After “The Little Mermaid” ‘s long, long road to Broadway (i.e. Over five years of active development, the show’s out-of-town tryout in Denver, the opening delayed due to the stagehand’s strike), opening night for Disney Theatrical’s latest production had finally arrived.
The cast of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” takes its bows on opening night.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
And once the curtain came down at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre last night, the cast and its invited guests schlepped six blocks through a light mist to the Roseland Ballroom. Which — for one night only — had been transformed into an undersea kingdom.
Bubbles filled the air outside the entrance of the Roseland Ballroom, where the
opening night cast party for Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” was held on
Thursday night. Photo by Nancy Stadler
The Disney brass was there to show its support for the show. And among the suits that attended “The Little Mermaid” ‘s opening was CEO Bob Iger and his lovely wife, Willow Bay as well as Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter and his lovely wife, Nancy.
Disney CEO Bob Iger & his wife, Willow Bay as well as John Lasseter & his wife, Nancy.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Fans of the 1989 animated version of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” animated feature were thrilled to discover that Jody Benson (i.e. the original voice of Ariel) and Pat Carroll (i.e. the original voice of Ursula) had both flown into NYC specifically to attend the show’s opening.
Jody Benson & Pat Carroll pose for photographs at the opening
night cast party for the new stage version of Disney’s
“The Little Mermaid.” Photo by Nancy Stadler
While at the opening night party, Ms. Carroll made a point of seeking out Sherie Rene Scott and telling this “Little Mermaid” cast member how much she’d enjoyed her interpretation of Ursula the sea witch.
Sherie Rene Scott and Pat Carroll chat at the opening night cast
party for Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” Photo by Nancy Stadler
And after posing for hundreds of pictures for the press outside of the ballroom …
(L to R) Tituss Burgess, Sierra Boggess, Sean Palmer and Sherie Rene Scott pose
for photographs at the opening night cast party for the new stage version of
Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” Photo by Nancy Stadler
… it was finally time to party …
“The Little Mermaid” composer Alan Menken (far right) high-fives the four
young performers who portray Flounder in this new Broadway musical.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
So the cast all trooped inside the ballroom, where they danced the night away while downing “Mer-tinis” (i.e. the signature cocktail that was offered at this event) and dining on Flounder & Chips.
The Roseland Ballroom was transformed into an undersea kingdom for
the opening night cast partyfor Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Now you may think that this show’s rather mixed reviews would have put a damper on “The Little Mermaid” ‘s opening night party. But that wasn’t really the case. Why For? Well, as one Broadway vet put it to me last night:
“When ‘Beauty and the Beast’ opened on Broadway back in 1994, that show got only one good review but then went on to run for 13 years. So there’s really no point in worrying about ‘Mermaid’ ‘s reviews. Disney will just do what they did with ‘Beast.’ This show’s going to run for years.”
So you heard it here first, folks. In spite of what you may have heard, this “Mermaid” is going to develop legs.
Your thoughts?