UMD's The Little Mermaid Makes a Fun Splash
Sheryl Jensen
Duluth News Tribune
April 14, 2017
Expectations were high from the little Ariels in the audience at the University of Minnesota Duluth's The Little Mermaid, all anticipating the magical undersea world yet to come.
At the center of the tidepool is Ariel (Amelia Barr), who must win our hearts as the film princess that we loved and as the feistier young woman she becomes in the stage version. Oh, and she needs to be drop-dead gorgeous and sing like an angel.
Bubbly Barr splashes it out of the pond on all counts.
Her nuanced performance shows that Ariel's quest is more than just going after the hot guy (although that's a given) but is also a transcendent longing for a world where she can find more.
Barr also brings a natural comic sensibility to the role. She can do a pratfall with ease, when she sheds the tail and tries to walk for the first time.
The Prince is, well . . . charming. Ryan Haff wins the heart of every woman in the place from preschoolers to great-grandmothers with his princely good looks and powerful voice. His standout solo pieces in "Her Voice" and "One Step Closer" are among the musical's highlights.
Fun character work comes in all shapes and sizes including Sebastian, the screamingly red Caribbean crab (Brendan Finn); the adorable Flounder (Brian Saice); the ditzy seagull, Scuttle (Luke Harger), and the undulating eels, Flotsam (Reese Britts) and Jetsam (Kevin Dustrude).
Kayla Peters, as Adella, one of Ariel's mersisters; and Simon VanVactor-Lee, as the maniacally funny French chef, in his show-stopping song, "Les Poissons," both have great comic turns.
The show's most powerful vocals come in the hauntingly beautiful "If Only" in which Ariel, Prince Eric, Sebastian and King Triton lament "what might have been."
Disney villainesses require a dramatically heightened nastiness, with Ursula, the Sea Witch, a prime example. While Shannon Blomgren does powerhouse belting, particularly later in the show, she is not always entirely convincing in the queen of evil department.
Audiences expecting a bigger-than-life, "fill-the-stage" presence, will find this Ursula a bit too pretty and too slight. Blomgren would have been helped by a more expansive costume and more extreme hair and makeup.
Curtis Phillips' customary over-the-top set designs are less magical for this "under the sea" undertaking. Some of the set pieces seem too small for the vast expanse of stage, such as a solitary rock for Triton's throne.
Phillips' video projections, however, create some Disney-style fantasy with bubbles and swimming fish in the seascapes and some beautiful castle interiors.
Most of the production-side dazzle comes from the delightful costumes, courtesy of the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (Rich Hamson). The eye-popping color palette and witty designs fill the stage, creating much of the visual splash.
Matthew Wagner's choreography is fresh and whimsical, particularly in the show's signature number, "Under the Sea," and in "Positoovity" with its hilarious tap dancing seagulls.
Director Kate Ufema keeps her school of characters in synchronicity for a magical evening, both for the pint-sized Ariels and for the adults along for the swim.
Director Kate Ufema keeps her school of characters in synchronicity for a magical evening, both for the pint-sized Ariels and for the adults along for the swim.
