With the endorsement of Disney’s head of marketing (Disney owns the rights to the Broadway version of The Little Mermaid), Rodaz and his many collaborators recreated the Carnival Studio theater with the audiences feeling that they are part of the underwater and on top of the water sea experience from the moment they are seated on the stage in a seaport tavern.

Movement directors Luciano Cortés and Lauren Gaspard make a critical contribution to the underwater scenes, more significant in this production since costume creators Banda-Rodaz and Ortega opted not to go with mermaid tails.

Stepping (swimming?) into the space, you are thrust into a seaside tavern where wenches and sailors lure you to your seats. A rowdy troupe of bar musicians cheers and strums through a set of rousing shanties before laying down the house rules in a pastiche of the classic sea-faring tune “Drunken Sailor.”

Among the many takeaways from Area Stage Company’s enchanting immersive production of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” are these two points:  You can tell a familiar story in wonderful new ways, and you don’t need a drop of real water to create an undersea world.

Area Stage’s production of The Little Mermaid is getting off to a swimmingly great start as of this week’s first previews! Not only were audiences amazed by the show, but we captured the interest of several major news outlets, including WTVJ 6, WPLG 10, Telemundo 51, and last but not least, WSVN 7’s entertainment show, Deco Drive.