Due to Budget Cuts in the Jimbo Household, we have cancelled 2 WDW trips this year and 1 DL trip.
But Mrs. Jimbo is on par with the BIGGEST of Little Mermaid fans in the world.
So, we took the weeking jaunt to Gotham (AKA Big Apple, NYC) for the first showing of The Little Mermaid on Broadway.
FROM HERE ON --- SPOILERS ------
Let me start by saying I LOVED Lion King on Broadway. It is a magical and organic experience the whole way. I haven't seen Beauty and the Beast, and always felt like it would be a repeat of what we have already seen at Disney Studios -- so it would essentially be a throw away (I'm sure it's not, just not interested -- no need for flaming).
I like "FUN" musicals. I LOVED Spamalot. I adore Into The Woods with all my heart (well at least the first act, and Agony from act 2). Little Shop of Horrors RULES. Hairspray is absolute Bliss. MUST see Avenue Q as quickly as possible. I have absolutely no use for Phantom (saw it on the 8th grade trip to NYC -- HATED IT), RENT, orSTOMP, or CLOMP, or any of those pieces of crap.
Mermaid probably won't win any Tony's (Maybe Ensamble Cast) and the critics I'm sure are panning it as a giant Disney Commercial. But the play was AWESOME!
I always thought the strenth of the movie was the music, but the "story" of the film was "flimsy" at best. Basically the story in the film was -- If Ariel would just listen to the men in her life -- Sabastian, Triton, Eric, she wouldn't have to constantly be bailed out by them for her own mistakes. It's a very non-feminist story that makes you think that Ariel would be best served by not making any decisions on her own.
Not anymore. I won't spoil it all for you, but Ariel does learn much about responsibility and how her actions can not only damage herself, but others.
What a fantastic change of plot and characater.
Other major character changes altered the motivation of characters to give them much more substance than the film offered, including Eric, Triton, Ursula, Grimsby, and even Ariel herself.
The only part of the Musical where I wasn't LOCKED IN was the first Ursula song. It's a new song and not wonderful, but that's about all the negative I could see.
LOVED the HEELEYS!!! The entire swimming cast glided and danced through the "sea" stage on Heeleys and it was perfectly graceful. NOTE: Must get Flounder's Yellow/Blue Heeleys. They were SWEET looking. (Remember Jimbo-- don't tell the others on the board that you would love to coast through the parks on them as well).
ARIEL - Sierra was a better Ariel than Jodi Benson. She channeled the same energy as Jodi and took it up 3 notches. Ariel singing NEVER sounded better. She was in constant ocean movement throughout the ocean scenes, and was constantly awkward (in a good way) while on her feet.
ERIC - Higher Voice and Energy brought even more youth and joy to the character.
SEBASTION - Just ONE of the many show stealers. Audience hung on each and every one of his lines. While nothing could compare EVER to Sam Wright -- Nothing could compare to Tituss Burgess as well. What an ispired direction to go with the character.
Flotsom/Jetsem/Ursula - I group these three together. With the high voices used by the eels, it was hard to tell which was which when the 3 were together. Besides that great fun from the eels. Ursula was a bit restricted by her costume to really branch out, I guess it was a underuse of talent to hold back the character.
SCUTTLE - Another show stealer. Fun as could be. Wife's favorite character in ALL of Disney Lore gets served perfectly.
FLOUNDER - Was worried to start on this one. I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG. That night it was J.J Singleton (there are actually 2 different characters as flounder). I saw JJ in Lion King and what a leap this kid has gone though. His song with the Daughters of Triton makes the CD worth buying on it's own.
TRITON - Gave some much needed heart to the character.
THE ENSEMBLE - Both in directing and acting -- GREATNESS. What a fun group they were. In several different roles each, they really were a joy to watch especially in Under the Sea and the Singing Competition (interesting tidbit huh).
MUSIC - As I said before, the only song I didn't like was Ursula's first Original song. Adding words to the existing soundtrack was two thumbs up. Eric's song as a rework of "Part of that World" was cool too. As was the Ensemble update.
THEATER - Lute-Fontanne was really cool. I "HATE" off broadway theaters. The worst is the Music Hall at Fair Park in Dallas. But I could understand EACH AND EVERY WORD of the show. And I was right on top of the action. Middle row and just stage left. The Mezz started it looked like around the 10th row of the Orcestera. So we were VERY close. And the theater was very "pretty".
