Life, love and liberation under the sea
September 17, 2001 | 12:00am
When Trumpets declared that their musical production of Little Mermaid was based on Hans Christian Andersen’s much-loved fairy tale, they weren’t kidding. Those who grew up reading the stories of the Brothers Grimm and Andersen would surely welcome this, since the tragic story of the Little Mermaid was prettified when transformed into an animated Disney movie. Instead of the Little Mermaid turning into a Spirit of the Air, as in the Andersen original, she lived happily ever after with her Prince at the movie’s end.
The change in ending did much damage to Andersen’s original story. When the Little Mermaid died at the end of the tale, her body transformed into sea foam, it was only then that readers realized that she had transcended her existence as a creature of the sea, and that she had become a spirit. Although she would have to wander the earth for hundreds of years in this guise until she redeemed herself and ultimately became one with the Divine, her transformation showed that she had overcome her godless origin.
Of course, her sacrifice was brought about by love. The Little Mermaid could only return to her home in the sea if she regained her tail. For this to happen, she would have to kill the Prince, his blood spilling onto her human legs to effect this change. She chose not to; the Little Mermaid died and, in the process, became a Spirit of the Air.
All this is clear in Trumpets production. However, to expand Andersen’s story for a more engaging theater experience, Jaime del Mundo and Luna Griño-Inocian have adopted elements from the Disney movie. You get Crustacea, the siren coach, a stand-in for the malevolent Ursula, and the idea of a mermaid family and kingdom. One innovative addition is Nicodemus, the human who fell victim to the siren song and was slowly losing his soul. As the Little Mermaid’s tutor, he plants in her the idea of love and sacrifice.
The story is the least of the production’s problems. Neither are the fantastic sets and costumes that are at the center of this production, created by Mio Infante and his design team of Liz and Benny Batoctoy, Niel De Mesa and Edgar San Diego, and the lighting design by Shoko Matsumoto.
When Act I opens to dancers enacting a ship and a sailor caught under the spell of sirens, the audience is treated to an innovative theater experience that includes puppetry, flying machines and a moving ship. As the sailor falls down into the sea, he traverses the stage’s depth, falling from the ceiling down to the floor, into the arms of mermaids who quickly strip him of his clothes, of his very humanity. It is an inspired opening that immediately leads into a riot of colors that comes with the opening song Hurry Up and It’ll Be Fun. This sequence drew gasps of surprise from the audience. The sight of the Little Mermaid Jewel (Carol Banawa) swimming in the air is simply an inspired trick. Never mind if you can see the wires that holds her up, but the illusion of swimming is simply outstanding. When the Siren Choir meets for their rehearsals, the illusion of mermaids’ tails provides another delightful moment.
When Prince Christian (Jeff Arcilla) makes his first appearance, he is at the deck of his ship, perked up by the thought of future adventures. The transformation from shipwreck to dry land is immediate. Princess Sapphire’s (Cathy Azanza) entrance immediately differentiates the mermaids from the humans. Whereas Jewel is full of vibrant color, particularly her orange tail, Sapphire is more earthbound, her clothes a carefully chosen palette of ivory, gold and hues of brown. One senses from the color schemes just exactly to whom Prince Christian’s heart will most probably gravitate.
The focus of any musical theater production is its music. Little Mermaid is a longish musical, clocking in at close to three hours, already drastically reformatted from the first production Trumpets mounted last year. There is a sameness to the music of Lito Villareal, perhaps the effect of a predominantly synthesized production. However, one marvels at his ability to adopt a variety of musical gestures to give life to each character. The tunes are not real tunes, lacking the formula of most Top 40 hit songs. Villareal’s music hews closely to the arioso of Puccini’s operas; they end up more dramatic this way, but this makes them hard to whistle while you make your way out of the theater.
It is hard to find fault with the cast of Little Mermaid. They perform as if they were doing the show for the first time under the able direction of Jaime del Mundo. Carol Banawa is a fresh-voiced Jewel, able to sing and swim without difficulty at the same time. Jeff Arcilla’s Prince Christian cuts a dashing figure on stage, while Cathy Azanza’s Princess Sapphire is a bit matronly. Lynn Sherman as Crustacea is simply unbelievable, managing to make a show stopper of her solo You Can’t Cross Crustacea, while Freddie Santos as King Argo gives life to a rather repetitive Running the Show. Carlo Orosa as Nicodemus provides strong support to Banawa’s Jewel in their numbers.
