Category: Theaters, Performance Spaces, and Production Companies

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Disney’s The Little Mermaid musical at The 5th Avenue Theatre starring Diana Huey & Colman Cummings. Directed by Glenn Casale and music directed by RJ Tancioco. Vibrant set/costumes. Quality rivaled the national tour (which I’ve seen twice). It’s times like these that I wish I had kids to bring to the theatre. #Ariel

Synopsis from the Theatre: One of the most successful Disney musicals of all time returns to The 5th Avenue Theatre in celebration of the 35th Anniversary of the original film. Ariel, King Triton, Flounder, Scuttle, Ursula, and Prince Eric tell the story of dreams, love, family, and friendship that has delighted generations. Dive under the sea with Ariel and her friends as they sing some of the best-known songs of the last century.

Attended Performance Date: 9/15/23 (Opening Night)

Type: Musical

World Premiere: No

Several or Few Scenes: Several

Several or Few Settings/Locations: Several

Prior Exposure/Knowledge Required: No, but you’d probably enjoy this more if you’re familiar with the original Disney movie.

Defined Plot/Storyline: Yes

Live Band/Orchestra: Yes, there was a glorious orchestra

Equity Actors: All

Total Number of Actors: Too many to count

Perceived Pace of the Show: Medium speed

Length (Including Any Intermission): 2.5 hours

Intermission Included: Yes

Was This the First Time I Attended a Production of this Show: No, I’ve attended the national tour production twice

Would I See It Again 3 Years from Now: Of course!

Recommendation: See it, especially if you’ve watched the original Disney movie or if you want to show your kids the magic of live theatre (but it’s not just for kids!)

Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned in Elevator Thoughts

• Aerial Flying Effects: This production included many aerial flying effects to realistically simulate swimming. It must have required some serious core strength and pilates. I don’t remember this much aerial flying in the national tour. I wonder if there’s ever any risk of tangling the cables like in puppetry. Side note, during the show, I wondered how Ariel and Prince Eric unharnessed so quickly between their flying scenes. After reading in the program that Joel Domenico and Megan Felise were Ariel/Eric doubles, it made more sense. Stage magic!
• “Under the Sea” Song: The bubbles and lights in the audience was a nice touch during “Under the Sea.” However, I was surprised how little costumes of traditional fish appeared in this number.
• Ursula: Shaunyce Omar was a wonderful choice for Ursula with her inherently rich voice with an attitude.
• Electric Eels: Cassi Q Kohl and Ethan Carpenter worked well in-sync as Ursula’s minions Flotsam and Jetsam.
• Costumes: Obviously, as a 5th Avenue Theatre production, the costumes were gorgeous with the vibrant colors and billowing dresses. Ariel’s flowy mermaid dress was designed to also occasionally double as a water splash.
• Trident Effect: When King Triton wielded his magical trident, the projections shook giving the illusion of the stage shaking.
• Tap Dance: I don’t remember the “Positoovity” number from the national tour but it was a good artistic decision to include tap dancing in this song since Ariel was just getting used to her legs. I’m always a huge fan of tap dancing in musicals!
• Scuttle: John David Scott was a delight to watch as Scuttle. I would have liked his character featured more.
• Favorite Line: “You can’t blame all humans for a few wicked ones.”

Rant(s)

• White Noise: There was weird audio feedback during one of the ship scenes and one of Ursula’s scenes.

Other Musing(s) and Observation(s)

• Differences from the National Tour: While watching this production, I couldn’t help but compare it to the national touring production I saw twice in Houston, TX.
  • Different Songs: There were some songs missing in this production from the tour and vice versa. For example, this local production didn’t include “I Want the Good Times Back.”
  • Illusion of Water: The mermaid actors in the national tour bobbed their body/arms up and down more to portray the illusion of floating underwater. But I feel like this tour relied more on aerial flying effects, which is more realistic than bobbing. Additionally, the national tour mermaid actors skated more on-stage. However, in this local production, I think only the eels skated and Flounder (played by Keoni Dilay) rode a hoverboard.
  • Flounder’s Age: The national tour flounder was a kid actor, but the 5th Avenue production character was Keoni Dilay who was around the same age as the Ariel actor. I prefer an adult actor for Flounder since it feels weird when a pre-pubescent kid is in love with Ariel. But young audience members probably prefer flounder to be a kid actor. Since the original role was a kid actor, there were unfortunate times in the “She’s in Love” song when Keoni sang an octave lower.
• Differences from the Movie:
  • Vanessa: Ursula didn’t transform into a human (Vanessa) that sang with Ariel’s voice.
  • Savior: The character who saved the day wasn’t the same person in the movie. I appreciate the modernized messaging to young girls watching the show, but it deviates from the classic Disney story … not that the classic Disney story has been true to the original Hans Christian Andersen tale. I guess we don’t want kids seeing Ariel giving away her tongue and trying to stab the prince!

Theatre Company: The 5th Avenue Theatre

Venue: The 5th Avenue Theatre

Venue Physical Address: 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101

Price: Medium to Expensive

Ticket Affordability Options: $30 day-of-show tickets are available for the general public to purchase in person, starting at noon the day of the show you wish you attend! Valid only in Zones 3 (blue), 4 (orange), and 5 (pink). Goldstar or TodayTix usually offer good options too.

Dates: September 8 to October 8, 2023

Seating: Assigned Seating

Parking: When I don’t walk to the theatre or park on the street, I park in the paid garage at the Motif hotel NW of the theatre. The entrance is on 5th Ave. Do NOT park in the Hilton garage (entrance on 6th ave). That’s where most of the audience parks, so it’s a nightmare to leave. However, the Hilton garage is the closest garage to the theatre and you can access the theatre underground if you want to avoid the elements. But this benefit is not worth the time wasted leaving in my opinion.

