T H E AT E R
Asian Food
Market
87th SEASON!
Largest Selection
of Asian Groceries
The Very Little Theatre
presents in STAGE LEFT:
Seaweed, rice, noodles, frozen products,
deli, snacks, drinks, sauces, spices,
produce, housewares, and more.
WHOSE LiFE iS iT,
ANYWAY?
We carry groceries from Holland,
India, Pakistan and Polynesia
Sushi & Asian deli take-out
4th of July
Special
OPEN JULY 4TH
10%
OFF EVERYTHING
IN THE STORE!
* Excluding case prices
and rice 10lbs & up.
Offer expires 7/16/16
www.sunriseasianfood.com
M-Th 9am-7pm•F 9am-8pm•Sa 9am-7pm•Su 10am-6pm
70 W. 29th Ave. Eugene • 541-343-3295
BY RICK LEVIN
A brilliant battle of wits
over medical ethics
Written by Brian Clark
Directed by Cindy Solari
July 1-3, 7-10
7:30 pm curtain; 2 pm Sundays
Tix: $12 General Admission
Box office open 2:00-5:00
Wed.-Sat., 2350 Hilyard St.
Tix on-line at www.TheVLT.com
541-344-7751
JENNY PARKS AND ANTHONY KRALL
IN ACE’S THE LITTLE MERMAID
HEED THE SIREN’S CALL
In which a grumpy reviewer falls in love with
The Little Mermaid at Actors Cabaret of Eugene
I
have two sisters, much younger than me, the offspring of my father’s second marriage.
I love them both dearly, but when they were little girls and I was in my 20s, they drove
me batshit crazy — especially with their fanatical devotion to all things Disney. Both
of them possess gorgeous singing voices, always have, and traipsing around the house
they would suddenly stop, raise their arms with operatic urgency and begin belting out
some saccharine ballad from The Lion King or The Little Mermaid.
If I hear about Ariel one more time, so help me ...
Needless to say, I’ve never subjected myself to actually sitting through a viewing of
The Little Mermaid, which I perceived as some sort of inverted Cinderella take on the
Hans Christian Andersen tale: Sailor-prince falls in love with bumptious mermaid, who
makes a Faustian bargain to trade her tail for legs and chase down the landed gentry, blah,
blah, etc.
So it was with this patronizing, intolerant attitude that I attended opening night of
Actors Cabaret of Eugene’s staging of the Disney classic. And it didn’t take long for the
scales to fall from my eyes: Thanks to the graceful direction of Joe Zingo — coupled with
a really strong cast, fantastic costumes and a tidal atmosphere of buoyant nostalgia that
seemed to infect the entire audience — ACE’s production of The Little Mermaid is stylish,
engaging and just plain fun.
Impressively, Zingo and company clear the stage almost entirely of props, creating an
open space (and ocean) for the full frolic of splendidly adorned characters. The costuming,
also designed by Zingo, is truly glorious, but all the stuffed tentacles and gleaming
glowfish in the world would mean nothing if the folks inhabiting the outfits weren’t
equally mesmerizing. It’s here, in its performative aspect, that The Little Mermaid really
hits it big.
As Ariel, Jenny Parks is captivating in the title role: rambunctious, romantic and
wonderstruck, and with a nimble voice well suited to those classics like “The World
Above” and “Part of Your World.” Parks finds her match in Joel Ibanez, who plays a
charming Prince Eric. Emily Westlund reveals her comic chops as the malapropist seagull
Scuttle, Anthony Krall is hilariously frantic at the patrician crustacean Sebastian and Erica
Jean, in her eye-popping octopus outfit, steals every scene she’s in as the scheming sea
witch Ursula.
This is to mention just a few of the more muscular roles, though there really isn’t a
weak link to be found. The large cast blends and balances nicely, especially on the musical
numbers, which are vocally strong and choreographed with elegance. Even for a
disbeliever like me, unfamiliar with the animated film, it’s hard not to get swept up into
the collective glee of such a bubbly, well-executed show.
The Little Mermaid is the best thing ACE has done in a while — a colorful, enticing
production that is more than good enough to melt the resistance of the grumpiest anti-
Disney curmudgeon in any family.
I think I owe my sisters a phone call.
The Little Mermaid runs through July 23 at Actors Cabaret of Eugene; $16-$34.95 (with dinner option). For tickets and
info, call 541-683-4368.
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June 30, 2016 • eugeneweekly.com