THE LITTLE MERMAID: ONTARIOS O-FISH-AL FAMILY MUSICAL by Reid Janisse (Ross Petty Productions). At the Elgin (189 Yonge). To January 4. $27-$85. 1-855-599-9090, rosspetty.com . See listings. Rating: NNNN
Perhaps it was because I recently saw the over-hyped, underwhelming adaptation of Disney’s Aladdin just up the street, but Ross Petty’s panto The Little Mermaid, costing a fraction of the former’s budget, is a lot funnier and more memorable.
Much of the credit goes to Reid Janisse, who wrote the book and co-stars as one of the narrators, Carl the Clown Fish. (Think of him as Nemo’s Toronto cousin.) The Second City alum’s script is a socially conscious yet lighthearted look at what’s happening down at the waterfront, all seen from the novel perspective of its underwater creatures.
Mermaid Angel (Chilina Kennedy) is about to turn 18 and longs to be part of the human world, but when her friends and family get wind of the Evil Ogopogo’s (Petty) plot to turn the increasingly polluted waterfront into a casino, she joins in the protest.
This involves a quick swim to Niagara Falls, where Ogopogo’s magic turns the finned creatures into humans and robs Angel of her voice. This complicates her burgeoning romance with bipedal Adam (Marc Devigne), and necessitates one of the production’s many showstoppers, a Cyrano-like number involving Shelly the Shrimp (musical comedy powerhouse Lana Carillo) singing in her place.
As usual, the show involves drag (Dan Chameroy’s Plumbum takes the word “Merman” literally by belting out a few bars of Ethel Merman’s Everything’s Coming Up Roses), ridiculously silly plot points and a climactic competition that draws on an equal number of current pop hits (cue Blurred Lines parody) and viral videos (What Does The Fox Say?).
Director Tracey Flye keeps everything moving at a steady clip, Marc Kimelman’s choreography is fresh and fun, and the performers – down to the hardworking chorus – are all bright and focused. Eddie Glen is once again superb as a sidekick called Sponge Bill Triangle Pants, and Jordan Clark channels her inner Kate Pierson as the sleek Eris.
Michael Gianfrancesco’s set is highly imaginative, especially in one early sequence involving Angel and her fishy friends and Adam and his landlubbers.
And the humour, including the sponsor ads, is tart yet family-friendly, although I can imagine a couple of inquisitive kids wondering about the battery-powered magic wand that comes out of an audience member’s purse.
