Cool off under the sea with ‘The Little Mermaid’
Lynne Sharp-Spears plays the sea witch Ursula, who dupes Abby Middleton, playing the young mermaid Ariel, in a revenge plot. The spectacular musical 'Disney’s The Little Mermaid' runs at Toby’s through August 17.
Photo by Jeri Tidwell Photography
“We must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow sand,” Hans Christian Andersen wrote in his 1837 fairytale The Little Mermaid. “For on this sand grow the strangest flowers and plants…Fishes, both large and small, glide between the branches.” Fathoms below, of course, live the Sea King and his mermaid daughters.
This summer, Toby’s Dinner Theatre invites us into this strange undersea world with its latest production, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, running through August 17. With exquisite mermaid costumes, artful lighting and set designs, floating bubbles and even stylized jellyfish descending from the ceiling, the musical whisks the audience to an aquatic nether realm.
In the Disney musical based on its 1989 animated feature film, the mermaid Ariel rescues Prince Eric, her Prince Charming, and wants to follow him and explore the human world.
To do so, she disobeys her father, King Triton, and falls under the influence of Ursula, an evil but charismatic sea witch who tempts the vulnerable Ariel into making a pact: In exchange for her beautiful voice, she can grow legs and become human. Yet if she fails to share true love’s kiss from Prince Eric within three days, her soul is eternally doomed to be imprisoned by Ursula.
Has Ariel any hope of emerging unscathed from this Faustian bargain? In the original fairytale, no — but thankfully, Disney provides a happy ending.
Strong vocal performances
Abby Middleton sings wonderfully as Ariel, notably in “The World Above,” “Part of Your World” and her lament “If Only.” When Ariel trades her voice for legs, the talented actress, no longer able to burst into song, communicates well with facial expressions and gestures.
Accompanied by two slick demonic eels on roller skates, the sea sorceress Ursula, played by Lynn Sharp Spears, performs the solo “Poor Unfortunate Souls” in the style of Kurt Weill in The Threepenny Opera. Indeed, Spears appeared in several productions of that classic musical.
“There is a lot of depth in Ursula’s character. She was betrayed by her family and…sees the opportunity to get revenge,” Spears told the Beacon. Hers is a “twisted, dark, funny and delicious, yummy role” of “someone whose banishment deprives her of what she sees as rightfully hers.”
An equally strong performance emerges from Elijah Henderson as Ariel’s chaperone, Sebastian the crab, whose tour-deforce moments come in the songs “Under the Sea” and “Kiss the Girl.”
Toby’s mainstay Jeffrey Shankle stands out as Scuttle the seagull, especially in the number “Positoovity.” Carter Crosby plays an affable Prince Eric, who is guided by the wisdom of Grimsby, played by an earnest David James. Adam Grabau is nothing short of majestic as King Triton.
The talented cast is aided by the superb direction and choreography of Mark Minnick, effective musical direction of Ross Scott Rawlings, atmospheric lighting design of Lynn Joslin, charming scenic designs of Shane Lowry, and the highly imaginative and creative costume designs of Sarah King and Janine Sunday.
Whether young or old, new to the story or inveterate fans of the original film or 2023 live-action remake, audience members will marvel at Toby’s dreamy production of The Little Mermaid while testing the truth of Ariel’s daring proposition: “What if home isn’t the place where you were born? What if it’s a place you have to discover for yourself?”
Toby’s Dinner Theatre is located at 5900 Symphony Woods Rd., Columbia. Tickets range from $84 to $92 for adults (those 65+ pay $74 for Tuesday evening or any Wednesday performance); children 4 and older are $64 to $67.
Tickets are available from the box office by calling (410) 730-8311 or online via Ticketmaster (with a service fee).
