The Little Mermaid at Tuacahn Amphitheatre

Every year I try to see at least one show at Tuacahn Amphitheatre so last weekend I went on a quick road trip to St. George (a four hour drive south from where I live) to see The Little Mermaid and it was so much fun because my sister was able to come with me (it was easy to convince her because The Little Mermaid is one of her favorite shows).  The best production I have ever seen of The Little Mermaid was at Tuacahn in 2014 and this production surpasses that one because it is absolutely dazzling!  The state-of-the-art special effects are pretty incredible!  The stage is flooded at the beginning of the show so Ariel first appears on her rock in the middle of the water for "The World Above" and then Prince Eric's ship actually moves in the water for "Fathom's Below."  The LED screens all around the stage show sea creatures, seaweed, and coral moving from screen to screen and the large moving set pieces depict King Titon's throne, Ursula's lair, Ariel's grotto, and Prince Eric's palace.  You might expect the sea creatures to fly around the stage during "Under the Sea" (and they do) but I've never seen Prince Eric's rowboat fly in order to show the fish and other sea creatures below it during "Kiss the Girls" before (it is amazing) and I was also very impressed by the aerial choreography when Ariel saves Prince Eric during the storm and during her transformation at the end of Act I.  The use of a blacklight during "Les Poissons" is a lot of fun as is the fire in Ursuala's lair and the sparks from King Triton's trident.  The colorful neon costumes are spectacular (I loved the starfish) and the use of Segways by the mermaids, Heelys by Flounder, Flotsum, and Jetsum, and a cart that seems to be propelled by tentacles by Ursula is really clever.  The cast is as good as what you would see on Broadway!  Kelsey Lee Smith and James Everts have beautiful voices as Ariel and Prince Eric and their renditions of "Part of Your World" and "Her Voice," respectively, gave me goosebumps.  However, the entire cast is just as talented and I was equally impressed with Eric B. Anthony as Sebastian (he tones down the Jamaican accent and I think that really works), Fred Inkley as King Triton, and Julia Cardia as Ursula.  Alec Talbott and Scott Whipple steal the show as Flotsam and Jetsum, respectively, in "Sweet Child" while the tap dancing in "Positoovity" (usually my least favorite number in the show) blew me away!  I loved every aspect of this production (so did my sister) and I cannot recommend it enough (especially for kids).  It runs in repertory with The Wizard of Oz and Newsies through October 25 (go here for tickets).

Note:  We ate at the Tuacahn Cafe for the first time before the show and we were really impressed with the food (I had the cheeseburger basket and it was so good), the price, and the service.