Hans
Christian Andersen's
The
Little Mermaid
Adapted
by Eric Stedman
With
songs of sailors and the sea
A
musical in two acts
Running
Time: 75
Minutes
Characters
Principals: 3 Men, 4 Women, 2 of either sex, 1 child,
plus Choruses of Humans and Sea Creatures, Dancers
Principals:
The
Prince of
Denmark
Spyglass,
a sailor
Grandmother
Mermaid
Dylan, a
mer-boy
Marina,
the little
mermaid
Naia, the
eldest mermaid sister
Toby,
a baby seal
Crustacia,
the sea-witch
The
Eel
Chorus Roles:
Humans
Princess
Celeste
Princess Gelda
Princess Facilia
Princess Corpa
Maidens
Ship's Captain
Sailors
Slave Girl Dancers
Court Dancers
Chorus Roles:
Sea Creatures
Marina's sisters:
Opal
Coral
Pearl
Periwinkle
Dancing Clams
Starfish
Jellyfish
Crabs
Bubble Fish
The Sea
Serpent
Anemones
(Witch’s
pets)
Slugs
Dancers
Thunder
Rain
Lightning
Daughters of the Wind
Scenes
and Musical Numbers
Scene
1: The Deck
of the "Nancy Lee"
Nancy
Lee --
Spyglass, Prince, Sailors
The
Storm --
Thunder, Lightning, Wind, Rain
Scene
2: On the
Beach
Far, Far
Away --
Marina
Celeste's
Dance --
Celeste
I Got You and
You Got Me -- Toby
Scene
3: The
Undersea Kingdom
Underwater
Wonderland -- Mer-people and Good Sea
Creatures
How to Make a
Dream --
Grandmother Mermaid, Dancing Clams, Marina
A Place for
Me --
Marina, Dylan and Singers
Swing Your
Tail -- Naia
and Mer-Dancers
Scene
4: The
Witch's Cave, Beyond the Whirlpool
The Undersea
Gourmet --
Eel
Magic Potion
from the Sea -- Crustacia
Scene
5: On the
Beach
Slave
Girls' Dance -- Slave Girls and Marina
Where Did You
Come From? -- Marina and Prince
Save Me Some
Sunshine --
Prince
Scene
6: The
Witch's Cave
I Can
Sing –
Crustacia
I Can Sing
(Reprise) --
Crustacia
Scene
7: The
Prince's Shipboard Ball
Marina,
Celeste and the Prince Dance -- also Princesses Gelda,
Facilia, and Corpa Carpa
The
Mermaid/Marina's Dance -- Footman and Company/Marina
The Sailor's
Lament --
Spyglass
Attack of the
Evil Sea Creatures
Far Far Away
(Reprise) --
Marina
A Place for Me (Reprise) -- Marina, Prince and Company
Curtain Call
The Story
Click
on underlined links to hear song excerpts
Scene 1: The Deck of the "Nancy Lee"
The
deck of the "Nancy Lee" bustles with activity as the
sailors on board swab the deck and hoist the rigging,
singing Nancy Lee. Spyglass, an old sailor,
helps the Prince aboard to rescue him from a crowd of
young ladies who have been chasing him about, wanting
him to notice them as they know he must marry soon to
inherit the kingdom. He'd frankly rather be a sailor.
PRINCE.
OF ALL THE LIVES THERE ARE TO KNOW
SAILORS.
YO HO, LADS, HO, YO HO, YO HO!
PRINCE.
NONE’S LIKE A SAILOR’S LIFE, OH NO
SAILORS.
YO HO, YO HO, YO HO!
PRINCE.
EV’RY DAY YOU RIDE ACROSS THE OPEN SEA
AND WHEN YOU DARE TO TRAVEL THERE THE WIND IS FREE
SO CAST ASIDE MUNDANE RESPONSIBILITY
PRINCE
AND
SAILORS.
YO HO, LADS, HO, YO HO!
