious seagull tap, "Positoovity." (But why are the
gulls costumed to look like dirty, tattered pillows?)

Composers Alan Menken and Glenn Slater have wisely given Eric (a
terrific Sean Palmer) his own songs to put the story's central romance
on more equal footing (sorry again), but the new material he's been
given isn't particularly memorable.

Audiences, of course, most loved Ariel's "Part of Your World" (a song
Menken stole from his own "Somewhere That's Green") and "Under the Sea"
(slightly rearranged to match loveable Titus Burgess' higher voice).
This is clearly the show's bread-and-butter number, and audiences ate
it up.

But ironically, this joyful, exhaustive dance doesn't serve the meaning
of the song all that well. It's just ... a big dance number. It makes
no attempt to further the point that life under the sea is better than
above (they have dancing up there, too). After seeing choreographer
Stephen Mear's revolutionary upside-down chimney-sweep dance in "Mary
Poppins," I was hoping for something similarly contextual here.

The number that best combines movement, mood and song is an evocative and visually stunning "Kiss the Girl."

People are already asking where "The Little Mermaid" falls in the
pantheon of Disney's theatrical spectacles. Despite its innovations,
it's really not trying to reinvent the storytelling form like "The Lion
King." It's conventional in that regard, much more in league with
"Beauty and the Beast."

Despite its flaws, Zambello's staging would likely be a hit even if it
opened tomorrow just based on audiences' sheer love for the story, and
for its positive exploration of a now complex and interesting
father-daughter relationship. The emotional power of the tale of a girl
learning to stand on her own two feet is not only preserved but
enhanced. Families will take positive messages of inclusion and
tolerance from it.

My guest was Disney's target audience: a 14-year-old female "Mermaid"
film fanatic named Jaime. She understands the creators' need to expand
and fill out the story for the stage, but warns that lengthening it
also creates disjointed tangents that might make hardcore fans
impatient and wanting them to get back to business.

And she'll never understand why it is that the girl has to always make
the ultimate sacrifice. After all, Ariel will never see her father and
beloved sisters again. All for the love of a man.

"If he's such a prince," Jaime asked, "why doesn't he just become a merman?"

Theater critic John Moore can be reached at 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com.

Attention, âmes sensibles s'abstenir.

La Petite Sirène est déjà morte 3 mois avant d'arriver à Broadway.

Tout le monde à l'air unanime, des critiques spécialites au public : Ariel est un flop !



Je met les critiques dnas des posts à part

On commence avec Variéty, le plus influençable sur les spectateurs :



The Little Mermaid

(Ellie Caulkins Opera House at Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Denver; 2,016 seats; $77 top)

By DAVID ROONEY





Sierra Boggess stars as Ariel in Disney Theatrical's 'The Little Mermaid.'



A Disney Theatrical Prods., Thomas Schumacher presentation of a musical
in two acts with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and
Glenn Slater, book by Doug Wright, based on the Hans Christian Andersen
story and the Disney film produced by Ashman and John Musker, written
and directed by Musker and Ron Clements. Directed by Francesca
Zambello. Music direction, incidental music and vocal arrangements,
Michael Kosarin. Choreography, Stephen Mear.



Ariel - Sierra Boggess

Prince Eric - Sean Palmer

King Triton - Norm Lewis

Sebastian - Tituss Burgess

Scuttle - Eddie Korbich

Grimsby - Jonathan Freeman

Jetsam - Derrick Baskin

Flotsam - Tyler Maynard

Flounder - Cody Hanford/J.J. Singleton

Ursula - Sherie Rene Scott

With: Adrian Bailey, Cathryn Basile, Heidi Blickenstaff, James Brown
III, Robert Creighton, Cicily Daniels, John Treacy Egan, Tim Federle,
Merwin Foard, Bahiyah Sayyed Gaines, Ben Hartley, Meredith Inglesby,
Michelle Lookadoo, Joanne Manning, Alan Mingo, Jr., Zakiya Young Mizen,
Betsy Morgan, Arbender J. Robinson, Bret Shuford, Jason Snow, Chelsea
Morgan Stock, Kay Trinidad, Price Waldman, Daniel J. Watts.



