THE LITTLE MERMAID LIVE: Ranking the Best Musical Numbers

ABC staged a live musical of THE LITTLE MERMAID—with the classic animated film juxtaposed with live action musical numbers.

Of course, with so many memorable musical numbers—and songs that were not a part of the film—some connected a bit more than others. Here’s our ranking, from least memorable to most…

“Fathoms Below”

It’s not close to the most memorable number from the movie, so it was perfectly…OK?

“If Only”

It’s not the performers’ fault, but I wish there had been more to work with for the only duet between the central duo of the show.

“Under the Sea”

This should have been the most fun number of the night. Unfortunately, Shaggy’s odd costume and what seemed like him attempting to not forget the (occasionally complex) lyrics, it didn’t quite hit the mark.

“Finale”

A cute close to the performance.

“Daughters of Triton”

Amber Riley is always fun as a performer, and helped give a mostly throwaway song more life.

“Les Poissons”

John Stamos looked like he was having the time of his life, up to the odd end where he joked he should have played the Prince…and called the character by the wrong name. But holy moly, those props!

“Kiss the Girl”

Thankfully, Shaggy found his groove here. The staging/framing didn’t quite service anyone very well, but it at least didn’t feel entirely creepy that Sebastian was watching the would-be couple as they inched closer to a potential kiss.

“Her Voice”

Poor Eric is mostly a thankless role in the film—with no real songs to speak of—but the Broadway musical fixed that. Graham Phillips did the moment justice.

“Part of Your World (Reprise)”

Auli’i Cravalho’s voice is incredible, and this take depended just on that…no glitz, no glam, just her talent. It was beautiful.

“Poor Unfortunate Souls (Reprise)”

Queen! Latifah!

“Part of Your World”

Cravalho’s voice carried this number, though it was impressive how they had her “swimming”—AKA flying. That was an aspect of the production I had never considered, but it’s incredible what they were able to do with it. (Though I wish they hadn’t cut away from her to focus on the dancers.)

“Poor Unfortunate Souls”

Queen Latifah was, well, majestic as Ursula. She brought zeal and fantastic singing to Ursula’s “wooing” of Ariel. The most enjoyable and best staged performance of the night.

–

Which song was your favorite?

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page.

And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links/ads placed on the site.