THE SAILOR’S WIFE THE SAILOR’S STAR SHALL BE
YO HO, WE GO ACROSS THE SEA
A SAILOR’S WIFE THE SAILOR’S STAR SHALL BE
A SAILOR’S LIFE’S THE LIFE FOR ME!
PRINCE.
A SAILOR’S LIFE’S THE LIFE FOR
ME!
A little mermaid named Marina hops onto a rock and waves to
the Prince. Spyglass fears that if you see a mermaid your
ship will be doomed and sure enough, a Storm
blows up without
warning, as dancers portraying Thunder, Lightning, Wind and
Rain break the ship apart, leaving the Prince floating
helplessly in the middle of the sea.
Scene 2: On
the Beach
Marina
quickly swims to his aid and brings him to the beach, where
she stays all night with him, singing to him that she will
still love him though she will be Far, Far Away.
(The lights change from blue to pink as dawn comes up.
Seagulls appear above
the waves.)
MARINA.
SAFE WITH THE NIGHT BEHIND US
REST AND A TOUCH WILL BIND US
SLEEP NOW AND NONE WILL FIND US. FAR, FAR AWAY
THOUGH LAND AND SEA MAY SEVER
KNOW I WILL LEAVE YOU NEVER
TELL ME YOU’LL LOVE FOREVER, FAR, FAR AWAY
PRINCE.
Where am I?
MARINA.
You are safe.
(She kisses his forehead)
Celeste's Dance is heard as Celeste and other
girls from a nearby school collect seashells, then take the
Prince to shelter. Marina emerges from her hiding
place and finds Toby, a lost baby seal, where the Prince
had been. They two compare stories and realize they both
need someone to depend on, and decide to team up and be
friends, singing I Got You and You Got
Me.
TOBY
AND
MARINA.
WE’RE BEST FRIENDS FOREVER,
NOTHIN’ BETTER THAN US TOGETHER
ALWAYS ‘WE’ ‘CAUSE I’VE GOT YOU AND
YOU’VE GOT ME
Scene 3: The
Undersea Kingdom
Deep
below the surface of the ocean, in an Underwater
Wonderland, Mermaids and other
creatures of the sea frolic and play. Marina asks her
sisters what the surface world is like, and they tell
her she is too young to be allowed to visit it and see
its wonders. Marina tells them she already has, and
what's more she's fallen in love with a handsome Prince
she saw on the deck of a ship where people danced at
night. Her sisters don't believe her.
OPAL.
There’s no such thing as a handsome prince.
MARINA.
There must be.
CORAL.
If there were, why would he want to pay any attention to
you?
PEARL.
You’re not much to look at.
MARINA.
I’m almost fifteen.
PERIWINKLE.
You’re just a guppy.
OPAL.
And afraid of the air.
CORAL.
And the wind.
NAIA.
And the sunlight.
MERMAIDS.
(except Marina)
WHEN YOU’RE GROWN UP LIKE US YOU WILL UNDERSTAND
YOU MUST STAY IN OUR GARDEN UNDERWATER
WONDERLAND
Marina asks advice from her Grandmother, who
suggests How to Make a
Dream come
true, with the help of a few Dancing Clams. She notices the
affection a merman named Dylan has for her blond and
beautiful sister Naia, and asks Naia how to make herself
attractive. Naia, with a backup group of swing singers,
recommends that to get a man you've got to
Swing Your Tail. Marina decides she'll find
a way to meet the Prince of her dreams and sings
A Place for Me then swims up to the
surface.
MARINA.
(Swimming to her golden statue, she embraces and kisses
it—and her
sisters, who have been watching, make kissy-faces too and
laugh at her)
Ohh,
why do you all have to be so mean!
(Swims away from them)
I’ll show them!
I’m not afraid of the sunlight! I’m going to
swim up to the surface world. Where
I belong!
