That Darn Disney
It has been a while since I have mentioned it, but when Michael Eisner left Disney I had hoped that the days of the Disney Channel killing off their shows after 65 episodes or 3 seasons was a thing of the past. The thought that would wrap up Hannah Montana after 3 years, never even entered my mind. That ended when I ran across Miley Manic.
First I found the post about the Hannah Montana movie. When I saw that, it clicked. They were planning on ending Hannah Montana. It is just the way Disney does it (Well, except for Phil of the Future, which they quite abruptly ended with a single episode at the end of Season 2). The Lizzie Maguire Movie, The Proud Family Movie, The Even Stevens Movie, and even Kim Possible: So The Drama (though fans managed to wrangle an extra season out of that).
Of course, if I had just gone back a few more posts first, I would have found this post. Now there was a rumor flying around lately (I wouldn’t be surprised if they were started by PerezHilton, which seems to have it out for Miley) that Hannah Montana was already canceled. That was patently false. The show is still going on… at least until that movie is aired. Even the premise as reported, that the Stewarts were going back to Tennessee, sounds like the type of storyline that would end the show.
Now I realize that many of you (and I certain “should be”) are a bit tired of Hannah Montana, and her seeming overexposure, but if Hannah is to survive the end of season three, it is time to start now thinking about writing a letter or giving a call to Disney and tell them that they have got to stop arbitrarily axing shows after 3 seasons.
I am totally not telling LatteGirl until the show has completely ended, and I guess hope that she is “over” Hannah by then. I don’t want it to break her achy breaky heart. (aww, c’mon, you knew I had to do it sooner or later)
I might be crazy… but I do it anyway
If you know the song the title is from, like me you probably have a young one with a Hannah Montana obsession. Now, I have so far been very accommodating, and have proved myself a worthy sucker for Disney’s marketing machine. I used to wonder how they made money on their shows and movies on the Disney Channel without the benefit of advertising (although I have noticed the “proud sponsor” spots sneaking in much like they now do on PBS shows, but that is a different rant for another day). Now I know where they make the money.
We have clothes, dolls, I was one of the fortunate parents that was able to get tickets (at face value) for the concert, and Santa Claus even came across with the Digital Blue 718 Disney Mix Stick Hannah Montan Mp3 Player (a compromise between me wanting her to have her own music player, and TheWife thinking she was too young for a “real” MP3 player).
Now of course, since our TV rarely leaves the Disney Channel, I of course knew that the Hannah Montana 3D movie was coming. I was somewhat hoping (fine I was in denial) that since she went to the actual concert, she would not be interested in going to see the movie. Of course this was NOT the case. But fine I thought, it is just a movie.
What I didn’t anticipate (and did not see in the commercials until this past week) is that this movie is being release for “1 week only.” Which in many of the theaters (at least around here) means they are only showing it 1 or 2 days. Then TheWife informs me that tickets are $15!!! $15 for a movie that is barely over an hour long! But things don’t stop there. No, since there are only a total of 6 shows over two days, the closest theater to us that is showing the movie is SOLD OUT! TheWife was actually considering (before I found tickets at another theater) trying to buy tickets through a ticket broker. Can you imagine this? Scalping tickets to a movie?
Fortunately as I said, I was able to find tickets at another theater, because there was no way I was “paying up” for tickets to the movie. So, TheWife and LatteGirl will get to see Hannah in 3D (Noooo, I’m not going… not at $15 per). And I am left to ponder, is Disney out of their freakin’ minds? Or am I?
All Hannah…er… Miley
It was a non-stop weekend around here, LatteGirl’s first hockey game was a rousing success. A nail biter of a game, that went into overtime and a shootout before the Devils escaped victorious over the Bufallo Sabres (much to Chicka’s chagrin… hehehehe). She looked a bit overwhelmed and confused for much of the game, as many people are trying to follow the puck around for the first time, but was standing, screaming and cheering by the time the Devil’s scored in the shootout, and was declaring how she wanted to go with me again.
Of course much of this was only a bit of background story by the next day as she prepared to go back to the Prudential Center once again, but this time to see Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus and The Jonas Brothers. Between Santa Claus, Mommy and Daddy, and some relatives, she was completely decked out in everything (except a blond wig) in Hannah Montana apparel. Shirt, Denim Jacket, Jeans and even her purse sports the logo of the Disney Channel Pop Princess. They arrived at the arena 3 hours before showtime (and an hour before the MileyWorld bus for the fan club showed up. Not quite suprisingly, she was not the only one, as on my way to the office about 1/2 hour before that, I saw tweens and parents already milling around the train station area a couple of blocks away from the arena.
