Stage Door St. Louis

This season’s children’s show at the Muny is one for all ages- “The Little Mermaid.” The spectacle, the colors popping all over stage and the magic of song, dance and puppetry make this a must see for young and old alike.

Another adaptation of a Disney animated hit, “The Little Mermaid” is a snappy, tune-filled hit that works well on the stage. Emma Degerstedt is a wonderful, wide-eyed Ariel who wishes she could walk around like the humans she sees- she is a mermaid, after all. Her lilting voice soars and teaming with Jason Gotay as Prince Eric, they make a delightful pair. She saves him from drowning and this gives her even more incentive to be where the people are.

Emily Skinner, who wowed us last year at the Rep in “Follies,” returns as the sea witch, Ursula. What a beautiful job she does with her “living” tentacles- four incredible young men who truly bring her to life. Her powerful singing voice shakes us to the core with her “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” Jerry Dixon gives a fine performance as Ariel’s father, King Triton and James T. Lane dazzles as Sebastian, the calypso inspired crab. Spencer Jones is Ariel’s buddy, Flounder and Jeffrey Schecter is the seagull, Scuttle. Frank Vlastnik gives a rounding rendition of Chef Louis and Richard B. Watson is Grimsby.

“The Little Mermaid is enhanced by a wonderful technical crew as well. First, Director Marcia Milgrom Dodge keeps things moving quickly and with all the humor needed to keep kids awake for a long evening. Josh Walden provides inspired choreography and Puppet Kitchen Productions provide the wonderful designs that turn actors and dancers into mermaids and all of the other denizens of the deep.

Costume designer Robin L. McGee gives us eye-popping color and flowing, gooey gowns that would make Roger DeBris jealous. Michael Schweikardt’s set design is a marvel of ingenuity and Nathan W. Scheuer’s lights and the marvelous video design of Matthew Young just add to the beauty and grandeur of being under the sea.

“The Little Mermaid” will be enchanting young and old alike through June 29th. Give them a call at 314-361-1900 for tickets or more information.

This entry was posted on June 23, 2017 at 9:43 pm06 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.