The Little Mermaid Splashes Into The Dr.Phillips Center

The Little Mermaid During "Under The Sea"

 

BY JALESSA CASTILLO

ORLANDO - The 5th Avenue Theatre brought the story of Disney’s, “The Little Mermaid,” to life at the Dr. Phillips Center For The Performing Arts. The production delivered light doses of nostalgia all the while incorporating new, and overall entertaining, elements and plot points that differed from Disney’s 1989 classic.

The piece was directed by Glenn Casale and starred Diana Huey as Ariel. Huey’s portrayal of Ariel emphasized the naïve and adventurous spirit of the character and made her very likable. While Huey used the role to showcase Ariel’s childlike nature, her voice was anything but. The performance of, “Part Of Your World,” gave me chills with Huey’s powerful voice at the helm, not to mention the awe of Paul Rubin’s choreographed flying sequences during the presentation.

Another very good portrayal was that of Matthew Kacergis as Prince Eric. Not only did Kacergis sell the role of being a young prince seeking adventure but his voice was also a standout, especially with his solo balled, “Her Voice”.

My favorite performance of the night was unmistakably that of, “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” sung by Jennifer Allen as Ursula. While a microphone malfunction nearly derailed the presentation Allen was posed and rather sassy as she saved the song by walking slightly off stage to grab a hand mic and then blowing us all away with her rendition. Her calm demeanor during the mishap landed her a standing ovation at the end of the night.

As for the changes made to the original story, new character arcs and back stories are introduced. For instance, there was more focus on King Triton (played by Steve Blanchard) reminiscing on his late wife and coming to grips with his daughter getting older, a sibling rivalry between Triton and Ursula, as well as Flounder secretly being in love with Ariel. While Triton’s revelations pulled on the heart strings and the sibling rivalry created an interesting dynamic between the two characters, unfortunately, the introduction of Flounder’s affections for Ariel did not fit in with the rest of the story. Rather than creating an interesting love triangle it only made for awkward dialogue that didn’t seem to resonate with the audience and caused the story to lack the close friendship of the pair that was prevalent within the original film.

Other than that, the rest of the show was so much fun to watch. Melvin Abston as the over protective Sebastian, Jamie Torcellini as the wildly misinformed Scuttle, and Dane Stokinger as the outrageous Chef Louis consistently made the audience laugh at their silly antics and instantly became crowd favorites.

Something I have not mentioned yet is the orchestra. Conducted by Colin R. Freeman, Disney’s The Little Mermaid Touring Orchestra, played perfectly. The orchestra sounded beautiful whether playing slow tempo songs such as, “Kiss The Girl,” or high energy songs such as, “Under The Sea”. However, I was most impressed with the orchestra and the cast during the song, “If Only,” which included the orchestra playing while Huey, Kacergis, Abston, and Blanchard all sang at the same time.

Overall, “The Little Mermaid,” was a very beautiful and fun show to watch. It was great for the whole family and provided the audience with plenty of laughs. For information about future performances at The Dr. Phillips Center For The Performing Arts visit www.drphillipscenter.org.