I’M TINY ON THE OUTSIDE,
BUT I CAN HANDLE WHAT’S IN STORE
FORGET NOW WHAT I ONCE WAS,
NOW I CAN BE MUCH MORE
I FEEL I’M GETTING WISER, NOW EVERY DAY I SEE
SOMETHING WONDERFUL IS COMING,
SOMEWHERE THERE’S A PLACE FOR ME
Scene 4: The
Witch's Cave, Beyond the Whirlpool
Deciding she'll need legs to
appeal to the human Prince, Marina decides to swim beyond
the forbidden whirlpool and visit the cave of the sea-witch
Crustacia, who she believes may be able to remove her
fishtail with a magic spell. The Undersea
Gourmet, a hungry Eel in
Crustacia's employ, shows her the way. Crustacia agrees
to give Marina a Magic
Potion from the Sea and change her into a human
being in return for her voice, which Crustacia takes for
her own use, placing it inside a seashell. Crustacia
tells Marina that a condition of the spell is that she
must marry the Prince as she intends; if he marries
another, the following dawn she will turn to foam on the
ocean.
CRUSTACIA.
I know what you want, little mermaid.
MARINA.
How--how could you know me? I’ve never seen you
before.
CRUSTACIA.
My friend the Eel swims swiftly and hears much.
EEL.
I always announce specially tender guests in advance.
CRUSTACIA.
Quiet, slimy.
(Hits him with her claw)
You will have your wish, but it
shall give you misery, little princess.
MARINA.
How do you know—
CRUSTACIA.
You want a potion to get rid of your fishtail, and leave
you with two
stumps to walk on as human beings have, so that the young
man will fall in love
with you.
MARINA.
Oh, yes. Please. I’ll do anything—
CRUSTACIA.
Not so fast, little princess. If you want all this, you
must be willing to
suffer for it.
MARINA.
I don’t care what happens.
CRUSTACIA.
When your new legs form, it will hurt--and if the man
marries another,
your heart will break and at sunrise the next day you will
dissolve into foam on
the ocean.
MARINA.
I –
CRUSTACIA.
And you will have to pay me, too. And it is no small fee. I
want the
most precious thing you have to pay for my potion.
MARINA.
What’s that?
CRUSTACIA.
My voice is old and crackles. What I would do to sound
young
again!
MARINA.
You want to take--my voice?
CRUSTACIA.
I shall keep it in this seashell.
(She
takes the golden shell from Marina’s neck)
MARINA.
You mustn’t--I mean . . .
CRUSTACIA.
What is it, child? Having doubts?
MARINA.
But if you take my voice, how will I speak to the one I
love?
CRUSTACIA.
With your beautiful body, your graceful walk and your
lovely eyes.
Perhaps you’ve changed your mind?
MARINA.
No. Let it happen.
CRUSTACIA.
Very well, then.
(She
grabs all kinds of things to add to her cauldron. The Evil
Sea Creatures
assist her, creeping about to deliver the ingredients and
startling her.)
EYE
OF EEL AND SEA-FROG’S FEET,
MAKE ME NOW A POTION SWEET
SPIDER’S TEETH AND SLIME OF SNAIL
CLEAVE IN TWO THE MERMAID’S TAIL
SHIPWORM’S BILE AND TRITON’S HAIR,
BOIL SO SHE MAY BREATHE THE AIR
STINGRAY’S BONES AND WHITE WHALE’S MILK,
MAKE HER SKIN AS SOFT AS SILK
MAGIC POTION FROM THE SEA,
TAKE THE POWER NOW FROM ME
MAKE HER AS SHE WANTS TO BE,
MAKE HER AS SHE WANTS TO BE
(Crustacia
comes toward Marina and, opening Marina’s mouth,
takes out a
glowing ball of light which is her voice, and puts it into
the seashell.)
LET
HER BEAUTY NEVER PART,
MAKE HER EYES BEWITCH HIS HEART
POWDERED BONE FROM SAILOR DROWNED,
MAKE HER SHAPE BE SLIM AND ROUND
BUT IF THIS MAN SHE LOVES AS LIFE
MARRIES TO ANOTHER WIFE
SHE SHALL CHANGE TO BUBBLING FOAM,
NEVER MORE TO SEE HER HOME
MAGIC POTION FROM THE SEA,
TAKE THE POWER NOW FROM ME
MAKE HER AS SHE WANTS TO BE,
MAKE HER AS SHE WANTS TO BE
CRUSTACIA.
