Length of Production 1.75 Hours | 20-Minute Intermission | NUMBER OF ACTS 2
Virginia Theatre
Friday, May 6 at 7:00pm
Saturday, May 7 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm
Act I
On a beautiful day while basking upon the waves of a magnificent blue sea, the Little Mermaid sings, dances and swims among a ripple of bathing beauties, a cadre of water dragons, a bevy of comical crabs and other curious creatures. It is the occasion of the Little Mermaid’s birthday and her father, the King of the Sea, has granted her wish to swim to the water’s surface for the very first time. Happy as a clam to see the world above the water, the Little Mermaid sings until her beautiful voice fills the air. Suddenly, a great storm arises. In the distance, the Little Mermaid sees the crashing waves carrying a young man out to sea. She swims to him and helps the unconscious and nearly drowned human by pushing him to the shore – saving his life. Close to him, she can hear his human heartbeat – only to be reminded that she, as a mermaid, does not have a heart or a soul or legs like a human. Aware of their differences but compelled by the love she feels for the mysterious man she has rescued, the Little Mermaid leans down to kiss him on the cheek. He awakens and the Little Mermaid, startled, dives back into the ocean and swims away.
Later that evening, under the sea and far from the human world above, a band of jellyfish undulate and glow as they dance their way into the Kingdom Under the Sea where the Little Mermaid’s father reigns and her three older sisters, all wise and brave, dance in celebration with all the kingdom’s creatures. At the end of a thrilling day, the Little Mermaid falls asleep and dreams of the man she saved and loves. She awakens from her dream determined to leave the safety of the kingdom and swim deep into the dark abyss at the lowest depths of the sea to find the lair of the magical Sea Witch – to ask the Sea Witch to cast a spell to grant her the heart, soul, and legs of a human so that she may properly meet the man she loves. Rising from a sinuous cocoon inside her lair, the Sea Witch at first taunts the Little Mermaid by refusing to grant her wish – indeed, the Sea Witch wants something valuable in exchange like the many souls she has traded before. Dejected and having visions of her handsome love, the Little Mermaid begins to sing, wherein the Sea Witch, struck by envy and greed upon hearing the Little Mermaid’s beautiful song, decides that she simply must possess the Little Mermaid’s voice. The Sea Witch at first tries to tear it from the Little Mermaid’s throat, but then thinks of another more sinister approach – she offers to turn the Little Mermaid into a human, but only in exchange for her beautiful voice by means of a magic potion. The bargain is made, and the Little Mermaid drinks the poison – giving her the humanity she desired, but without a voice.
Act II
On the seashore, the man – who is actually a prince – is searching for the young woman whose magnificent voice he had heard in the distance before he was tossed into the sea and drowned by the storm. He sees a beautiful woman in the sand nearby. Could this be her? He awakens the young woman and is awed by her beauty and grace, yet she seems unable to speak. They dance together and their hearts become as one. The Prince carries her to his royal palace as her friends the curiously comical crabs trail behind.
Inside the palace, the crazed, cleaver-wielding Chef and his minions are preparing a grand feast – and to the horror of the crabs, the menu features crustacean salad! Inside the ballroom, royal guests dance a beautiful waltz and the young woman and her prince follow in a pas de deux. A mysterious woman enters the ballroom in a scarlet red cape – it is the Sea Witch in disguise. Using the voice she captured from the Little Mermaid, the Sea Witch beguiles the Prince who is transfixed by the siren’s beautiful sound – indeed, he is deep under her evil spell and follows her from the palace. The Chef, too, is beckoned by the Sea Witch and is made to trade his chef’s hat for a clergyman’s – the Sea Witch intends to marry the Prince before he awakens from her spell. Seeing the plot play out, the crabs and the Little Mermaid unmask the Sea Witch at the marriage alter and the Prince wakens from the spell. Furious, the Sea Witch pulls the couple from the shore and descends with them to the depths of her lair beneath the sea where a swarm of lost souls shroud the doomed lovers. Just as hope reaches its fading moment, the Little Mermaid’s three sisters, riding their goldfish chariots, arrive in the lair to save the couple, to restore the Little Mermaid’s voice, and to drive the Sea Witch far, far away. Together, the Little Mermaid and her prince marry and live and dance happily ever after.