There are lots of questions to ponder while being otherwise unengaged
by Disney's new stage version of "The Little Mermaid." How can a merman
and a squid be brother and sister? When the ocean's surface and the
depths below are so clearly delineated, why does the ship float in the
night sky? If the sea witch is so powerful, how is she so easily
dispatched? How does King Triton maintain those abs? What are those
giant baroque corkscrews that keep appearing? And while we're on that
track, did no one at any point worry that the designs for this show are
just plain ugly?

While director Francesca Zambello is new to Broadway, her opera and
musical productions elsewhere have been lauded for their balance of
spectacle with emotional detail. But by choosing frequent opera-world
collaborators, set designer George Tsypin and costumer Tatiana
Noginova, Zambello has allowed emotion, charm and enchantment to be
drowned in a sea of bewilderingly over-stylized designs.



In a musical for which children are the primary audience, clarity of
representation is fundamental. But in the magical underwater kingdom
that beautiful young mermaid Ariel (Sierra Boggess) longs to leave
behind to marry the human prince (Sean Palmer), we often require
explanation to know what we're looking at.



We suppose the kid with the faux-hawk in the yellow sack (J.J.
Singleton, alternating with Cody Hanford) is a flounder because that's
what people call him. We believe the guy in the red tail suit and hat
(Tituss Burgess) is a crab because he says so. Even though they
resemble land reptiles out of "Seascape," the eels (Tyler Maynard and
Derrick Baskin) are helpfully identified as such. And despite an outfit
that looks like Patricia Field playing a joke on Sarah Jessica Parker,
we know Scuttle (Eddie Korbich) is a seagull because he sings about
"gull ability." As for the random Mardi Gras revelers whizzing all over
the stage on Heelys, I guess the fact they're singing "Under the Sea"
would make them fish.



While some imaginative work is required of the audience to ignore the
skirts and focus on the tails, the mermaids at least look like mermaids.



Then there are Tsypin's bizarrely alienating Plexiglass stage-scapes,
overhung by giant disks that look like Christmas decorations but serve
as the sun, the moon, a chandelier that could be an alien spacecraft
and some unidentifiable marine orb. All this visual incoherence, plus
some not always useful elaboration of a simple, disarming storyline,
make what should have been a slam-dunk for stage presentation a
waterlogged misstep.



One of the most beloved of Disney's modern animated features, "Mermaid"
was the turning point after a long fallow period for the sector. Having
elevated animation to an art form and produced a formidable string of
popular classics through the 1940s, '50s and '60s, the Mouse House's
toon division slipped into workmanlike mode in the late '70s and '80s.



With its catchy songs, its plucky, independent-minded heroine, its
irresistibly campy villainess and a happy ending far more accessible
and uplifting than Hans Christian Andersen's ethereal original,
"Mermaid" single-handedly changed all that.



The $211 million worldwide gross from its 1989 release and 1997-98
reissue, not to mention massive home-entertainment revenues, put
animation back on studios' radars, kickstarting a renaissance for the
form that carried through the arrival of computer animation.
Additionally, "Mermaid" came along at a time when the movie musical had
become genre non grata; it showed that a narrative partly driven by
songs could still work, an achievement recognized in its Oscars for
original song and score.



That history, and the affection of multiple audience generations, gives
Disney a potent new brand to add to its family-friendly theatrical
stable. In a neat exchange, when "Mermaid" takes up residence in New
York at the Lunt-Fontanne -- beginning previews Nov. 3 for a Dec. 6
opening -- it replaces "Beauty and the Beast," another show with songs
by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, based on the movie that
consolidated the animation rebirth.