Before the show, the director I believe, or maybe the producer, made a 3 minute or so announcement thanking us all for being there. The entire cast seemed OVERJOYED at the end of the show. We left after the show and walked through Times Square. Sure enough on our way back by the theater-- Triton was out on the street chatting it up with the crowd, and Ariel came out SCREAMING with joy. What a wonderful night for the cast.
[/FONT]
We now have the Mini-poster, the magnet, the playbills, the sippy cup, the bag from the show, and wonderful memories of the first showing on Broadway.
I'll give the show 3 grades.
For the Mermaid fan: * * * * * * (yeah, that's 6 stars out of 5)
For the Disney fan: * * * * * (Magical and Bright - Much more Disney than Lion King was)
For the Broadway fan: * * * * (Great fun, may not be the tear jerker or the "message" show, but it was emotionally strong and visually enchanting)
-------------------------
Now for the rest of out DISNEY trip to New York. We hit World of Disney 3x in 3 days. Yes, we're sick for the Mouse.
I still haven't seen Cap'n Jack at the parks yet, but he NY Jack is GREATNESS!!! Maybe he should e shipped down if they are still having problems at WDW? The store was all we could have hoped for and more.
There were HSM cheerleaders leading the kids in cheers throughout the store. They converted from Halloween Clearance to All Christmas All the time as well. Kind of neat to watch.
-------------------------
Last but not least -- at NintendoWorld or whatever it's called, they were taping the Disney Channel special for HSM for the Wii. It looks like it's going to be one of the "Disney 356" episodes coming up very soon. The game is a mic sing along and looks too hook the fanatics of HSM and not let them go from the TV for WEEKS.
----------------------------
We also did other things, but we got the official NEW YORK Minnie Statue of Liberty photo album and will be printing picks tonight.
If you have any questions or want to chat about the show, feel free to post. We can't wait to go back. Hopefully it will be around long enough for the kids to go next spring. It is a true "FAMILY" show. And it is Disney's most succesful stand alone princess in the collection. It will be interesting how this show does come springtime.
Thanks again for reading if you made it through the post. TWO THUMBS UP BROADWAY DISNEY!!!
:sohappy:
But Mrs. Jimbo is on par with the BIGGEST of Little Mermaid fans in the world.
So, we took the weeking jaunt to Gotham (AKA Big Apple, NYC) for the first showing of The Little Mermaid on Broadway.
FROM HERE ON --- SPOILERS ------
Let me start by saying I LOVED Lion King on Broadway. It is a magical and organic experience the whole way. I haven't seen Beauty and the Beast, and always felt like it would be a repeat of what we have already seen at Disney Studios -- so it would essentially be a throw away (I'm sure it's not, just not interested -- no need for flaming).
I like "FUN" musicals. I LOVED Spamalot. I adore Into The Woods with all my heart (well at least the first act, and Agony from act 2). Little Shop of Horrors RULES. Hairspray is absolute Bliss. MUST see Avenue Q as quickly as possible. I have absolutely no use for Phantom (saw it on the 8th grade trip to NYC -- HATED IT), RENT, orSTOMP, or CLOMP, or any of those pieces of crap.
Mermaid probably won't win any Tony's (Maybe Ensamble Cast) and the critics I'm sure are panning it as a giant Disney Commercial. But the play was AWESOME!
I always thought the strenth of the movie was the music, but the "story" of the film was "flimsy" at best. Basically the story in the film was -- If Ariel would just listen to the men in her life -- Sabastian, Triton, Eric, she wouldn't have to constantly be bailed out by them for her own mistakes. It's a very non-feminist story that makes you think that Ariel would be best served by not making any decisions on her own.
Not anymore. I won't spoil it all for you, but Ariel does learn much about responsibility and how her actions can not only damage herself, but others.
What a fantastic change of plot and characater.
Other major character changes altered the motivation of characters to give them much more substance than the film offered, including Eric, Triton, Ursula, Grimsby, and even Ariel herself.
The only part of the Musical where I wasn't LOCKED IN was the first Ursula song. It's a new song and not wonderful, but that's about all the negative I could see.
LOVED the HEELEYS!!! The entire swimming cast glided and danced through the "sea" stage on Heeleys and it was perfectly graceful. NOTE: Must get Flounder's Yellow/Blue Heeleys. They were SWEET looking. (Remember Jimbo-- don't tell the others on the board that you would love to coast through the parks on them as well).
