Under the sea is the place to be this weekend and next as Musical Theatre West delights audiences of all ages with a swimmingly performed, gorgeous-to-look-at Disney The Little Mermaid.

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).

Scuttle, Ariel & Flounder 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 slithery 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 Clements, Menken, Musker, Slater, and Wright’s 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 new songs including Ursula’s “Daddy’s Little Angel,” Scuttle’s “Positoovity,” and Prince Eric’s “Her Voice” and “One Step Closer.”

All of this underwater magic takes place at Long Beach’s Carpenter Center on J. Branson’s iridescent storybook sets, with Ariel and her under-and-above-water friends sporting Leon Dobkowski’s supremely imaginative costumes. Add to that Paul Black’s stunningly vibrant lighting design and you’ve got a gorgeous palette of phosphorescent colors that must be seen and savored.

Most excitingly of all, unlike Broadway’s Little Mermaid (which kept its performers glued to the ground), Musical Theatre West audiences get treated to Flying By Foy that allows Ariel, her ocean friends, and even evil Ursula to “swim” high above the stage (or in Skuttle’s case to take to the air in equally fine fettle).

Director Danny Pelzig allows his stellar cast to put personal stamps on iconic roles while ensuring that characters remains true to their animated origins.

The always magical Katharine McDonough adds Ariel to her rapidly expanding resume, giving everybody’s favorite mermaid a mix of wide-eyed innocence and teenage mermaid pluck along with one of the most exquisite sopranos in town.

Jalon Matthews’ Sebastian is a “Jamaica-me-smile” charmer, Joe Abraham re-invents the wild and wacky Scuttle to scene-stealing perfection, and Connor Marsh does his most adorable “Ducky Dale” to McDonough’s “Andie.”

Southland treasure Cynthia Ferrer’s magnificent Ursula eats ‘em up and spits ‘em out with the best/worst of sea witches, aided and abetted by the hilariously heinous hench-duo of Jacob Hoff (Flotsam) and (Matt Braver) Jetsam.

As for the object of Ariel’s affection, though Burnham shows off Broadway-honed pipes, the longtime MTW favorite tries a bit too hard to convince us that His Royal Highness is still young enough to be under a regent’s thumb.

Carlin Castellano (Adella), Elizabeth Eden (Arista), Fatima El-Bashir (Aquata), Adrianna Rose Lyons (Allana), Tayler Mettra (Alina), and dance captain Christine Negherbon (Andrina) not only create six distinctive “Mersisters,” they harmonize “She’s In Love” to do 1960s girl groups proud.

Marc Cedric Smith gives King Triton an imposing paternal presence and operatic vocals, William Hartery makes for a formidable (say it with a French accent) Chef Louis, and Martin Kildare’s Grimsby is everything a substitute father should be.

Castellano, Eden, El-Bashir, Raymond Goodall, Marie Gutierrez, Chris Hunter, Antoine T. Lee, Kailyn Leilani, Lyons, Mettra, Gabriel Navarro, Negherbon, Scott Spraags, Brady Thomas Stanley, Lisa Stone, Galen J. Williams, and George Xavier not only make for a #diversity-championing song-and-dance ensemble, they execute Daniel Smith’s supremely imaginative choreography with equal parts athleticism, energy, and grace in the taptastic “Positoovity,” the slapstick wacky “Les Poissons,” and above all the spectacular “Under The Sea” and “Kiss The Girl,” both which Smith gives an extra helping of aquatic ooomph and pizzazz.

Musical director John Glaudini conducts the Broadway-caliber Musical Theatre West orchestra, with Audio Production Geeks, LLC once again delivering a pitch-perfect sound-design mix of vocals and instrumentals.

Additional kudos go to costume coordinator Tamara Becker, wig designer Michon Gruber-Gonzales, and Music Theatre Of Wichita for providing rented sets and costumes. Charles Glaudini is associate musical director.

Lora K. Powell is production stage manager and Sue Karutz is assistant stage manager. Kevin Clowes is technical director, Matt Terzigni is production manager, and Bren Thor is company manager.

With humor and heart to match its eye-popping spectacle, Disney The Little Mermaid is that rarity in family-friendly musical theater, a show that adults can truly enjoy as much as (and perhaps even more than) the kids who bring them in tow. Musical Theatre West audiences are in for an underwater banquet of delights.

Musical Theatre West, Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach.
www.musical.org

–Steven Stanley
July 13, 2019
Photos: Caught In The Moment Photography

Tags: Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Los Angeles Theater Review, Musical Theatre West