But that's where the symmetry ends. Quaint and clunky as it was, in the
theme-park style that predated Disney's explosion into more
stylistically adventurous territory with "The Lion King," "Beauty" told
its fairytale story cleanly and efficiently.



Doug Wright's book for "Mermaid" joins the dots well enough but it
constantly struggles against the visual conception, which distracts
from the story's essence and makes it hard for the audience to lose
themselves in the underwater environment. Wright's work in "I Am My Own
Wife" and "Grey Gardens" showed his connection to maverick
personalities, so this tale about letting children step out into the
world, make mistakes and follow their own path should be a good fit.
Yet, that comes through only perfunctorily, despite Boggess' committed
performance and crystalline vocals. And much of the humor falls flat.



What's surprising is how underwhelming the movie's most delightful
numbers are here. The joyous calypso frolic "Under the Sea" and
gloriously romantic "Kiss the Girl" are wonderful songs but Zambello
has compromised both with chaotic presentation, not helped by Stephen
Mear's uninteresting choreography. ("Under the Sea" would have been a
more obvious scene-setting opener than the ho-hum sea chanty "Fathoms
Below," expanded from a few throwaway bars in the film.) "Part of Your
World" fares better despite Boggess being stuck in a plastic cave for
most of it.



Aside from some neat transitions early on between above and below sea,
the show generally is most persuasive when Tsypin's clutter is cleared
away, leaving the gorgeous color palette and delicate strokes of
Natasha Katz's lighting to take the descriptive lead. Despite
Zambello's much-quoted creative choice of "no water, no wires," it's
the simple wire work of Prince Eric's near-drowning in the storm or
Ariel's underwater transformation from mermaid to human that come
closest to engendering a sense of wonderment.



Among the better new songs penned by Menken and Glenn Slater, "Her
Voice" gives Palmer's standard-issue dreamboat prince a yearning anthem
to match Ariel's "Part of Your World"; Korbich leads a fun bunch of
tap-dancing seagulls in "Positoovity"; the Mersisters do an exuberant
girl-group riff in "She's in Love"; and scheming sea witch Ursula
(Sherie Rene Scott), who offers Ariel human transformation in exchange
for her voice, vamps about the evil old days before she was banished in
"I Want the Good Times Back."



Somewhat different from the film Ursula (a cross between Mae West,
Divine and Bea Arthur), Scott creates the most fully formed character.
She deadpans her cutting remarks with casual aplomb and brings venomous
relish to "Poor Unfortunate Souls." A voluptuous hourglass figure with
blond Medusa locks and eight moving tentacles that form an Elizabethan
skirt, her costume is one of Noginova's more successful contributions.



Rest of the cast acquit themselves fine though the material, as
reconceived for the stage, is simply not nuanced enough to allow any
performer to emerge. As Sebastian the Caribbean crustacean, Burgess
skirts uncomfortably close to minstrelsy and might want to tone down
the mugging a notch. Norm Lewis is underused as King Triton, his
impressive gym results getting more exposure than his mellifluous
baritone. John Treacy Egan injects comedy as Chef Louis, rhapsodizing
about "Les Poissons."



As for "Mermaid's" Broadway prospects, the strength of the property
might help it stay afloat awhile, especially with tourist traffic. But
if Disney Theatrical chief Thomas Schumacher's aim in enlisting
Zambello and team was to develop another eye-popping theatrical event
to transcend the kid-fare label, he needs to keep fishing.

La critique d'avant est quand même faite par le boss de la partie theatrale...



Et le New york Post



August 31, 2007 -- ON the heels of the fiasco that was "Tarzan" and the
lumbering bore that is "Mary Poppins" comes Disney Theatrical's latest
stage cartoon, "The Little Mermaid" - which Variety has helpfully
dubbed "a waterlogged misstep."