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Buy a Ticket or Learn More:

• https://www.5thavenue.org/shows/2023-2024/disney-s-the-little-mermaid/

Other Video +/- Pictures: See pictures in video and under video by Tracy Martin and Mark Kitaoka.

Cast and Production Team: See after pictures and video below

@showsiveseen @Disney "The Little #Mermaid" #musical at @The 5th Avenue Theatre starring @Diana Huey & @Coleman Cummings. Directed by Glenn Casale & music directed by RJ Tancioco. Vibrant set/costumes. Quality rivaled the national tour (which I've seen twice!). It's times like these that I wish I had kids to bring to the #theatre. Photos: Tracy Martin & Mark Kitaoka. Review: showsiveseen.com/6680 #Ariel #showsiveseen #Disney #theLittleMermaid #littlemermaid ♬ Under the Sea – Daveed Diggs & Cast – The Little Mermaid & Disney

Role	Name
Ariel	Diana Huey
Pilot	Jason Weitkamp
Sailors	Gabriel Corey Joel Domenico Sheldon Henry Nehemiah Hooks Kayden Oliver
Prince Eric	Coleman Cummings
Grimsby	Rob Burgess
Flounder	Keoni Dilay
Scuttle	John David Scott
King Triton	Terence Kelley
Sebastian	Kevin Smith Kirkwood
Aquata (Mersister)	Nalica Hennings
Andrina (Mersister)	Kristin Burch
Arista (Mersister)	Carly Corey
Atina (Mersister)	Bethanie Willis
Adella (Mersister)	Mackenzie Neusiok
Allana (Mersister)	Shelby Willis
Ursula	Shaunyce Omar
Gulls	Gabriel Corey Jordan King Kayden Oliver
Maids	Kristin Burch Carly Corey Megan Felise Nalica Hennings Mackenzie Neusiok Bethanie Willis
Chefs	Gabriel Corey Joel Domenico Sheldon Henry Nehemiah Hooks Jordan King Kayden Oliver
Princesses	Kristin Burch Carly Corey Nalica Hennings Mackenzie Neusiok Bethanie Willis Shelby Willis
Ensemble	Kristin Burch Carly Corey Gabriel Corey Joel Domenico Megan Felise Nalica Hennings Sheldon Henry Nehemiah Hooks Jordan King Mackenzie Neusiok Kayden Oliver Jason Weitkamp Bethanie Willis Shelby Willis
Swings	Cy Paolantonio Christopher Sweet Madison Willis, Josh Zacher
Flotsam	Cassi Q Kohl
Jetsam	Ethan Carpenter
Chef Louis	Jason Weitkamp
Prince Eric Double	Joel Domenico
Ariel Double	Megan Felise
—	—
Scuttle (Understudy)	Gabrlel Corey
Ursula (Understudy)	Ann Cornelius
Flotsam/Jetsam (Understudy)	Joel Domenico
Sebastian (Understudy)	Nehemiah Hooks
King Triton/Grimsby (Understudy)	Sheldon Henry
Prince Eric (Understudy)	Kawika Huston
Chef Louis (Understudy)	Jordan King
Flounder (Understudy)	Kayden Oliver
Ariel (Understudy)	Caitlin Sarwono, Carly Corey
—	—
Swings	Cy Paolantonio Christopher Sweet Madison Willis Josh Zacher
Dance Captain	Josh Zacher
Flight Captain	Cy Paolantonio
—	—
Director	Glenn Casale
Music Director/Conductor	RJ Tancioco
Choreographer	John Macinnis
Composer	Alan Menken
Lyricists	Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater
Playwright	Doug Wright
Orchestrations	Danny Troob
Incidental Music & Vocal Arrangements	Michael Kosarin
Dance Arrangements	David Chase
Scenic Designer	Kenneth Foy
Associate Director	Michael Heitzman Charlie Johnson
Costume Designers	Amy Clark Mark Koss
Costume Coordinator	Taya Payne
Director of Production	Joan Toggenburger
Costume Associate	Heidi Zamora
Lighting Designer	Charlie Morrison
Associate Choreographer	Josh Zacher
Associate Lighting Designer	Thorn Michaels
Associate Sound Designer	Lawrence Schober
Sound Designer	Ed Chapman
Production Manager	Ryan Gastelum
Casting Director	Dedra D. Woods
Associate Music Director	Michael Nutting
Hair/Wig and Makeup Designer	Kelley Jordan
Costume, Wardrobe, and Hair Director	Shannin Strom
Assistant Hair/Wig & Makeup Designer	Juliette Lewis
Production Stage Manager	Jeffrey K. Hanson
Assistant Stage Managers	Rachael Dorman Laurel Nichols
Swing Stage Manager	Erin B. Zatloka
Flying Sequences Choreographer	Paul Rubin
—	—
Associate Music Director/Keyboard 1	Michael Nutting
Keyboard 2	Benjamin Bentler
Keyboard 3	Rebecca Smith
Bass	Chris Jones
Horn	Jill Jaques
Trumpet	Brian Shaw
Drums	Alec Wilmart
Percussion	Brian Kirk
Reed 1	Dane Andersen
Reed 2	Koryn Orcutt
Reed 3	Derek Smith
Violin 1	Kimberly Rosenberg
Violin 2	Rachel Nesvig
Cello	Emily Hu
Keyboard Coordinator	Brendan Hogan
Music Assistant	Andrew Pang
Rehearsal Pianists	Benjamin Bentler, Michael Matlock