Arts & Entertainment
'Disney's The Little Mermaid' at TriArts Sharon Playhouse - My Review
Only in Sharon will you see the Broadway talent walking through the parking lot as early arrivals like me are parking their cars.
The TriArts Sharon Playhouse is celebrating their 25th anniversary season. Their final production of the season, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, opened on Wednesday night to what Artistic Director John Simkins called “a small and mighty” audience. This audience included many excited children sitting on booster seats provided by the caring house manager Kathy Weisner; bubble sounds and bubbly blue curtains already made us feel as if we were“Under the Sea.”
I have only seen the Junior version of the show so I appreciated the additional scenes and musical numbers. Doug Wright wrote the book that is based upon the Hans Christian Anderson story and the Disney film. Alan Menken wrote the music with lyrics by Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater. The TriArts production is beautifully directed and choreographed by Jennifer Werner (Spamalot last year at TriArts and co-director of The Book of Mormon on Broadway) with music direction by Eric Kang, who directed the small and hidden orchestra that sounded as good as they always do.
The inspired set was designed by Caleb Levengood and the lighting designed by Chris Dallos added to the maritime theme. The colorful and shiny costumes were designed by Michelle Eden Humphrey in her second season at TriArts; some of her sketches are posted on the TriArts Facebook page. The purple hoop skirt worn by the sea witch was fitted with black dryer hoses as her eight legs. The uncredited makeup was done well with Ursula’s the most impressive, but the wigs ranged in effectiveness.
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The adorable youth ensemble was made up of local students and they were at their best as the sea turtle chorus. The adult ensemble included many talented NYU musical theater interns that showed that they have what it takes; the best dancers in the group had a lot of roles to cover and they did very well. The six ladies that played the mersisters bravely wore and danced in the skimpy costumes. Nikhil Saboo and Josh Zacher slithered perfectly as Flotsam and Jetsam and Tyler Altomari and Elijah Stone share the role of Flounder. David Fanning was commanding in the role of King Triton.
Stephen Eckelmann (who played Sir Galahad in Spamalot and is a graduate of NYU) was a very handsome Prince Eric with an amazing tenor voice. Melody Madarasz was a lovely little mermaid with the requisite excellent soprano voice; her Ariel was both earnest and enchanting.
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The Broadway veterans were as wonderful as everyone expected them to be. Klea Blackhurst (who I loved in the highly acclaimed Hello, Dolly at Goodspeed) brought her big personality to the role of the evil Ursula and from my complimentary third row seat, I could see that she has the acting chops to match her big singing voice. Bernard Dotson (Broadway’s Finian’s Rainbow, Chicago, JCS and Ragtime) was endearing in the role of the crab Sebastian and he kept us laughing.
In danger of stealing the show was the very talented Kenny Francouer, who was so good last season in both Spamalot and Damn Yankees. It was a treat to see him in two featured roles; he played the confused (and very comic) seagull Scuttle and the fish-cooking Chef Louis. One of the highlights of the show was his tap dancing with the other gulls in “Positoovity.” Mr. Francouer is an amazing performer and is a young talent to watch.
Only in Sharon will you see the Broadway talent walking through the parking lot as early arrivals like me are parking their cars. Disney fans will love this production. Don’t forget that it gets cold near the water, so bring a jacket along. The TriArts Sharon Playhouse 2015 season will open in June with the classic My Fair Lady.
Performances are Thursday, August 14 at 7pm; Friday, August 15 at 8pm; Saturday, August 16 at 3pm & 8pm; Sunday, August 17 at 1pm & 5:30pm; Wednesday, August 20 at 2pm; Thursday, August 21 at 2pm & 7pm; Friday, August 22 at 8pm; Saturday, August 23 at 3pm & 8pm; and Sunday, August 24 at 1pm & 5:30pm.
About the Sharon Playhouse: The Sharon Playhouse is located at the foot of the Berkshires in idyllic Sharon, CT, and just a few minutes from the Metro North (Wassaic) train station. Please visit www.triarts.netor call (860) 364-SHOW (7469).
Pictured: (from left) Stephen Eckelmann as Prince Eric, Melody Madarasz as Ariel, and Kenny Francouer as Scuttle in TriArts Sharon Playhouse’s Disney’s The Little Mermaid Photo courtesy of Randy O’ Rourke