The $15 million-plus musical, now trying out in Denver, doesn't arrive
in New York until November. So Disney's got about a month to retool
director Francesca Zambello's baffling production.

But given Variety's brutal review (which was written not by a local
stringer but by the paper's chief theater critic) and the show's tepid
industry word-of-mouth, theater people are starting to wonder: What's
gone wrong in the Magic Kingdom - and, if "Mermaid" flops, how much
longer will Disney keep throwing its cartoons at Broadway stages?

First, though, the gossip on "Mermaid," which is based on the beloved
1989 movie about a mermaid who swaps her tail for a pair of legs.

Zambello, an opera director who's making her Broadway debut, is taking
a drubbing for a production that, even some Disney insiders concede, is
visually almost as unappealing as "Tarzan" was.

The visual motif on "Tarzan" was glow-in-the dark spinach fettuccini.
On "Mermaid," it's moving modules of Plexiglas, designed by Zambello's
opera crony, George Tsypin.

Sometimes you can spot what appears to be a wave. But often you have no
idea what you're looking at, as with two gigantic diaphanous towers,
which might be corkscrews or, possibly, nutcrackers.

Or maybe dental instruments.

Zambello has created one of those modern, hyperstylized productions you
find in opera houses in Eastern Europe. What little girls from
Scarsdale who carry "Little Mermaid" lunchboxes will make of it is
anybody's guess.

Disney insiders also are fretting about Tatiana Noginova's costumes,
which are notable for their absolute refusal to resemble anything you'd
find under the sea (or on this planet, for that matter).

Eels look like lizards; a guppy looks like a kindergartner wearing a
smock for his art class; seagulls look like nothing I've ever seen that
flies.



Noginova is under intense pressure to redo many of the costumes. Says
one source: "She'd better be sewing now, because there isn't much time."

There were also rumors yesterday that Disney was hunting for a real
Broadway director to help ease Zambello out of her European Opera House
aesthetic and make "The Little Mermaid" more family-friendly.

But a Disney spokesman says the rumors are not true.

Disney was on the offensive this week, flying about 40 group-sales
ticket agents to Denver to see the show. Disney gave them dinner at the
Opera House and put them up in the Grand Hyatt. But the agents grumbled
that they were flown out in coach.

"I might have liked the show a little better if I'd been in first-class," one says.

The agents weren't overwhelmed by the show, and no one seems too eager
to snap up many tickets. (They were badly burned on "Tarzan.")

Advance ticket sales for "Little Mermaid" are said to be around $10
million, far short of the $20 million "Mary Poppins" had in the bank on
its opening night.

"The Disney brand is not what it used to be on Broadway," says a source involved in ticket sales.

That, sadly, is true.

Once upon a time in the Magic Kingdom, Disney Theatrical could do no
wrong. "Beauty and the Beast," though not a critical favorite, ran for
13 years and earned hundreds of millions of dollars. "Aida," which
Disney shut down in Atlanta and completely reworked for Broadway, was a
guilty pleasure that ran for five years.

And "The Lion King" remains one of the most thrilling productions in
Broadway history. The show - and Disney's refurbishment of The New
Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street - played a huge role in the
revitalization of Times Square.



Some theater people think the people running Disney's theater division
have gotten too artsy for their own good. They hired Bob Crowley, a
respected set designer of serious plays (and "Aida"), to make his
misbegotten directorial debut with "Tarzan." They brought in Richard
Eyre, the former head of London's National Theater, to stage "Mary
Poppins," from which he managed to eliminate any trace of wonderment.

As for Zambello, it's clear to people working on "The Little Mermaid" that she does not know her way around a Broadway musical.

Still, it must be pointed out that Disney's artsy impulse also brought the great Julie Taymor to "The Lion King."

"They're hiring serious artists to direct basically cartoons," says a
veteran theater producer. "It worked with 'The Lion King.' It hasn't
worked since."

Should "Little Mermaid" go the way of "Tarzan," how much longer will Disney stay in the game?