ARIEL - Sierra was a better Ariel than Jodi Benson. She channeled the same energy as Jodi and took it up 3 notches. Ariel singing NEVER sounded better. She was in constant ocean movement throughout the ocean scenes, and was constantly awkward (in a good way) while on her feet.
ERIC - Higher Voice and Energy brought even more youth and joy to the character.
SEBASTION - Just ONE of the many show stealers. Audience hung on each and every one of his lines. While nothing could compare EVER to Sam Wright -- Nothing could compare to Tituss Burgess as well. What an ispired direction to go with the character.
Flotsom/Jetsem/Ursula - I group these three together. With the high voices used by the eels, it was hard to tell which was which when the 3 were together. Besides that great fun from the eels. Ursula was a bit restricted by her costume to really branch out, I guess it was a underuse of talent to hold back the character.
SCUTTLE - Another show stealer. Fun as could be. Wife's favorite character in ALL of Disney Lore gets served perfectly.
FLOUNDER - Was worried to start on this one. I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG. That night it was J.J Singleton (there are actually 2 different characters as flounder). I saw JJ in Lion King and what a leap this kid has gone though. His song with the Daughters of Triton makes the CD worth buying on it's own.
TRITON - Gave some much needed heart to the character.
THE ENSEMBLE - Both in directing and acting -- GREATNESS. What a fun group they were. In several different roles each, they really were a joy to watch especially in Under the Sea and the Singing Competition (interesting tidbit huh).
MUSIC - As I said before, the only song I didn't like was Ursula's first Original song. Adding words to the existing soundtrack was two thumbs up. Eric's song as a rework of "Part of that World" was cool too. As was the Ensemble update.
THEATER - Lute-Fontanne was really cool. I "HATE" off broadway theaters. The worst is the Music Hall at Fair Park in Dallas. But I could understand EACH AND EVERY WORD of the show. And I was right on top of the action. Middle row and just stage left. The Mezz started it looked like around the 10th row of the Orcestera. So we were VERY close. And the theater was very "pretty".
Before the show, the director I believe, or maybe the producer, made a 3 minute or so announcement thanking us all for being there. The entire cast seemed OVERJOYED at the end of the show. We left after the show and walked through Times Square. Sure enough on our way back by the theater-- Triton was out on the street chatting it up with the crowd, and Ariel came out SCREAMING with joy. What a wonderful night for the cast.
[/FONT]
We now have the Mini-poster, the magnet, the playbills, the sippy cup, the bag from the show, and wonderful memories of the first showing on Broadway.
I'll give the show 3 grades.
For the Mermaid fan: * * * * * * (yeah, that's 6 stars out of 5)
For the Disney fan: * * * * * (Magical and Bright - Much more Disney than Lion King was)
For the Broadway fan: * * * * (Great fun, may not be the tear jerker or the "message" show, but it was emotionally strong and visually enchanting)
-------------------------
Now for the rest of out DISNEY trip to New York. We hit World of Disney 3x in 3 days. Yes, we're sick for the Mouse.
I still haven't seen Cap'n Jack at the parks yet, but he NY Jack is GREATNESS!!! Maybe he should e shipped down if they are still having problems at WDW? The store was all we could have hoped for and more.
There were HSM cheerleaders leading the kids in cheers throughout the store. They converted from Halloween Clearance to All Christmas All the time as well. Kind of neat to watch.
-------------------------
Last but not least -- at NintendoWorld or whatever it's called, they were taping the Disney Channel special for HSM for the Wii. It looks like it's going to be one of the "Disney 356" episodes coming up very soon. The game is a mic sing along and looks too hook the fanatics of HSM and not let them go from the TV for WEEKS.
----------------------------
We also did other things, but we got the official NEW YORK Minnie Statue of Liberty photo album and will be printing picks tonight.
If you have any questions or want to chat about the show, feel free to post. We can't wait to go back. Hopefully it will be around long enough for the kids to go next spring. It is a true "FAMILY" show. And it is Disney's most succesful stand alone princess in the collection. It will be interesting how this show does come springtime.
Thanks again for reading if you made it through the post. TWO THUMBS UP BROADWAY DISNEY!!!
:sohappy:
