Madison Simms as Ariel. Photo © Emily Cooper.

Theatre Under The Stars, Stanley Park,  Vancouver – July 20, 2026 

This show had it all: big dance numbers, memorable songs, whimsical costumes, a hero and a heroine, and a company of funny and lovable supporting characters. This production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid by TUTS had everything one would want from a fairytale musical.

Ariel, the little mermaid, played by Madison Simms, longs to join the human world after falling in love with Prince Eric, played by Pier Francesco Marchi. She pursues this dream against the wishes of her father, King Triton, played by Tanner Zerr, and does this by bartering with her wicked aunt Ursula, played by Cecilly Day, to trade her coveted voice for a pair of legs. The adventure is accompanied by a lively cast of characters and ends, as fairytales do, in a heartwarming happy ending.

Simms and Marchi both had all the grace and charms of a Disney princess and prince, and surrounding them, a strong cast of supporting characters. Janelle Reid gave a standout performance as Sebastien, the Caribbean-accented crab, who led the ensemble in the musical’s most well-known songs, “Under The Sea” and “Kiss The Girl”. Cecilly Day’s commanding presence as evil aunt Ursula, dressed in a skirt of squid tentacles, encapsulated her merciless quest for power in her rendition of “Poor Unfortunate Souls”. Sophie McKenzie gave her character Scuttle, Ariel’s squawking seagull sidekick, extra silliness, through her incessantly flapping wings and her certainty in identifying a dinner fork as a “dingle-hopper”. Angus Silva, always fluttering by Ariel’s side as Flounder, was Ariel’s shy and loyal confidante.

Each scene was masterfully staged by director and choreographer Nicol Spinola, capturing the story’s transitions from introspective and sentimental moments to big exuberant dance numbers, including the tap dance extravaganza of seagulls in “Positoovity” and “Positagitty”, the kitchen chase to capture Sebastien in “Les Poisson”, which turned into a comical fight scene of chefs while Sebastien escapes, and the fantastical undersea worlds created in “Kiss The Girl” and “Under The Sea”.  While Spinola kept the pace moving, costume designer Donnie Tejani dressed the ensemble as colourful sea creatures, including jellyfish with tentacles dangling from their caps, while they doubled as stagehands, ensuring scene changes were part of the story. Ryan Cormack’s set design was kept minimal, using a wide arch as the background, while Jono Kim’s lighting design colourfully illuminated the scenes like a coral reef. All of this action on stage was accompanied by a live orchestra directed by Brent Hughes.

Catch this perfect summertime show in Stanley Park until August 22. Tickets and details here https://www.tuts.ca/