The Broadway division was created by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner,
who grew up on Park Avenue and has been in love with the theater since
he was a kid.

He oversaw every detail of "Beauty and the Beast" and lists "The Lion
King" as one of his proudest achievements during his tenure at Disney.

Robert Iger, Disney's current chief, does not have that same passion
for the theater, sources say. He was deeply unhappy with "Tarzan" and,
I'm told, worries that Disney is cannibalizing itself on Broadway.
Indeed, both "The Lion King" and "Poppins" are offering discounted
tickets in the fall.

"I doubt we're going to see a lot more Disney shows after 'Mermaid,'"
says a veteran theater producer. "I just don't think this is really Bob
Iger's bag."

As for "Mermaid," hardheaded Disney insiders don't expect an easy ride
from the New York critics. But they cling to the hope that "The Little
Mermaid" will be like "Beauty and the Beast" - a hugely popular title
no critic can take down.

They may be in for a big disappointment.

When "Beauty and the Beast" opened in 1994, there were very few family shows on Broadway.

Today, the street's full of shows that appeal to families - "Wicked,"
"Hairspray," "Legally Blonde," "The Grinch," "Mary Poppins," "The Lion
King."

All will give "The Little Mermaid" stiff - and possibly ruinous - competition.

michael.riedel@nypost.com

OU encore ça qu'on pouvait voir dés ce matin sur le web :



Is The Fish Tale a Flop? - Will 'Mermaid' Resurface From Under the Weight of Bad Reviews?

That is the question that most reviews are asking. Will 'The Little
Mermaid' survive its run in Denver and actually make it to Broadway?
One only has to glance at recent reviews (just take alook at the news
bar at the top of my site) to notice a similar theme occuring. The show
is ok, it has a solid cast, but it isn't really up to scratch in
comparison to it's competition. If it was to only be played in Denver
it would be fine - however, critics of the show are already reviewing
it as if it were on Broadway right at this very moment. With headlines
such as "Will Mermaid Sink of Swim?", "Mouse of Blues" and
"Overproduction weighs down lively 'Mermaid'" things aren't looking too
good for this little fish. This screams Shawshank Redemption.... "Here
fishy fishy fishy!" ... and 'Mermaid' is the fat guy - you get my
drift. So as the reviews beat 'Mermaid' to within an inch of it's life,
I am trying to look a little further into the problems that it is
facing - but can't seem to find any real solutions.



I haven't seen the show. I live no where near Denver, but will I make
the effort to see it on Broadway? Probably not - That is the response
that would be scaring Disney to death. Those who don't see it in it's
early stages - will they want to see it on Broadway, or will they just
jump on the well worn 'Lion King' Bandwagon. Sure, both are making
money for Disney, however could the 'House of Mouse' take another
Broadway failure. Will 'The Little Mermaid' go down the track of 'Mary
Poppins' and 'Tarzan'? - 'Tarzan' was on Broadway? - usually the
response here.

So the video killed the radio star. It looks like the internet is
killing this broadway show. Since the demo tapes were released this
show has been under constant scrutiny by bloggers (such as myself),
broadway critics/reviews and message boards. Unlike 'The Lion King' and
'Beauty and the Beast' it has been under constant survalience from the
great wide web. At one point, there was question over whether Ariel
would still have her gorgeous flaming locks. If that isn't a lack of
faith in the show, I don't know what is. Did we ask whether Belle would
be brunette? I don't think so. Would Simba be a Lion? Of course! It
shows that after 'Tarzan' and 'Mary Poppins' adaptations, we don't
trust Disney messing with their own classic film canon. Are these
Broadway shows Disney's new version of the straight to DVD sequels?
Cashing in on the success of past ventures with crappy re-hashings?
Looks like it to me.



