I know, I know. Based on all the e-mail that I’ve received from “Little Mermaid” fans over the past five days, there are a lot of people out there who are genuinely freaked out out by the stagehands strike. They want to know what’s going to happen with this still-officially-in-previews musical. Whether Disney Theatrical has made a decision yet about about possibly pushing back the opening date of its newest Broadway show. Or whether they’ve decided to stick with December 6th.
Look, folks. The way I hear it, just like everyone else who’s been impacted by Local One’s job action, Disney Theatrical’s taking things one day at a time. Hoping that the stagehands union & the League of American Theatres and Producers will sit down sometime later this week and perhaps begin a new round of negotiations. Which hopefully will bring this 5-day-old strike to an end.
For now, the folks in the box office at the Lunt-Fontanne theatre are concentrating on trying to accommodate everyone who had tickets to “The Little Mermaid” for this past Saturday, Sunday & Tuesday. Since most of the upcoming performances of this eagerily anticipated new musical are already sold out, I’m told that those who were inconvenienced by the stagehands strike are now having to settle for seats sometime in the late winter & early spring.
Mind you, because no one knows yet when Local One’s job action is going to end, I’ve heard that advance ticket sales for “Mermaid” — as well as the 26 other Broadway shows who went dark this past Saturday because the stagehands strike — have fallen off drastically. You see, people want to know a Broadway show is actually going to be presented before they pony up $111.50 for a ticket.
But what about you? Do you have tickets yet for Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” ? If not … Well, what if I were to tell you that there was a way that you could win a pair of seats to this new musical?
No, it’s true. Thanks to BroadwayWorld‘s “Give Us Your Voice Contest!,” any Ariel fan can now have a once-in-a-lifetime theatrical experience. Which involves seats right down front for this new Disney musical on Sunday, December 16th. Then — on Monday, December 17th — you’ll join the “Little Mermaid” cast in the recording studio and then look on as they record the show’s original cast album.
And did I mention that the winner of the “Give Us Your Voice Contest!” also gets to stay for free for three days at the New York Marriot Marquis Times Square?
Doesn’t that sound like a great prize? So what’s the catch? Well, BroadwayWorld.com isn’t asking much. Just a token, really. A trifle. What they want is … your voice.
To be specific, what BroadwayWorld.com would like you to do is upload a video of yourself singing any song from “The Little Mermaid” onto YouTube. Then — after you’ve fill out the official “Give Us Your Voice Contest!” entry form — your job is to then get as many people as possible to vote for your video.
BroadwayWorld.com is accepting new “Little Mermaid” videos for their “Give Us Your Voice Contest!” now til Saturday, November 17th. Starting on November 19th, people will then get to vote for their favorite performances. The contest officially closes on December 3rd, with the lucky (and talented) winner being announced on December 4th.
What’s particularly cool about this “Give Us Your Voice Contest!” is that BroadwayWorld will be providing you with buttons for your Facebook & MySpace pages. So that you can then get out the vote, really spread the word about your “Little Mermaid” video. And hopefully win yourself a front row seat to both the show as well as the recording of the original cast album of this new Disney musical.
Of course, if Local One is still on strike when December 16th rolls around, the winners will receive tickets for another performance of “The Little Mermaid” at a later date. But from what I hear, that studio date for the recording of the show’s original cast album is pretty much locked in.
Anyway, if you’d like to win some free tickets to this new Disney musical, then I suggest that you put together a video of yourself belting about one of those Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater tunes. And even if you don’t want to take part in the “Give Us Your Contest!,” I still suggest that you head on over BroadwayWorld and check out these “Little Mermaid” videos. For some of these entrants and their interpretations of “Part of Your World,” “Poor Unfortunate Souls” & “Kiss the Girl” are … er … unique, unusual, unforgettable … as well as highly entertaining.
Your thoughts?