A tremendously talented cast and a terrific, all-original production design make Cal State Fullerton’s Disney The Little Mermaid a tuneful treat for audiences of all ages.

Like the animated feature that re-started it all for Disney back in 1989, The Little Mermaid’s 2007 Broadway adaptation recounts the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale of a sea sprite with dreams of walking on dry land (both literally and down the aisle with her human prince).

Disney Studios added their trademark brand of supporting characters including Sebastian the Jamaican crab, Flounder the blue-finned Flounder, Scuttle the word-inventing seagull, and Ursula the evil sea witch and her aquatic henchmen Flotsam and Jetsam, ocean creatures which the stage adaptation tweaks ever so slightly. (Flounder, for instance, now has an unrequited teen-nerd crush on Ariel.)

 And since a movie running well under ninety minutes does not a full-length Broadway musical make, book writer Doug Wright has expanded (and occasionally revised) Ron Clements and John Musker’s screenplay, with Alan Menken and Glenn Slater adding a bunch of new songs to join the Menken/Howard Ashman classics “Part Of Your World,” “Under The Sea,” and “Kiss The Girl.”

The result of all this masterful tinkering is a Broadway crowd-pleaser that may not follow the movie to the letter (gone, for example, is Ursula’s transformation into an Ariel-voiced “Vanessa”) but fleshes out characters with catchy new songs.

 CSUF treasure Eve Himmelheber once again shows off directorial expertise, her cast of musical theater-majoring juniors and seniors (and some sophomore ensemble debuts) rivaling older, more experienced pros every step of the way.

 Megan McCarthy brings redheaded teen mermaid Ariel to infectiously perky, plucky life, and just wait till you hear the high notes she hits in “Part Of Your World” or see her ignite romantic sparks with Evan Borboa’s dreamboat of a Prince Eric, showing off his own soaring vocals in “Her Voice” and “One Step Closer.”

 Christopher Mosley steals scenes right-claw-and-left as Jamaican crustacean Sebastian, Jeff Garrido’s unrequitedly smitten Flounder is an impish charmer, and Timothy H. Lee shows off superhero physique and super-duper pipes as King Triton.

 Matthew Ollson stops the show with Chef Louis’s hilarious “Les Poissons,” Nolan Dunnahoo is a delightfully sprightly Grimsby, and Colby Hamann’s wonderfully wacky Scuttle not only squawks with the best of them but leads a chorus line of tap-dancing feathered friends in “Positoovity,” just one of Karl Warden’s choreographic treats.

 As for Ariel nemesis Ursula, not only does Olivia Pence chew the scenery as any revenge-seeking demon worth her sea salt should (aided and abetted by Seann Altman and Steven Ruvalcaba as Flotsam and Jetsam, her adoringly ab-fab gaytourage), she’s so darned cute her evilness is downright irresistible.

Sidney Abtaker (Andrina), Yadira del Rincon (Allana), Carly McLaurin (Adella), Kelly Rosales (Aquata), Beth Roy (Arista), and Samantha Wojtaszek (Atina) are terrific both as Ariel’s girl-group harmonizing sisters and as a sextet of princesses not to be outdone in their efforts to snag the prince.

Last but not least, Michelle Bachman, Sarah Bloom, Brianna Clark, Kiana King, Dillon Klena, Ollson, Nathan Shube, male swing Anthony Vacio, and Jacob Wayne make for a spirited bunch of sailors, gulls, chefs and other assorted palace servants, sea creatures, and land animals.

 There’s nothing borrowed or rented about CSUF’s splendid, all-original, all-student production design, from Todd Faux’s picturesque under-and-above-the sea sets (enhanced by Faux, Haley Guaderrama, and Cassidy Haynes’s vibrant, bubbly projections) to Chloe Cadarette’s supremely imaginative saturated-color costumes (topped by Alejandro Bermudez and Kate Galleran’s fanciful makeup and hair designs) to Conner Purzycki’s luminescent lighting to Felix Vasquez’s crystal clear sound design.

Musical director Corey Hirsch not only provides expert vocal coaching but conducts a top-notch pit orchestra.

Nicole Patton is stage manager and Denise Kha, Eduardo Valdez, and Sam Blakistone are assistant stage managers. Ala Tiatia is assistant choreographer.

The Little Mermaid may well be Cal State Fullerton’s family-friendliest musical in years, but no matter what your age, you are sure be every bit as captivated by this Disneyrrific treat as the kids around you.

Little Theatre, California State University Fullerton, 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton.
http://www.fullerton.edu/arts/theatre/events/td_productions.php

–Steven Stanley
March 25, 2018
Photos: Mark Ramont

Tags: Alan Menken, Cal State Fullerton, Howard Ashman, Orange County Theater Review