Review: Pieni merenneito

The Little Mermaid Knocks Out with Her Magnificence and Leaves the Viewer Speechless

Säde, 17 years old, is a Disney fan. A big Disney fan. So when I spotted last spring that the Helsinki City Theatre’s autumn programme would include the Disney musical The Little Mermaid, there was no doubt that we would go to see it. Of course!

Tickets were booked for the girl’s exam week so that there was no exam for the next day. So it wouldn’t hurt to go late on a trip to the theater. In the end, however, we ended up with a small mini-vacation and stayed in a hotel after the theater. Pretty perfect!

How do you put on a play in the theatre, most of which takes place underwater? I hadn’t even been able to think about that question beforehand. And I hadn’t even thought about how a mermaid moves on stage with her tail or how to make Ursula’s tentacles? How does Sebastian the crab or the tiny Splash fish move? An insane number of questions came to my mind as I got the answers. Pretty backwards, right?

You have to admire the imagination and professionalism of all the theatre people, with which the undersea world and the ball hall of a large castle are built on the same stage. The most stunning of all the sets was the prince’s ship and the way it arrived on stage. It was as if the ship had come sailing from behind the big waves. The sight was absolutely impressive. And of course, the ship was captained by a handsome prince!

When I first saw Ariel, she was sitting on a rock in such a position that I wondered how on earth Sonja Pajunoja, who plays Ariel, could be in such an uncomfortable looking position throughout the play. Of course, at that point, I didn’t even have a glimpse of the thought in my little head that he would move from a rock to somewhere. Hello!

Those mermaids! Ariel and her six older sisters. Lovely, beautiful, sweet. A smile rose on my face as I watched how the mermaids danced and sang with their tails wagging. The costumes have hit the bull’s-eye with the mermaids’ outfits and the choreographer(?) gets points for how the mermaids moved on stage. What I was thinking about is that mermaids must have fairly strong abdominal muscles.

What about the mother of all bad guys – Ursula? I won’t tell you the secret of the tentacles, go see for yourself. What I will tell you is that Sanna Saarijärvi is brilliant, gorgeous, awesome, amazing and all the other synonyms for this. My absolute favorite! If I could imagine myself in a role in this musical, it would be this one.

To give you as many things as possible that will surprise you, I will deliberately leave out the pictures of Splash, Sebastian and Skutti the log. You definitely have to experience that “first encounter” live. I promise you’ll fall in love with everyone. I’ll tell you enough about the scooter that Säde said that she found a dream role for herself in it.

Who do I recommend The Little Mermaid to? For everyone from school age upwards. I wouldn’t take a very young child to a musical, so that I wouldn’t cry when there are the most exciting scenes. If you are an adult who does not have children of the age you would take to the theater, you do not need to borrow the neighbor’s children. Go all by yourself or with a friend. The musical also takes adult viewers into account. It’s full of nice quips that only a battery person can understand. And the sets, the costumes, the music. Just because of them, it’s worth going! And if you’ve never been to the Helsinki City Theatre before, go for it. The building itself is stunning!

Säde, who is also a big fan of Barbie movies, recognized the voices of Ariel’s sisters as the voice of one of Barbie’s voice actors. With the help of Google, the girl checked it and indeed. Sanna Majuri was one of Ariel’s sisters! Because the sisters often spoke in unison, it was difficult to figure out who she was. After the performance, we met one of Ariel’s sisters in the lobby, played by Laura Allonen. She kindly promised to deliver Säte’s fan greetings and the Capsule Girl to Sanna.

The Little Mermaid is a musical that leaves you in a good mood. The sets and costumes are so fine that words are not enough to describe them. You have to see them for yourself! The underwater kingdom with all its colorful fish is like a living aquarium. I wonder how the people in the theatre can be so skilled that they can achieve all that.

This musical you must see! Don’t bother with buying tickets. The shows are almost sold out pretty much until the autumn. So, let’s buy tickets! I’ll make it easy for you again Click here. Tickets can be found in many different price categories. Note that not only children but also students get half price!

Janna’s tricky reflections after the musical…

Are Triton’s glittery chest and abs real? I thought half the time that they were. Half the time I doubted. What do you think? Real and accentuated with makeup?

Where do you sell seagull shoes or do you make them yourself at the theatre? No. I really don’t need those. It just came to my mind.

Does Ariel go to the musical in a real bubble bath? I guess not. It looks real. How on earth has it been implemented?

Do you know what would be great? Get to watch the show behind the scenes. How does it all happen? What is the buzz behind the stage? Should I change careers? I could be the third stone on stage from the left. In some play.

Go to the theater. Helsinki City Theatre. The Little Mermaid musical. It’s worth your time. More than that. Much more!