Such wonderful things surround you, what more is you looking for?

Sierra Boggess in her Broadway debut as Ariel.

The Little Mermaid is pleasant enough but lacked a certain something. I can't quite place it. Perhaps I'm just getting too old and crotchety for Disney.
"I wanna be where the people are, I wanna see, wanna see them dancing..."
Maybe I was just too prepared to love the show. I had been eagerly anticipating it from the moment I heard they were bringing my beloved Disney film to the stage. The cast is great except I kept picturing Mary Testa as Ursula (I love Sherie Rene and I was surprised to find myself thinking this). There definitely wasn't enough Norm Lewis. Some of the new songs reminded me of Beauty and the Beast. Some of the jokes fell flat, and the ending felt rushed.
Ms. Boggess has a lovely singing voice and quite good at physical comedy in the second act.
There were genuine moments of awe and wonderment, like when someone floats to the surface or sinks to the bottom ( I even applauded) or the transformation scene. And using the heelys was inspired. Granted, the visuals and colors were stunning, even breath-taking, at times. But overall the set design and costumes bothered me. (Nothing will probably ever equal The Lion King's ground-breaking staging. The King has ruined me for other Disney productions!) The outfits varied from community theatre-like to tacky Vegas extravaganza. I know; they were only trying to be innovative.
The stage door

Tituss Burgess as Sebastian. I love the new arrangements of "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl". They were crowd-pleasers; also Chef Louis's 'Les Poissons.
Sean Palmer was Prince Eric.
Trevor Braun is one of the Flounders.

Despite its flaws, The Little Mermaid is still not a bad way to spend an evening on Broadway. The kids will love it.

(Thanks to Cecile for some of the photos!)