Disney’s "Little Mermaid" live-action remake of its iconic 1989 animated film has made a big splash. The box office for the 2023 action film recently surpassed $500 Billion. But more, the film broke ground when director Rob Marshall cast a 22-year-old Black R&B singer, Halle Bailey, in the role of Ariel, thereby proving the importance of representation not only for children of color, but all children everywhere.
Against this backdrop, Prather Entertainment brings "Little Mermaid the Musical" to the Broadway Palm main stage. And while Grace Atherholt is not an actor of color, she sparkles in the role in large part because shares her character’s compelling curiosity and fearless lust for adventure.
“I feel like her willingness to give up everything in order to be who she truly is and explore her dream and her curiosity is very inspirational and something I aspire to,” said Grace. “I think I’ve done it in smaller steps, whereas she did in one giant leap. But it’s very nice to get to do that in a character form and then try to translate it into my own life as well.”
And like the sea witch, Auntie Ursula, most other actresses would trade just about anything to have Atherholt’s vocals.
Alan Menken and Howard Ashman set the standard high in the musical numbers they created for our favorite mermaid to sing. Atherholt clears the bar “Beyond Her Wildest Dreams.”
From the audience’s perspective, most will be talking about “Part of Your World” long after the show, not just because of the song’s enduring beauty, but because of the magic Atherholt creates when she’s lifted above the stage to swim in the clear waters of Atlantica.
“We have a flight system that during ‘Part of Your World’ I’m lifted into the air and simulate swimming under the ocean but I am flying on the stage back and forth,” Grace said. “It’s a magical moment. I always hear the little kids in the audience gasp when I’m lifted into the air and start swimming. So it’s very magical and it makes the song more special.”
Amy Fenicle, who plays Ariel’s friend, Flounder, watches the number from the wings every performance.
“It is truly a magical moment," said Fenicle,"My favorite thing is to sort of watch the kids in the front row. They get up and start swimming with her as she’s swimming through the air. It’s really adorable to watch.”
But for all its magic, “Part of Your World” is not Atherholt’s favorite. That honor goes to a song that’s not in the movie - the “If Only” quartet that Ariel sings with Sebastian, King Triton and Prince Eric.
Among Mermaid’s many subplots is the special relationship shared by Ariel and Flounder. While Ariel regards Flounder as more of a sidekick, Flounder has an adolescent crush on Ariel. But Flounder realizes that if Ariel is to be truly happy and ultimately true to herself, then he has to let her go, just like King Triton, Sebastian and Ariel’s mersisters are called upon to do.
In the final analysis, what makes the 1989 animated film, the 2023 remake and the live theater musical so special are their memorable characters and uplifting messages of unconditional love, sacrifice and the importance of being true to, and believing in, oneself. But in Broadway Palm’s production, there’s also the costumes, pageantry, and Chris McCleary’s hypnotic underwater video wall.
But Grace Atherholt reminds everyone that there’s also something magical about live theater.
“You’re seeing people up on that stage live the story and bring it to you in the moment, and there’s always a beautiful, beautiful connection that happens between the actors and the audience. And, in general, it’s Little Mermaid,” said Atherholt.
But in Amy Fenicle’s experience, it’s all about the kids.
“What I really noticed coming out in the lobby and talking to the patrons after the show is that watching the parents see the magic in their children’s eyes is just really special," said Fenicle. "So they go for them and they go for the kids, but I think at the end of the day when they see how much the kids are enjoying it and having fun, and that, as a parent, means a really lot. So that’s sort of been like what I take away from this.”
Young or older, the kid in each of us will find something special “Under the Sea.”
MORE INFORMATION:
- The story follows a beautiful young mermaid by the name of Ariel, who longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above after falling in love with the human Prince Eric. She makes a bargain with an evil sea witch in order to make her dream come true, but the bargain isn’t what it seems.
- Performances are Wednesday through Sunday evenings now through August 12, with selected matinees.
- Tickets are $55 to $85 with group prices available. There is a summer special and tickets for anyone 16 and under are just $30 including the meal. Tickets are now on sale and can be reserved by calling (239) 278-4422, by visiting BroadwayPalm.com or by stopping by the box office at 1380 Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.
- Both Grace Atherholt and Amy Fenicle played their respective roles last summer at Prather Entertainment’s Dutch Apple Theatre venue in Pennsylvania.
- “It’s been wonderful getting to revisit [the character] and find some different moments that I didn’t get to explore before, and explore the text with some new cast members who are adding their own flair to their characters and changing it ever so slightly,” says Grace. “So I get to do something a little bit different every day on that stage.”
- Fenicle not only relishes the chance to revisit her character, but rekindle her friendship with Atherholt. “It’s been really fun to revisit that as well. But I think it’s always fun just to play a silly little goofy sort of young character which, on the surface, Flounder definitely is.”
- Atherholt concedes that it’s taken some time for her to figure out how to belt out “Part of Your World” while suspended in the air over the stage. “At first, it was kind of like I’m very limited in what I can do when I’m singing because I’m in the air. But as I’ve gotten used to it, I’ve been able to add my own little take to the song and coordinate what I’m singing with the movement that I’m doing in the air as well.”
- Fenicle admits to being enrapt as she watches her friend and cast mate fly through the air as she simulates swimming in the sea. But she thinks that people will be humming a different tune on the drive home after the show. “’She’s In Love’ is the one at the end that a lot of people walk away with the earworm. People in the show who aren’t in ‘She’s in Love find themselves singing along back stage because it’s so catchy and it’s super fun. So to have that be sort of my iconic song in the show is really special.”
- Based on what she hears from the audience and her interactions with patrons following the show, Atherholt knows what a good time people can expect when they come to Little Mermaid the Musical. “It’s so much fun! Your kids will love it. You will love it. It’s a throw-back to the original animated movie which I grew up with. So anyone and everyone who loves Disney, who loves Little Mermaid, it is definitely worth coming to see.”
- Amy Fenicle thinks that Little Mermaid is binge-worthy. “Watch the animated film at home, go to the cinema and watch the remake and then come to Broadway Palm to experience the musical live on stage.” Each will be different, but she’s confident that the one your children and grandchildren will remember for a lifetime is the live show at Broadway Palm.
To read more stories about the arts in Southwest Florida visit Tom Hall's website: SWFL Art in the News.
Spotlight on the Arts for WGCU is funded in part by Naomi Bloom, Jay & Toshiko Tompkins, and Julie & Phil Wade.