Needless to say the show was a big hit as Miley and the Jonas Brothers were “so on” (or so I was told). The only disappointments (if you can call them that) was first at MileyWorld they had some sort of Karaoke setup for people to sing songs, but LatteGirl did not get picked (this is one of those instances, where I almost regret her being so polite and well mannered, she would raise her hand to show she wanted to sing, but was not jumping around, screaming and pushing like others were and she just really never had a shot to get picked) and the second “issue” was that LatteGirl refused to leave afterwards, as she tried to get a glimpse of Miley up close. She did manage to spot the Jonas brothers and “they waved right at me.” But Miley was apparently whisked away in a separate car. LatteGirl simply would not accept it to be true until a security guard from the building confirmed that “Miley has left already,” before she finally resigned herself to the fact that she wasn’t going to see Miley.
Sunday was a get together with TheWife’s side of the family, where there were a few tense minutes when I heard about supposedly racy photos of Miley that were posted at PerezHilton.com. Fearing another “Spears-like” scenario, I was quite releived to find out that this was more about somebody trying to make a big deal out of something that wasn’t, and I am only linking to it here so that other parents that may hear about it can actually see it for themselves so they are not panicked (as I was at first), because when you read the headlines, like at MSNBC that says, “Miley upset about leak of racy photos” you initially assume (or I did) that they were much worse than what they turned out to be.
And finally it was quite pathetic to hear read this story about a mother that admitted lying about her husband dying in Iraq in an essay to win Hannah Montana tickets. This really has me all twisted up in side. The promoters of the contest are considering pulling the tickets away. At first, I thought “Good” she deserves it. And the mother really does. However, I feel sorry for the six year old daughter who has now already been told that she won a makeover, a flight and tickets to the show. How do you tell that poor little kid that, now you can’t go because your mom is a lying, manipulating sleezeball that won the prize under false pretenses?
Well, none of that fortunately actually affects us, and at least for now it is all Miley all the time around here.
Review: The Little Mermaid on Broadway
I refused to look at any of the reviews of The Little Mermaid from the previous shows so as to not taint my experience going in, and personally I had high expectations going into this show. When Disney first came to Broadway, it was with sort of sneer from the general public and theater buffs whether the House of Mouse could put on a “real” Broadway production. Following the sucesses of The Lion King and the recently closed (after a fantastic run) Beauty and the Beast, those questions began to fade. However, after the disaster that was the production of Tarzan, and the less than stellar reviews for Mary Poppins, those questions have again begun to creep back. So, with expectations on one side and questions about Disney’s ability to put forth a quality production on the other, The Little Mermaid has a lot to answer for in the minds of critics and patrons alike. Can The Little Mermaid turn things back around and prove that Disney is capable of a great theater experience, or are they looking to turn a quick buck with a second rate, theme park like quality production?
Unfortunately, if you had preconceived notions on this going in, there was very little in this production to change your opinion. For those with kids, and the touristy (is too a word) types, the show was enjoyed. Of course, for those people, they were satisfied hearing the numbers that you expected to hear going in, such as Part of Your World, Poor Unfortunate Souls and Under the Sea. For the most part the cast was admirable, Sierra Boggess proved quite good as Ariel, and simiarly other members were at the very least acceptable in their roles with a few glaring exceptions, but even in those cases, I am not sure whether I can blame the actors in the roles, or the “vision” of director.
In short (what do you mean “too late”), I was disappointed with The Little Mermaid. It wasn’t “Quick Close” awful (like the recent Broadway bombs Lestat or Lennon), as the main numbers are already known hits, and tourists will help keep it afloat (pun somewhat intended) for some time, but the show is missing it’s magic. You do not get completely wrapped up into the show or its characters, and the ability to “lose yourself” in it is noticeably absent. In short, if this was a regional production or small local show, I would say “well done” but instead looking at this as a full scale stage production, I am only left scratching my head asking, “What were they thinking?”
So, where did it go so wrong? At first blush, I thought to myself that something did not quite add up when looking at the show. It was as if the whole did not add up to the sum of its parts. If I was happy with the cast, and I thought the singing was good, then why did it seem so off? Then I realized, it had little to do with the people on the stage, and more about those that weren’t.
Choreography. Not the worst part of the show, but the numbers were clearly lacking. Perhaps because of the costumes and adjustments that had to be made for actors that had to spend the show on “Wheelies” (more on that in a minute), but the choreography was lacking. I am not quite sure what the choreographer was going for, but it came off with some sort of tribal feeling that seemed more at home in The Lion King than it did here, and seemed overall uninspired. Under the Sea, which should have been the livliest and most fun number in the show comes off as a chaotic mess more reminiscent of Three Ring Circus.
