In the past, I've said very nice things about the Cupcake Theater, which is a little storefront operation in North Hollywood, on Magnolia right across from the Television Academy. In a building that was not designed to be what it is now, a very enterprising company stages revivals of major Broadway musicals in cramped quarters on what is obviously a very cramped budget. The total shebang is run by a bundle of energy named Michael Pettenato who seems to do a little of everything including, in their current show, a pretty fine bit of acting in a smallish role.
That current show is the stage musical version of Disney's The Little Mermaid. It opened on Broadway in January of 2008 and ran there for 685 performances. That would make it a wildly successful musical except that Disney was expecting it to equal or better Beauty and the Beast, which ran 5,461 performances or The Lion King, which will celebrate its twentieth anniversary on November 13 and which comes out to something like 8,400 performances…with no sign of closing. The Little Mermaid was also beastly expensive so it's kind of fun to see how creatively the Cupcake crew does it. There were probably individual special effects on Broadway that cost what this whole production out here cost.
What the folks behind Cupcake's presentation of it have going for them is a real sharp cast starting with Katy Harvey in the title role. Ariel has to be adorable and an incredible singer and Ms. Harvey more than qualifies and truly brings the animated princess to life. I was also real impressed by Michelle Lane as Ursula, who is delightfully slimy as she chews what little scenery they have. Thurzday (whom some of you may remember from the MTV series, Todrick) was mesmerizing as Sebastian the Crab, and Dorian Keyes was both heroic and befuddled as the Prince. I liked Kelsey Nisbett as Scuttle the Seagull, Kevin Spear as Grimsby and…oh, heck. I was impressed by just about everyone who was crammed onto that tiny stage.
A special shoutout should go to Sasha Markgraf who costumed all those people well for whatever money was available, and to Thomas Polk who directed. Usually when you stage a Broadway revival, you can get a running start by aping what the original production did but this one had to be really rethought for the limitations of space and spending. Good job there…and on the way out, I told Michael Pettenato, who was very funny in his part, "The producer is not supposed to steal the show!"
But you know who I was really impressed with? The audience. The 8 PM show last night was full of kids, a few of whom didn't know (and weren't told by their parents) that they weren't supposed to sing along with the better-known songs. I kept watching a young woman — she couldn't have been more than eight — across the aisle from me. She stood there in front of her seat, never taking her eyes off the stage for one second. Between her body language and sing-along activities, she acted out every second of the role of Arial. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if that little lady winds up on a real stage with a real part someday.
If you have kids who need to be introduced to live theater, even if all they'll ever do is sit in the audience, this is a great show for them to see. It will help if they know the 1989 animated film real well and if you prep them a bit. Let them know that some of the small cartoon characters are going to be played by fully-grown human beings in costumes which represent the characters without looking much like them. Then after the show, they can meet the cast and get photos with them in costume.
Anyway, the whole audience loved the evening…loved it. I would have liked it even with a less enthusiastic crowd but I really enjoyed how much everyone around us enjoyed it and it would have been the absolute best thing I'd ever seen in my whole life if I was a nine-year-old girl. I suppose it's too late to arrange for that now. Fathers who are fans of real cute women in seashell brassieres will also have a good time.
This production was supposed to close this weekend but it was announced that they're extending it through December 9: Two shows on Saturday, one show on Sunday, no shows any other day. Tickets run from $58 to $98 on the Cupcake Theater website and if you can afford it, buy them there. The Cupcake could use the cash. But if you're strapped, I'll let you in on a secret: Goldstar has them for half-price. Amber enjoyed it more than most of what I took her to see on Broadway a month ago.