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STAGE REVIEW
At North Shore, a buoyant Little
Mermaid
By Terry Byrne | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT JULY 11, 2014
PAUL LYDEN
From left, Kecia Lewis as Ursula, Adrienne Eller as Ariel, Paul Louis Lessard as Jetsem, and Jeremy
Pasha as Flotsem in Disneys The Little Mermaid.
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Theater & art
BEVERLY Disneys The Little Mermaid lands at the North Shore Music Theatre
with a satisfying splash, making imaginative use of the arenas circular stage, multiple
entrances, and creative set pieces to transport audiences from under the sea to dry
land and back again.
Director Michael Heitzman has not only found some powerhouse performers for the
principal roles, hes created a remarkably fast-paced flow for the show, keeping it
moving even when some of the numbers added for the transition from the 1989 hit film
to the 2008 Broadway production slow the action to a crawl. Its not that the
additional songs are weak in fact, Positoovity serves as a terrific second act opener
and Shes in Love is a fun spoof of 60s girl groups its just that the late Howard
Ashman was a lyricist with that rare combination of sincerity and sharp, sly wit.
Lyricist Glenn Slater is certainly competent, and the stage show needed more than the
films seven songs, but several of the Menken/Slater songs feel uninspired and pad the
show rather than add interest.
CONTINUE READING BELOW
As the mermaid Ariel, NYU undergrad Adrienne Eller has a singing voice that sounds
exactly like the films Jodi Benson on Part of Your World, but she adds her own bit of
playfulness and personality to the role. Her sidekicks Scuttle the seagull (Freddie
Kimmel) and Flounder the fish (Shawn Platzker) have had their roles beefed up, with
Scuttle opening the second act with Positoovity and Flounder hamming it up as a
skater boy with a crush on Ariel. As Sebastian the crab, Ariels sometime guardian, J.
Cameron Barnett doesnt quite master the island rhythms made famous in Under the
Sea, but he does display the comic chops that kept my eight-year-old companion
excited about his every appearance.
As Prince Eric, the love interest for whom
Ariel swaps her mermaid tail for legs, Bruce
Landry has a knockout voice, but
unfortunately hes given the filler songs Her
Voice and One Step Closer. Landry and
Eller have enough chemistry together to keep
our interest, and Doug Wrights book offers
just the right amount of dialogue to tie the
scenes together neatly while offering enough
time for Howard C. Joness impressive set
Writers: Music by Alan Menken, lyrics by
Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, book
by Doug Wright, Based on a story by
Hans Christian Andersen and the film
The Little Mermaid
DISNEYS THE LITTLE
MERMAID
North Shore Music Theatre, 978-232-
7200 . http://www.nsmt.org
2014 BOSTON GLOBE MEDIA PARTNERS, LLC
changes. My favorites include Heitzmans
simple addition of puppets on sticks to
represent schools of fish, jellyfish, and other
sea creatures; some judicious flying
sequences; and the appearance of Prince Erics
ship, which magically turned a round stage
into an elongated boat and then collapsed the
bow into the stern as a storm rocked the seas
and sent Eric overboard.
But no matter how clever the direction, this
production of The Little Mermaid belongs to
Kecia Lewis, who plays Ursula the Sea Witch
with a delicious combination of sassy blueswoman and evil sorceress. Lewiss voice
rocked the rafters with Poor Unfortunate Souls, and the use of both her eight-legged
gown and her hench-eels Flotsam (Jeremy Pasha) and Jetsam (Paul Louis Lessard)
who glide around the stage on Heelys was so commanding it was almost sad to see
her destroyed.
Bruce Barnes conducts the 12-piece orchestra through Menkens spritely score with a
joyful sense of rhythm that keeps up with Heitzmans flow without ever feeling rushed.
The North Shore Music Theatres production is of such high quality that it stands on its
own as an engaging adaptation of the beloved film.
Terry Byrne can be reached at trbyrne@aol.com.
Director:
Other Credits:
Date closing:
Ticket price:
Michael Heitzman
Musical direction by
Bruce Barnes, Sets, Howard C. Jones.
Lighting, Kirk Bookman. Costumes and
wigs, Kurt Alger. Choreography, AC
Ciulla.
July 27
$50-$75