Review: Pieni merenneito
The Little Mermaid
Like so many children of the 90s, Disney’s The Little Mermaid has a big place in my heart. Disney’s movie musicals have had a big impact on my falling in love with musicals, and The Little Mermaid is no exception, even though I never owned it on VHS. I borrowed the cassette from the library whenever possible and brushed the red hair of my Ariel Barbies, hoping to own the same ones myself. As a teenager, I also actively followed the stage version landing on Broadway, because, well, I followed any Broadway news at the time. I listened to the recording of the musical often and even tapped through one bootleg. That’s why seeing the Helsinki City Theatre’s production was a no-brainer for me, but at the same time, I thought I knew what awaited me. I was wrong.
The Little Mermaid is a really important story. If someone claims that it’s only about a teenage crush and finding a man as a woman’s main task, the viewer hasn’t understood the story or just deliberately truncated it because they don’t happen to like it themselves. Ariel feels like an outsider and dreams of life on Earth even before she meets Prince Erik. She has a great need to find her right home. So love is not his only goal, but rather a suitable motivator. I would say that Prince Erik is just as fixated on the idea of love as Ariel, albeit in a negative sense. The moral of the story is that it’s okay to pursue what you want, even if others try to prevent you from blossoming. Those who call Ariel’s mental journey mere longing for a man are guilty of the same thing as the villain of the story, Ursula: they take away the young woman’s own voice and try to prevent her from telling her own story. The song Maailma tuo (Part of Your World) tells everything you need to know: “in countries you can’t, you can’t subjugate, you can’t belittle your daughters / young women, different, are on their feet.” Ariel’s legs literally symbolized her rise to her own feet in her own life. That’s why Part of Your World is an important song for so many people who have felt like outsiders. I broke down in tears as soon as the song started. However, the importance of the role of love should not be underestimated. The story of the courage to love despite the prejudices of others is as relevant today as ever. It takes much more courage to love than to hate.
But I knew all about the story of this musical in advance. The Helsinki City Theatre provided a framework for it to rise to completely new spheres. The set design, costumes and direction all support the world of the musical perfectly. The underwater scenes really feel underwater. I almost felt like I had to hold my breath. Whenever I thought that they couldn’t do that on stage, it happened so seamlessly that I stared at the audience with my mouth open, amazed at the magic of the theatre. When Ariel swam on stage for the first time, I wanted to scream out loud because I was so hit on the head. It was as if he had actually swam. It was the kind of magic I’ve never seen anywhere before. In general, the underwater world was really amazing to watch. There were all kinds of seafood and I desperately tried to absorb all the details of the costumes and movements. The scenes on earth didn’t pale in comparison to the sea world, but the palace also looks quite incredible, not to mention Ariel’s iconic pink party dresses. The transitions to the dark world of Ursula are seamless, and even I, as an adult, felt a little shuddered when Ursula’s tentacles threatened the safety of our fairytale world. Many younger viewers sought refuge in the arms of an adult.
The music of Piirrettu is already a classic, but I’ve always thought that the new songs made for the musical are also excellent. My personal favorite has always been She’s in Love, but Her Voice and If Only (Quartet) have also been playing on my iPod since 2008. They sound just as good or even better on stage and in Finnish. In general, the translation was excellent and I was able to turn off my brain from “I see what you did there” mode, which is a shocking victory in my field. I also have to appreciate the numerous puns about fish and the sea. None of the songs already familiar from the film feel useless in the stage version either. I have already written about the significance of the song “Maailma tuo” and the Oscar-winning Under the Sea is also in a class of its own and offers a great showstopper moment in the stage version.
However, the musical and visual aspects of The Little Mermaid would be nothing without the brilliant line-up of professionals at the Helsinki City Theatre. Each one, from the nameless stingray to the main couple of the story, is mesmerizing to watch and has its own personality. I especially like that Ariel’s sisters all have their own role in the sibling group and they really act like sisters. Tuukka Leppänen as Skutti the Seagull charmed me, even though I’ve always found this character a bit annoying (why was that seagull called Joonas in the movie version? How did it come from Scuttle?) The undisputed main star of the performance is Sonja Pajunoja in the title role. His Ariel is full of hope and joy, but also undeniably powerful.
As a whole, I think The Little Mermaid is an even better musical than a movie. The plot has been changed to the stage version somewhat, but only in good ways. Triton’s hatred of humans has been explained, Ursula’s evil is brought out in other ways than just by portraying her as fat, and Ariel has been made a more active player. I wish that all children would be able to see this musical. This is the kind of magic everyone needs in their life. I believe that many new musical fans are born in every performance. I watched the children sitting in front of me and their enthusiasm and wonder about everything that was happening on stage warmed my cold heart for years to come. Not that I recommend The Little Mermaid to all young people and adults as well. None of us can have an overdose of magic in our lives. It would also be a big mistake to go looking for a theatrical experience abroad if you haven’t seen this work yet, because I haven’t seen a mesmerizing production like The Little Mermaid anywhere in the West End or Broaway. Thank you, thank you, thank you.