From
http://jimhillmedia.comDisney Theatrical has big, big plans for "The Little Mermaid"
With rehearsals for Disney's next Broadway musical just about to get underway, Jim Hill raises the curtain a little. Revealing to JHM readers what he knows about the sets & costume design for this new show
As Ed Sullivan used to say, get ready for " ... a really big show."
Or should I say " ... a really TALL show" ?
Either way, that's all that the folks at Disney Theatrical can talk about these days. The immense size of the sets that scenic designer George Tsypin has created for their newest musical, "The Little Mermaid."
As Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatrical Productions, explained in an interview with Playbill.com :
"What I can tell you is it's big — physically. It has scale because George Tsypin works with scale. He was an architect, and he comes at things from a very structural point of view. It's a pretty aggressive design sense, which is great. I knew of him through the opera world through Julie [Taymor]. It's his first Broadway musical."
And just like Ms. Taymor did with her Tony Award-winning version of "The Lion King," Tsypin chose not to try & replicate the look of Disney's 1989 animated version of "The Little Mermaid." But -- rather -- went back to the source material (I.E. Hans Christian Andersen's original story) to draw his inspiration. With the hope that George might then create something that looked both classic & romantic.
Well, according to what Disney Theatrical insiders have told me, Tsypin delivered in spades. Though the end result is a show that looks decidedly different from the animated cartoon, the sets for Broadway's "Mermaid" still look absolutely amazing. With all these tall flats & scrims that literally tower over the stage. Where even the waves in the ocean are rendered in the Art Nouveau style. And plexi-glass & projections combine to give audiences the impression that Ariel & her finny friends really are living "Under the Sea."
Speaking of the fish in this show ... The stage version of "The Little Mermaid" will actually use a variety of techniques in order to create all of the creatures that one would expect to find in Triton's undersea kingdom. In some cases, the fish will just be puppets. While in other cases (Particularly when that character has a speaking and/or singing role), the performers will then wear their fish body on their heads as sort of a hat / mask combo. With their own mouth & eyes supplying the mouth & eyes for that creature.
Which (I know) sounds kind of odd. But those who have actually seen Tatiana Noginova's costumes in action say that they really look spectacular. Particularly in the case of Titus Burgess, who plays Sebastian in this Broadway-bound musical. To help sell the idea that this large black man is actually a tiny little crab, Titus's face and hands will first be painted red while the rest of Burgess's body will be hidden by a black and/or camouflage body costume.
As to how these performers will then give the impression that they're actually gliding around under the water, "The Little Mermaid" 's choreographer Stephen Mear came up with a pretty ingenious solution. He's going to have his cast wear modified heelys (You know ? Those skate / sneaker things that the kids all wear today ?). Which will then allow these performers to zoom around the stage as good mer-people should.
Given that "The Little Mermaid" 's cast now has to learn to dance on roller skates plus master the 11 new songs that Alan Menken & Glen Slater has written for this show ... Well, these folks are going to need all six of the weeks that have been set aside for rehearsals (Which get underway shortly, by the way) in order to learn how to properly perform this new musical. Which is going to be quite a challenge, given that "The Little Mermaid" features on-stage storms, magical transformations and even full-sized whales swimming across the stage.
In preparation for this rather intense period of rehearsal, the show's leads and supporting players have spent the last few weeks fulfilling their outside obligations as well as tying up loose ends. Earlier this month, Sierra Boggess (Who's playing the title role from "The Little Mermaid") put in her last few performances as Christine in the Las Vegas production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera." Similarly, Norm Lewis (Who'll be playing King Triton in Disney's new musical) just bowed out of the Broadway revival of "Les Miserables." As did Eddie Korbich, who recently left "The Drowsy Chaperone" so that he could then prepare to play the part of Scuttle.
And as for Sherie Rene Scott (Who landed the truly juicy role of Ursula the Sea Witch) ... This Disney Theatrical vet (I.E. Scott originated the part of Amneris in "Aida" and regularly stopped that show with her over-the-top performance as the fashion-conscious queen) managed to sneak in one last try-out of her new cabaret act, "a work in progress" earlier this month before she then had to strap on those tentacles and go back to work for the Mouse.
After rehearsing "The Little Mermaid" for all of June and most of July in NYC, the cast & crew will then leave NYC for Denver. Where Disney's newest musical then begins a seven week out-of-town try-out at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts on July 26th. From there, it's back to New York City, where previews begin on November 3rd. And -- if all goes according to plan -- "The Little Mermaid" opens on Broadway on December 6th.
Anyway, that's the latest Scuttle(butt) on the Broadway version of "The Little Mermaid." Over the next few months, JHM will periodically be checking in on Disney Theatrical's latest production. And -- from time to time -- we'll be sharing some other tails ... er ... tales of "The Little Mermaid," as this show makes its (hopefully) trouble-free voyage to the Great White Whale ... er ... Way.