Drink! Drink!
(Marina
drinks the potion and swims back up through the whirlpool
to shore.)
Scene 5: On
the Beach
The
next thing Marina knows she is back on the beach again,
this time, however, she can walk on it, and even
dance. Slave
Girls' Dance Marina dances with slave girls
who are on the beach also and the Prince witnesses
this. Where Did You
Come From?,
he asks her, but without a voice, she cannot answer him.
The Prince laments his having to marry so soon to his new
silent friend, and wishes he could make their moment
together last forever, and sings Save Me Some
Sunshine as
he rests his head on Marina's breast.
Scene 6: The
Witch's Cave
In the
Witch's cave, Crustacia is delighted with her new voice and
says to the Eel "I Can
Sing." The
Eel tells her that Marina has gone to the surface and that
the man she wanted and has attracted was no ordinary man
but the Prince and heir to the surface kingdom. The greedy
Crustacia decides now she will have him as well.
EEL.
And he’s going to choose his queen from the girls
that attend a special ball
at the castle.
CRUSTACIA.
His queen! That’s it! I could be a queen!
EEL.
And give up your current status as number one underwater
wench?
CRUSTACIA.
Think of all the years I’ve spent alone--think of the
power I could
gain! What have I got to lose?
EEL.
Well, ya got me, dontcha?
CRUSTACIA.
Like I said. What have I got to lose? Eel, go find me that
prince and his
castle. I’ll show him and his little mermaid a party
they’ll never forget!
THE POOR LITTLE MERMAID WHO’D DIE OUT OF LOYALTY
AND PAID TO DISPOSE OF HER FISHTAIL AND START ANEW
SHE SAID HE WAS HANDSOME BUT NEVER THAT HE WAS ROYALTY
SHE’LL PAY FOR HER SECRETS BY LOSING HIM TOO!
(Spoken)
CRUSTACIA.
I’ve taken her voice, and I’ve got nothing
since, so I’ll make myself
human and I’ll have her Prince!
(Sung)
I’LL
. . . BE . . . RICH! I’LL BE SEEN!
BE THE BEAUTIFUL POWERFUL QUEEN!
I’LL CONQUER THE WORLD, AND THAT GIRL
IS THE ONLY ONE STANDING BETWEEN!
Scene 7: The
Prince's Shipboard Ball
The Prince tells Spyglass he's not looking forward to
meeting possible future brides as many line up aboard a
ship to attend a royal ball. Spyglass reminds him he must
marry before he is eighteen to inherit his kingdom.
Princesses Gelda, Facilia, and Corpa Carpa, all from
foreign lands, and overdressed and overacting, attempt to
attract his eye and fail. Only when Celeste dances with the
Prince does he realize she is the girl who he believes
rescued him on the beach and saved his life. The Prince
declares he has found the girl he had been searching for
for so long and immediately kneels to propose to Celeste.
Marina is speechless and runs away from the revelers. She
stands near the ship's rail, looking out hopelessly at the
stars.
Spyglass,
who also survived the shipwreck, recognizes Marina as the
former mermaid he saw on the rock, and, realizing she must
have gone through a great deal to be with the Prince,
consoles her, singing of his own lost love and how he
regained hope in The Sailor's Lament.
I
PACKED MY TRUNK TO GO TO SEA
I FOUND THE SEA WAS GOOD TO ME
THEN I RETURNED TO SEEK MY BRIDE
I FOUND ANOTHER BY HER SIDE
I ASKED THE SUN, “WHAT WILL YOU DO?”
HE SAID “I’LL SHINE – I’LL SHINE
FOR YOU”
I ASKED THE STARS, “WHAT WILL YOU DO?”