Surely, there will be another restaging of Trumpets’ Little Mermaid. There is no way that you can put down an original Filipino musical production like this one. It makes the trip to Ortigas and the three hours inside the theater a truly memorable experience.
Trumpets’ Little Mermaid will have additional performances from Sept. 20 to 23. All performances are at the Meralco Theater.
The change in ending did much damage to Andersen’s original story. When the Little Mermaid died at the end of the tale, her body transformed into sea foam, it was only then that readers realized that she had transcended her existence as a creature of the sea, and that she had become a spirit. Although she would have to wander the earth for hundreds of years in this guise until she redeemed herself and ultimately became one with the Divine, her transformation showed that she had overcome her godless origin.
Of course, her sacrifice was brought about by love. The Little Mermaid could only return to her home in the sea if she regained her tail. For this to happen, she would have to kill the Prince, his blood spilling onto her human legs to effect this change. She chose not to; the Little Mermaid died and, in the process, became a Spirit of the Air.
All this is clear in Trumpets production. However, to expand Andersen’s story for a more engaging theater experience, Jaime del Mundo and Luna Griño-Inocian have adopted elements from the Disney movie. You get Crustacea, the siren coach, a stand-in for the malevolent Ursula, and the idea of a mermaid family and kingdom. One innovative addition is Nicodemus, the human who fell victim to the siren song and was slowly losing his soul. As the Little Mermaid’s tutor, he plants in her the idea of love and sacrifice.
The story is the least of the production’s problems. Neither are the fantastic sets and costumes that are at the center of this production, created by Mio Infante and his design team of Liz and Benny Batoctoy, Niel De Mesa and Edgar San Diego, and the lighting design by Shoko Matsumoto.
When Act I opens to dancers enacting a ship and a sailor caught under the spell of sirens, the audience is treated to an innovative theater experience that includes puppetry, flying machines and a moving ship. As the sailor falls down into the sea, he traverses the stage’s depth, falling from the ceiling down to the floor, into the arms of mermaids who quickly strip him of his clothes, of his very humanity. It is an inspired opening that immediately leads into a riot of colors that comes with the opening song Hurry Up and It’ll Be Fun. This sequence drew gasps of surprise from the audience. The sight of the Little Mermaid Jewel (Carol Banawa) swimming in the air is simply an inspired trick. Never mind if you can see the wires that holds her up, but the illusion of swimming is simply outstanding. When the Siren Choir meets for their rehearsals, the illusion of mermaids’ tails provides another delightful moment.
When Prince Christian (Jeff Arcilla) makes his first appearance, he is at the deck of his ship, perked up by the thought of future adventures. The transformation from shipwreck to dry land is immediate. Princess Sapphire’s (Cathy Azanza) entrance immediately differentiates the mermaids from the humans. Whereas Jewel is full of vibrant color, particularly her orange tail, Sapphire is more earthbound, her clothes a carefully chosen palette of ivory, gold and hues of brown. One senses from the color schemes just exactly to whom Prince Christian’s heart will most probably gravitate.
The focus of any musical theater production is its music. Little Mermaid is a longish musical, clocking in at close to three hours, already drastically reformatted from the first production Trumpets mounted last year. There is a sameness to the music of Lito Villareal, perhaps the effect of a predominantly synthesized production. However, one marvels at his ability to adopt a variety of musical gestures to give life to each character. The tunes are not real tunes, lacking the formula of most Top 40 hit songs. Villareal’s music hews closely to the arioso of Puccini’s operas; they end up more dramatic this way, but this makes them hard to whistle while you make your way out of the theater.
It is hard to find fault with the cast of Little Mermaid. They perform as if they were doing the show for the first time under the able direction of Jaime del Mundo. Carol Banawa is a fresh-voiced Jewel, able to sing and swim without difficulty at the same time. Jeff Arcilla’s Prince Christian cuts a dashing figure on stage, while Cathy Azanza’s Princess Sapphire is a bit matronly. Lynn Sherman as Crustacea is simply unbelievable, managing to make a show stopper of her solo You Can’t Cross Crustacea, while Freddie Santos as King Argo gives life to a rather repetitive Running the Show. Carlo Orosa as Nicodemus provides strong support to Banawa’s Jewel in their numbers.
Surely, there will be another restaging of Trumpets’ Little Mermaid. There is no way that you can put down an original Filipino musical production like this one. It makes the trip to Ortigas and the three hours inside the theater a truly memorable experience.
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