Exhilarating Little Mermaid
After a hectic week visiting doctors, I welcome a chance last Sunday to go to the Meralco Theater to see The Little Mermaid, a production by Atlantis Productions, its last one for 2011. I was a few minutes late, thus had to see the play from the front row of the orchestra right section where the sound quality was erratic.
The visual presentation was first-class. It overwhelmed me. The sets, costumes, other visual effects were invigorating.
Fortunately, I saw the second half of the musical in my correct seat, 4th row center orchestra left aisle. Viewing was superior when compared with my first seat. I could understand the words of the songs and dialog. However, it was played far too loud. In some ways this drowned the noise made by the multitudes of very young children present.
Once again I witnessed how people believe the announcements warning people not to take pictures of the show do not apply to them. The lady seated in front of me took quite a few pictures before an usher asked her to stop. In my opinion, the usher should have made the woman delete the pictures from her camera.
The costumes and sets deserve special mention, as well as the light design. They were breathtaking. The credit goes to Messrs. Lex Marcos, Eric Pineda and Jay Aranda. The fun choreography was done by Cecile Martinez. The orchestra was conducted by Ceejay Javier.
Bobby Garcia and Chari Arespacochaga, the directors of this musical, chose a very good cast. Congratulations are in order. CONGRATS!!!!
The most applauded performer was Jinky Llamanzares as Ursula. She literally squeezed the juice out of her role and the audience showed their approval with loud applause at the end of her numbers.
Rachelle Ann Go made a pretty Little Mermaid. She has a good set of vocal pipes, is very pretty to watch and convincing as an actress. What more can you ask for? Erik Santos as Prince Eric had a very pleasant singing voice. We should see more of him in future productions. Chris Millado was imposing as King Triton. He possesses a good singing voice and was most convincing.
Another actor who almost stole the show was OJ Mariano as Sebastian. The same can be said of Lee Viloria as Flounder and Felix Rivera and Jaime Barcelon as Flotsam and Jetsam.
Julienne Mendoza was a riot in the kitchen and dinner scenes. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He will go places in the future in musical theater. Carlos Canlas in the ensemble stood out in moments when he had solos.
The audience liked the show very much and gave the cast a standing ovation. Congratulations to all the cast and crew for a job well-done.
During the musical, some of the melodies made me think about The Little Shop of Horrors. I wondered why and found out only when I read the program notes during the intermission that Alan Menken, had composed the music for both shows.
I can summarize this by saying that you should NOT miss this fantastic musical but sit not closer than the 10th row of the orchestra section. Bring the entire family to this one. The play will be showing until Dec. 11 at the Meralco Theater.
For seats or reservations, call 889-7078 or TicketWorld at 891-9999.
After the play ended, I felt hungry and decided to try a new restaurant, Cuisenier Brasserie located at 102 Timog Ave. in front of the Caltex Gasoline Station. I highly recommend this restaurant. The place is clean, the staff is very friendly, the food is good, and the prices are not bad at all. Try their clam chowder soup, seafood risotto, appetizer of callos/tripe with a cream sauce, and, for dessert, do try their trifle of peach or strawberry or the panna cotta. The coffee is also very good. The owner/manager Erwin is very charming and most informative in regard to their food. It is open all days of the week. You can call 426-5872 or 586-8798.