Jim on Film: Disney’s Broadway Babies
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Ariel
In the film, Ariel is a teenage girl beautifully animated by Glen Keane and Mark Henn. Her voice is that of Broadway star Jodi Benson, who was most notably in the original Broadway cast of Crazy for You. The dilemma in casting Ariel, I would think, is she has to be played by someone who looks youthful enough for the part. Belle was always a mature Disney princess; she really could be eighteen or twenty-five on stage. Ariel, however, must be youthful, since her character in undeniably driven by youthful passions and poor judgment.
The other dilemma is that Ariel has a very unique voice in Jodi Benson that falls outside of the typical Broadway diva’s voice. Here’s where my lack of music lingo will fail me, but Ariel is going to need an actress with a traditional Broadway voice that is neither too operatic nor too pop. Disney has always done such an amazing job of not trying to replicate the film performances on stage, instead allowing their stage actors to create the spirit of the originals without trying to copy, but they will also realize that Jodi Benson is a hard act to follow. Benson has such lushness to her voice that was probably a mix of both amazing natural talent and the development of her voice that comes with age. Disney will be able to find someone with natural talent, but the type of singing voice could be difficult to find in an actress who looks young enough for the character.
Kerry Butler with Chuck Wagner
Kerry Butler, who is best known for significant roles in the off-Broadway hit Bat Boy and in the Broadway shows Hairspray and the revival of the Menken-Ashman classic Little Shop of Horrors has been the performer most closely associated with Ariel, having played in her in readings of the show. While I’ve never seen Butler perform live, her televised airings of performances show her to be an appealing stage performer, and best of all, her youthful Broadway belt would make for an appealing Ariel but one that gives her a more youthful appeal.
Tina Maddigan
If Butler is no longer connected to the show, another good Ariel would be Tina Maddigan, who originated the role of Sophie in Mamma Mia! on Broadway and is currently wowing audiences at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre performing Julia in The Wedding Singer while original cast member Laura Benanti is out on medical leave. Like Butler, Maddigan is both stunningly beautiful and can easily take on an air of youthful charm. Her performance in The Wedding Singer is nothing short of amazing, particularly since she has such great chemistry with leading man Stephen Lynch. Like Butler, her Ariel would likely lack the richness of Jodi Benson’s youthful-yet-mature voice, but she would grace the character with youthfulness and undeniable stage charisma and appeal.
If the director and producers preferred a voice that was more traditionally Disney heroine, Disney and Broadway veteran Lea Salonga could pull off the youth of the character while delivering “Part of Your World�? with a vocal lushness more traditionally associated with Disney princesses. A Tony-winner for Miss Saigon and having more recently appeared on Broadway in the revisal of Flower Drum Song, Salonga is best loved by Disney fans as singing for Princess Jasmine and Mulan. She has such warmth to her voice, such softness, all the while able to deliver a contemporary Broadway belt. The most obvious objection might be that Ariel is not Asian; however, on stage, such perceived problems are really not barriers at all. A number of Asian actresses, for example, have played French ragamuffin Eponine in Les Miserables (including Salonga herself) and Belle has been played Toni Braxton. Lea Salonga would make for an excellent Ariel.
Ursula
Emily Skinner
At one time, Broadway veteran Emily Skinner was attached to the role of Ursula. Skinner, Tony-nominated for her role in Side Show, appeared in the original cast of the Disney touring show On the Record. With her mature Broadway belt, she knocked many a Disney song out of the park in On the Record; however, as astute Disney listeners will know, she didn’t recreate that role on the recording. Shortly after the start of the tour—and shortly after I saw her in the role—Skinner left the show, rumored to have been unhappy with the production. She was replaced by her understudy Kaitlin Hopkins, who can be heard on the original cast recording. Skinner actually sang a version of “Poor Unfortunate Souls�? in the show, but the staging and, most significantly, the arrangement, didn’t really do justice to the song (as witnessed in Hopkins’ rendition on the CD), though I bet she would be marvelous in the part. The sad reality is that the stunning Skinner would have been a magnificent seductive Ursula; however, it is likely that her departure from that show probably burned a bridge or two.
Another great choice would be Merle Dandridge, who was an understudy for Aida in the tour of that great Disney show, eventually taking over the role as well as performing it once on Broadway. Dandridge’s Aida was a powerful performance and hinted at an amazing fount of talent that deserves to create great news roles on Broadway. In addition to Aida, she has also appeared in Rent and can currently be seen as Kala in the original cast of Tarzan. Dandridge bears a remarkably versatile voice that could either pull off the rock styles of shows such as Aida or the more traditional music theatre songs, such as “You’ll Be in My Heart�? in Tarzan. She also radiates a natural power and authority on stage, commanding the audience’s attention. She would make an awesome Ursula that is both tender in her manipulating but authoritative in her revenge.
A very different Ursula would be one of my personal favorites, Susan Egan, who is best known to Disney audiences as the original Belle in the Broadway Beauty and the Beast and the voice of Megara in Hercules. In addition to these roles, she’s played in Triumph of Love opposite Betty Buckley and finished out the runs of both Cabaret as Sally Bowles and Thoroughly Modern Millie as Millie. While Egan would probably not imbue Ursula with as threatening a menace as either Skinner or Dandridge, her natural charisma and humor would make for a wicked but humorous villain in the vein of a Medusa from The Rescuers or Scar in the stage version of The Lion King. Susan Egan would be a charming Ursula you’d hate to love but couldn’t help it.
It must also be said that each of these women would also make for very appealing Vanessas, though another actress could be used for that part.