“WE’LL GUIDE YOU HOME AND SEE YOU
THROUGH”
Suddenly,
Naia appears to Marina from the waves, and offers her a
solution to her dilemma. Naia has traded her beautiful
golden hair to the Witch in exchange for a dagger-like comb
which, if stained with the Prince's blood, will bring back
Marina's fishtail and make her a mermaid again. Crustacia
appears and encourages Marina to kill the Prince, as she
intends to take Celeste's place as queen and rule the
surface world.
CRUSTACIA.
Well, little princess. Your time is up. Soon you will be
nothing but
foam on the sea.
NAIA.
Leave her alone, you old witch!
MARINA.
[Naia, what happened to your hair?]
NAIA.
My hair? I sold it to her--for a spell that will change you
back into a
mermaid.
CRUSTACIA.
(Pulls jeweled comb from Naia’s hair and gives it
to Marina. Its long
spike looks very deadly)
This magic comb is sharp as a knife--sharp enough to
pierce the Prince’s heart. Destroy him now and his
blood will bring back your
fishtail.
NAIA.
Do what she says, Marina, or you’ll change to foam on
the ocean!
MARINA.
[Kill him? No, I couldn’t.]
CRUSTACIA.
To be with him, you gave up the most beautiful voice in the
world.
Now look what he’s done. Either he dies or you do.
MARINA.
[I can’t hurt him.]
NAIA.
Why do you care what she does to the Prince?
CRUSTACIA.
Don’t you see? Once he is dead, I will have power
over the kingdom.
NAIA.
How?
CRUSTACIA.
The surface people are no match for my army of sea
predators.
Ha ha ha ha ha. Once they are in my power, I’ll crown
myself queen!
NAIA.
That’s silly. You’re green and mean, yeah, but
you’re no queen.
CRUSTACIA.
Silence!
(Putting the comb to Naia’s throat)
Or I’ll cut more than your
pretty hair. Go on, little princess. What are you waiting
for? Bring me his blood
and live to love again!
Marina raises the knife high above the breast of her
now-sleeping former love, but when he places his arm around
Celeste and whispers her name, she cannot bring herself to
hurt him. She drops the knife and Crustacia becomes furious
with her. Spyglass sees Crustacia, recognizes her as a
threat, and pushes her back into the water. She returns
with a vengeance, ordering an army of Evil Sea
Creatures to
attack the ship. She brings forth a huge sea serpent which
pursues Marina, and, just in time, as its mouth opens wide,
Dylan and the other Mermaid Sisters appear to take on the
evil sea creatures, and Toby emerges from the sea riding on
the back of the Eel. Toby pushes the Witch into the Sea
Serpent's mouth as Spyglass grabs the "voice" seashell and
harpoons the monster and, though the Prince seems quite
confused at all that has gone on, Spyglass returns Marina's
"voice" to her and all then seems well.
Unfortunately for Marina, though the sea-witch is now dead,
her spell is still in effect, and when the dawn comes up,
because the Prince has married another, Marina will still
turn to foam. Now that she can talk, Marina explains her
secret to the Prince and, as the sun rises, wishes him and
his new bride well, puts the seashell around his neck and
says a hasty goodbye to her friends, then stands at the
edge of the deck and appears to evaporate into a mist. Toby
cries and asks if Marina is gone forever.
NAIA.
Oh no--the spell! Quick--hide her! She’ll turn into
foam!
PRINCE.
What?
NAIA.
She’s under a spell! As soon as the sun comes
up–
MARINA.
(Hastily, to Toby.)
You must be brave now, Toby.
(To Prince)
I will
always be with you. As long as the sun is shining and the
wind blows free.
PRINCE.
Stop! What are you doing?
TOBY.
No, Marina--don’t go!
MARINA.
I’l never forget you. Any of you.
(Marina
kisses the Prince one last time. Then she climbs up to the
prow of the
ship, upstage.)
TOBY.
No! Nooooo!
MARINA.
THOUGH LAND AND SEA MAY SEVER,
KNOW I WILL LEAVE YOU NEVER
TELL ME YOU’LL LOVE FOREVER
FAR, FAR . . .
