To clear up some confusion....
The show is in Denver on its out of town tryout. It's official opening night was tonight, actually. Reviews from the Denver critics should be appearing in the next couple of days.
After Denver, the show closes for six weeks before re-opening in New York in early November.
No tour has been announced yet, though I suspect one will go out sometime next year.
I haven't seen the show yet, but will when it comes to Broadway. Here is what I have heard, from my source in the Denver production...
At the moment, Sherie Renee Scott is stealing the show. She plays Ursula, and has worked for Disney before- she was the original Amneris in Aida.
Sierra Boggess is also getting high praise. Sean Palmer (Eric) is not. He apparently hasn't found the character yet, but that is apparently more due to the fact that his character is not very well-written. Titus Burgess, who plays Sebastian, is apparently not getting any laughs, and he may be replaced before Broadway.
I'm also told there has been a lot of re-writing going on, particularly in Act 2. Two songs have been cut, and Menken is writing a new song for Ariel to sing late in Act 2 (it will be her big 11:00 number).
I was told the giant set pieces actually look like bongs, which I am sure is not the image they were going for. Also, from what I've been told, the heelys concept works much better than many people thought it did.
The creative team has identified a lot of the problems that currently exist, and are working to fix them before NY. That's why they have out of town tryouts!
