Disney Walks on Water

     Disney goes out on a limb — or, maybe a fin — by tinkering with its phenomenally successful movie, The Little Mermaid, but the Broadway version should please both fanatical devotees of the animated version and neophytes.  Most importantly, it will also appeal to the chaperones who will have to accompany the young Mermaid fans.

  The company could have rested on its gills and presented a live version of the film (as it did with Beauty and the Beast), but it has taken the riskier and more satisfying Lion King route and re-imagined the musical for the stage.  Much of the original source material is retained, including the Alan Menken/Howard Ashman songs, "Part of Your World", "Kiss the Girl", and "Under the Sea". Glenn Slater has added additional songs, like the extremely catchy "She's in Love", and the comic "Positoovity" sung by the sea gulls.

   Purists will note that the Disney movie is not the original source; it is Hans Christian Andersen's story, and Disney took liberties with the tale, particularly with the happy ending.  But the basic outline — girl meets boy, girl loses boy — remains.  Ariel, the mermaid of the title, is a strong character, even if she has to spend a good deal of the time mute. She does get to rescue Prince Eric, and she vanquishes Ursula, the sea witch.