theatrical project

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THE LITTLE MERMAID

Theatrical Approach Paper: The Little Mermaid

Diana Campos

TA 2660

November 23, 2020

The director plays an important role for the production of a play. They must decide the overall theme and direction the production will take. As a creative director, I will try to add my own twist to the classic musical of The Little Mermaid. This specific musical is based off Disney’s 1989 adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s original story. My goal as the director of this show is maintain a budget given to me that will still allow me to express my creativity and preserve the greatness of this story. I want to be able to bring a different experience and interpretation for the audience that shows my vision for the production.

Producer Alan Menken, from the original Broadway release of the production in 2008 has come back to produce the show in hopes to bring a new audience with a new vision for the story. Although the production will not be in Broadway, the budget will still be considerably big at $6 million. The show will be held in the Mark Taper Forum, in Los Angeles. This is a thrust stage so the audience can be able to experience the story from different angles and in a more personal way. Out of the $6 million budget $1 million will be allocated to the rental of the venue for the duration of the show. The rest of the budget will be given to me to split up between every designer and department to successfully create the vision wanted for the story.

For the set designer, I will be setting their budget at $600 thousand. I want them to be able to have as many resources and financial freedom available to create the sets that will set the tone for each scene. The costume designer will be given $400 thousand so they can provide the actors a deeper connection with their character and have costumes that are accurate to the story. The lighting designer will be given $200 thousand, since the lighting in this production will be considerably important to transport the audience from the two different worlds we will see in the story. Finally, I will give the sound designer $150 thousand for their budget to be able to find quality resources for their sounds. The rest of the $3,650,000 budget will go towards cast and crew salaries, advertisement, rehearsal budget, reserves, and any other expenses that may arise during production. The cast will have a total of twelve speaking characters and a few extras that will be needed. All original characters will also remain in our story.

In the original Broadway play of The Little Mermaid, we see a musical love story that includes a mixture of music from the 1989 film and original music. It takes place in both the sea and on land, in an undisclosed location and year. The synopsis of the Broadway production entails Ariel, a young mermaid and the youngest daughter of King Triton longing to experience the land above her. She meets Prince Eric, who only remembers her voice and Ariel bargains her voice to Ursula, to get a chance to have legs and rejoin with Prince Eric. Ariel narrowly loses the love of her life, but love prevails at the end of the story.

For our take on the musical, we will still have the same acts and I will explain them as we go. The story will take place in the 1940s during World War II in England. We want to emulate this era because we want to add a more dramatic tone to the story. Also, we wanted to incorporate a non-fiction event into our storytelling. Prince Eric will be the 1st in line to the British throne as his mother is the Queen of England. As for Ariel, she will remain the youngest of King Triton’s daughter but in our story, they will be experiencing the war and King Triton will be married to Ursula, except that he does not know this. Ursula has disguised herself as a mermaid named Shelly to marry King Triton in order to have an upper hand on him and have an easier way to cease the trident from him. No one but Ursula and her eel henchmen Floatsam and Jetsam know this. This will further complicate things for Ariel and Eric to be together. Another non-fiction aspect of the story that will be incorporated is how Ariel will live in the Atlantic Ocean where King Triton reigns and deals with the ongoing world war. Finally, Ariel and her family will be people of color, specifically of Latin descent, which will play into her communication with Prince Eric as well.

When Prince Eric and Ariel first meet, it will be during an attack on his ship by an Axis battleship. Ariel is the one who saves him as his ship is taken down and is left unconscious. It is love at first sight for her as she safely brings him back to the shores of his homeland. Ariel knows English but her main tongue is Spanish, so she combines these two languages to sing a Spanglish version of, “Part of Your World” (Reprise). When Prince Eric hears this rendition to him, still dazed from the attack he also falls for Ariel, but by her voice. King Triton, aware of the war and its dangers, prohibits Ariel to ever going back to the surface upon hearing her dangerous venture. In the scene when Ariel and Ursula make the deal for the exchange of her voice for legs, Ursula will also sing a Spanglish version of “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” Just like the original, Ursula gives Ariel three days, or she will keep her voice in a shell forever.

During Act II, a voiceless Ariel reunites with Prince Eric near Buckingham Palace during an appearance with the Prime Minister. He notices Ariel in distress, so he invites her into the palace to help her out. The next few days consist of Ariel and Prince Eric spending time together despite her not being able to speak to him. During this time in the play we see performances of “One Step Closer,” “Kiss the Girl,” etc. from the cast. When the third day arrives Ursula summons on land to claim Ariel’s time is up. This happens right before Prince Eric and Ariel are about to have their deal breaking kiss. As Floatsam and Jetsam attempt to seize Ariel, King Triton arrives to confront Ursula. King Triton tries to use his trident to no avail, and Ursula reveals her identity as Shelly, confessing she took the real trident when she was under disguise. As Ursula is about to take over, Prince Eric arrives with a fleet of his army to defeat Ursula and managing to take back the trident and shell with Ariel’s voice. Prince Eric asks for King Triton’s blessing for Ariel’s hand in marriage. A grateful King Triton approves and simultaneously offers his allegiance to the British throne. Ariel and Prince Eric marry and unite two kingdoms.

Like mentioned before, a thrust stage was chosen for the performance in order to have a deeper analyzation of the set and an intimate connection with the characters. For example, when Ariel is in her grotto, we want to emulate the personal meaning it has for her. We want the audience to experience the intimacy of her grotto and this can be accomplished with a thrust stage. The audience will also be able to witness the complexities of a battle like the one we see in the beginning and the one where Ursula is challenged. I believe a thrust stage will accomplish this.

As for rehearsal time and dates, we want them to be as soon as the cast is chosen. The premiere of the show will be in 2 months, so we will be rehearsing eight hours a day, six days a week for a total of six weeks. Most of these rehearsals will be for blocking, script review, and scene breakdowns. The last two weeks will be dress rehearsals, that will have the cast in their costumes. We want to have the best show possible for the audience to experience the world undersea and on land.

To be able to sell as much as tickets as possible, we want to reach a new audience with a mixture of old fans who would like to see our take on this story. We want to accomplish this by casting people of color in our main roles and see a broader representation for many more of our audiences. We recognize the importance of representation and hope that with casting people of color a new audience comes and see our show. Also, with the addition of non-fiction events we can attract an audience who likes spins on historical circumstances. Overall, we hope our show creates the magical effect the original Broadway show did while bringing in a new audience.