Sets. What sets? It seemed like the show was pushed into the realm of “interpretive” where the audience was expected to accept an awful lot of abstract pieces and make the set in their minds. It fails miserably. The ship appears to be hanging in mid air rather than floating in the “water” of the set. There was little to no backdrops to anything. The one standard piece at the back of the stage flipped and turned into, (theoretically) the moon, the sun, and what is that a spaceship? Oh, no I guess it is supposed to be chandelier in the dining room and the ball room. Overall, it wound up looking more like something I would hang up in my windows for Christmas. Other large, unidentifiable pieces pop on and off at times, providing to fill the stage, though you never quite really have any clue what they actually are supposed to be or represent.
Directing. The characters I was least satisfied with in the play were Sebastian (Tituss Burgess), Ursula (Sherie Rene Scott) and her sidekicks Flotsam (Tyler Maynard) and Jetsam (Derrick Baskin). Initially I was going to lay at the feet of the actors themselves, but as the show went on, and the things I found wrong mounted, I can only assume these “interpretations” of the characters that I was so disappointed in, was the work of the director. In the case of Sebastian, as the show went along, Burgess’ presence seemed to get stronger and was not nearly as dragging on the show as he was in the first act. Now I should point out in fairness that TheWife did not share my disdain for Ursula and her cronies, she thought they were fine. I on the other hand was so annoyed by their style, their presence on the stage immediately jerked me out of the moment, and instead of making me feel like I was watching the show, I was instead watching some sort of cartoonish Saturday Night Live version. Picture Ursula played by Phyliss Diller, cackly laugh and all, and you have this version of Ursula. Flotsam, if you can imagine him played by Martin Short with the silly faces and all, you have Maynard’s character down, and Jetsam was similar. If that is what the director had in mind building these characters, then the actors did a superb job of building that vision, it just wasn’t The Little Mermaid.
Script and Music. OK, so you need to alter the show because obviously you can not pull off on stage things that you can in an animated movie, and for a musical Broadway production you need a bit more than the original show had, so you need to add some numbers. I understand and appreciate that. But both were poor. If you didn’t know the show or story before going in, this did not stand up on its own. The story was too fractured to have a clean an understandable time line, or even to say the full plot was completely conveyed. This may have been partly due to the fact that in their effort to stuff the music in they simply didn’t leave enough time for the rest of the writing. I don’t know. I just know it didn’t work. And while we are on the music, I would love to know who’s decision it was to give so much time to Scuttle. Way too much. Scuttle is a funny character in his bit appearances, but not to give multiple numbers in the show. He is supposed to be a funny bit part (like the chef), but they gave him way too much time, without the benefit of advancing the story. The opening number of Fathoms Below, expanded from its short form in the Movie to a full blown number on the ship (opening the show) was a real yawner both musically and visually. I was ready after Beauty and The Beast to buy the Soundtrack to this show as soon as I got in the door. Fortunately (for me), this being only the 8th performance (due to the stagehand strike in New York), they have not actually made the CD yet, and were only taking pre-orders for it, which I opted against getting. And needless to say, by the time the show was done, I was happy, I hadn’t plunked down the money for this.
In the end, I all I can say it, if you have lots of money and time to waste, and a child to bring with you (that can appreciate the fact that it is The Little Mermaid, and not care about things such as an actual storyline, and will cheer accordingly) then by all means go. If you are expecting a worthwhile theater experience however, then The Little Mermaid will most likely leave you disappointed.
How Much? For Who?
I recently bought tickets for the upcoming debut of The Little Mermaid on Broadway. We got 1st balcony tickets and they ran about $90 a piece. Expensive? Yes, but I didn’t expect to find discount tickets for a show that has yet to appear, and since that is what tickets generally run, I was not at all shocked. Not happy… but not shocked.
Then came the request for tickets for Hannah Montana. It would be an early Christmas present for LatteGirl. OK, I thought. No big deal. But imagine my surprise when I discovered that tickets for this concert would cost MORE than a Broadway show! It took about 1/2 hour once the tickets went on sale before I was able to secure tickets. Upper Level at the new Prudential Center that will be opening (theoretically) this week. Read that again… UPPER LEVEL! Cost? $120 a piece. For Hannah Montana! Now, I understand I am old now… but I don’t think if I add up the cost of every concert I have ever attended, that it would cost more than the $240 I had to lay out for this one event.
I was even more shocked when I heard that the concert sold out in a hour, and that tickets were now being given away on local radio stations, just like “real” concert tickets. I guess at these prices that this is a real concert, but somehow it just doesn’t seem the same thing to me. I saw this much more like a “Kiddie Concert” but I guess I was wrong.
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