One may argue that this sort of discussion is publicity for the show,
and creates hype. However, shouldn't the mermaid be given time to take
its first breath in denver without negativity being rammed down it's
throat. It surely can't be good moral for the cast and crew. One has to
wonder if sites such as mine, are killing this broadway show before it
got it's chance. The answer I believe is a resounding 'No'. New shows
are released on broadway each year. Why should this one be any
different. A Disney Broadway show should not be wrapped up in cotton
wool. I doubt that 'Wicked', 'Spamalot', 'The Producers' or 'Hairspray'
recieved any special treatment, all based on movies and/or books. They,
like 'The Little Mermaid', all had expectation placed apon them by
their audiences. They survived the harsh reality of Broadway. If
'Mermaid' doesn't it has nothing to do with reviews or critics, it is
to do with the quality of their work and whether it is worth the
dollars they expect us to cough up to go and see it. Quite simply
demand and supply. Perhaps the only fish that people want to see this
year are on their plates, not skating around on stage in some strange
cirque du poissons escapade.



Are people sick of Commercial Broadway? Yes. Broadway for Disney has
become a commercial enterprise, rather than a true artistic outlet.
Sure, every show is trying to make big bucks on broadway, however, is
Disney turning Broadway into an extension of DisneyLand. 'The Little
Mermaid' seems slightly reminiscant of a show you would expect to see
in their themeparks. Big flashy lights, a couple of good singers and
some second rate set pieces - is 'Mermaid' trying to be big and
attention seeking on purpose? Big and flashy is kitsch, overdazzling
and a total letdown. Intimate, warmth and and character are key.



Speaking of warmth; 'The Little Mermaid' is in cold water. It is Blue.
Cold Blue. Every picture I have seen of this show has been blue. It is
dark and a real dampener to the spirits - being underwater doesn't
limit the colour scheme to blue (just look at the movie's gorgeous
bright 'Under the Sea' sequence). Why couldn't 'Kiss the Girl' be
performed in front of a gorgeous sunset -nope its a blue sky. Every
picture I see of 'The Lion King' contains warmth, glowing setpieces in
bright colours. Browns, reds, orange, yellow. It is inviting. Blue is
overbearing and depressing. Just a thought. Perhaps a few warmer
colours would brighten everyone's spirits including reviewers.



Personally, I believe that Disney have got in over their heads on this
one. 'The Little Mermaid' lends it's self to animation perfectly, it
would be impossible to create on the silverscreen convincingly
('Splash' anyone?) - so why would it be any better on Broadway?
'Mermaid' and 'Aladdin' were successful animated films because they
took elements (underwater scenes and mermaids, a genie and magic) that
could not be presented in live action well. It is stated on the
'Aladdin' DVD, that having a shape shifting genie is something that
only animation could do. Isn't having singing mermaids, a huge squid
(ursula has only 6 legs) and a talking crab only something that
animation can do? Usually and animated film is animated for a reason.
So why take it to Broadway?



Overall, 'The Little Mermaid' has a month to prove it's self before
it's Broadway debut. Lets hope it can find it's sea legs rather than
looking like it was put together by a drunken money hungry sailor.

Toutes ces photographies sont magnifiques, elle ne font que donner envie de voir le spectacle, je me demande si la scène avec le chef de cuisine à été mise en scène car c'est un moment des plus comique pour moi. J'espère que malgré les critiques négatives le spectacle pourra continuer, car ce n'est pas après une ou deux fois que l'on peut juger il me semble qu'il faut laisser à toute l'équipe la chance de conquérir le public, en tout cas du peu que j'ai vu et entendu, je suis en ce qui me concerne conquise

heu les critiques, c'était pas sur les comédiens, mais sur les décors,
les éclairages, l'histoire remaniée et surtout les costumes. Je vois
pas en quoi on ne peut pas juger de ça dés la 1er vision...

Une fois de plus eau+broadway = flop

Il va venir à Broadway ou pas du coup? Je veux voir Sherie Rene Scott en Ursula