Keep singing!

So apparently, Disney put The Little Mermaid on Broadway, and I obviously have to go see it now, but I bought the soundtrack on iTunes last night because I am crazy, and it was only $7.99. I haven't finished listening to the whole thing yet, but I have several things to say. This woman they found to play Ursula is no Pat Carroll. I know they don't want, like, an identical performance, because that wouldn't be very interesting--in addition to being impossible, because how can anyone top Pat Carroll's drag show in "Poor Unfortunate Souls"? However, the girl they found to play Ariel is lovely. They gave Scuttle far too large a part: he gets two songs, and they're both pretty bad. Oh, and they made the relationship between Ursula and Triton explicit: they're siblings, which is something that was meant to be included in the movie, but it got cut. I still find that odd, but I guess it explains how Ursula was once in power, and then her might makes right big brother took over. Blech. That makes me angry. One day, someone will write a story where the brother is the evil one, and the sister rules with benevolence--alone, because her husband is dead--and she and her children must defeat the evil brother who wants to bring darkness back to the kingdom. Maybe even a set of fraternal twins: a prince and princess who work together to help their mother keep their kingdom secure. I don't hate men, but Disney has far too many female villains and absolutely no female characters with any kind of political power.

Um, anyway, I still totally love The Little Mermaid, and I still totally must go to New York to see it. I missed Beauty and the Beast--I cannot miss this!