Tuesday, August 28, 2007

The Little Mermaid Has Problems

OK, this is not good. The early review of the Little Mermaid stage musical, on preview in Denver, doesn't sound good. What should have been a slam-dunk may now appears to need major retooling before it opens on Broadway.

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.


It seems that they may have tried to make the musical to be too sophisticated visually and choreographically, to appeal to the adults while forgetting about the kids.

I definitely hope that they can make the significant changes required, or it might have the same lukewarm reception as Tarzan. But then again, Tarzan didn't have as memorable of a music as Mermaid, so that might be its saving grace.

Zz.

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