TOBY.
Marina!
(Marina
can’t finish the song. As the bright rays of the sun
splash across the
deck of the ship, she turns and opens her arms and is
enveloped in mist.)
The Prince puts the seashell to his ear and hears Marina's
voice. She is singing Far Far
Away, just
as she had many months before. She isn't dead, but what has
become of her? Looking up in the clouds, the Prince, Toby,
Spyglass and the others see Marina, now all in white,
flying beside other Daughters of the Wind, who lift the
sails of ships and make the cool ocean breezes. Marina
flies down to stand beside the Prince and Celeste and sings
to him A Place for
Me (Reprise), saying though now once again
she has transformed -- "risen above," so to speak, she
still loves him, and always will. They sing together,
promising to always keep each other in their hearts, Marina
kisses Celeste and the Prince, then flies away toward her
Grandmother, who is now also a Daughter of the Wind.
PRINCE.
(Now hears the voice in the seashell)
That song--I can hear her voice—
TOBY.
Marina!
(The
Daughters of the Wind appear and Marina, now one of them,
floats down
from the sky onto the ship)
PRINCE.
Marina, what happened to you?
MARINA.
Once I was a little mermaid, a creature of the sea. Then I
became human
and walked on land. Now, what Grandmother said has come
true--I’ve become
a daughter of the wind!
PRINCE.
But how did this happen?
TOBY.
I think I know.
SPYGLASS.
Her love for all of us was stronger than any spell could
ever be.
TOBY.
You won’t forget us, now, Marina, will you?
MARINA.
I could never forget you, Toby. Like I said, I will always
be with you--all
of you--as long as the sun is shining, and the wind blows
free.
PRINCE.
I love you, Marina. Very much.
MARINA.
Thank you, and I love you too, Prince . . . I mean . . .
your majesty.
(Marina
holds the Prince’s hands and they sing together)
NOW
I’M DIFFERENT ON THE OUTSIDE,
BUT BETTER THAN BEFORE
I REMEMBER WHAT I ONCE WAS
AND NOW I’M SO MUCH MORE
WE’LL NEVER BE APART NOW
CAUSE THERE’S SOMETHING NEW I KNOW
THAT LOVE IS EVER-CHANGING,
AND TO LIVE WE ALL MUST GROW
REMEMBER WHAT WE SHARED,
REMEMBER WHAT WE KNEW
MEMORIES CAN NEVER DIE
AND MINE ARE ALL OF YOU
CLOSE YOUR EYES AND SEE ME,
STAND BY THE OCEAN BLUE
JUST CALL OUT MY NAME, LOVE,
AND I WILL ANSWER YOU
PRINCE.
THOUGH WE’LL WALK DIFFERENT PATHWAYS
ALONE I’LL NEVER BE
I KNOW THAT IN YOUR HEART NOW
THAT THERE’S A PLACE
MARINA.
FOREVER BE A PLACE
MARINA
& PRINCE.
SOMEWHERE THERE’S A PLACE FOR ME
WIND
SPIRITS.
FLY AWAY, FLY AWAY,
TO WHEREVER DREAMS MAY BE
FLY AWAY, FLY AWAY, AT LAST YOUR HEART IS FREE
FLY AWAY, FLY AWAY, FAR ACROSS THE SEA
MARINA.
I KNOW DEEP IN YOUR HEART NOW
SOMEWHERE THERE’S A PLACE
PRINCE.
A BEAUTIFUL PLACE
MARINA
& PRINCE.
SOMEWHERE THERE’S A PLACE FOR ME
(Marina
kisses the Prince lovingly on the cheek. Grandmother
Mermaid appears
upstage, in white; she too is also now a Daughter of the
Wind. Marina flies to
her and embraces her. Naia puts her arm around Dylan and
Spyglass holds Toby
as all the Daughters of the Wind rise up off of the ground
into the air and fly
away. Toby and the Prince and all wave to Marina, and
Marina blows another
kiss, as the wind blows, strong and wonderful.)
The End