The Little Mermaid Live!

I am a fan of the live performances of stage and screen classics that have come to TV in the last few years. But this show offered something different---an animated film/live performance hybrid. It's a clever solution to the underwater action challenge that "The Little Mermaid" presents. But I think the concept is flawed.

We might enjoy intercutting the animated sequences to the live onstage performances if the performers were superstars (think Celine Dion or Barbra Streisand) of if the performers were the actual voices behind the animated characters (think Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel performing their songs from "Frozen"). But this presentation was like switching between two channels.

The production values were good. And the simulation of swimming using wires was the best part of the show. But they were not enough to save this live performance from mediocrity. I also found the applause and cheering of the live audience to be distracting.