The Little Mermaid

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. NONES LIKE A SAILORS LIFE, OH NO SAILORS. YO HO, YO HO, YO HO! PRINCE. EVRY 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. 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 Stormblows 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 YOULL 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. WERE BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, NOTHIN BETTER THAN US TOGETHER ALWAYS WE CAUSE IVE GOT YOU AND YOUVE GOT ME

YO HO, LADS, HO, YO HO! THE SAILORS WIFE THE SAILORS STAR SHALL BE YO HO, WE GO ACROSS THE SEA A SAILORS WIFE THE SAILORS STAR SHALL BE A SAILORS LIFES THE LIFE FOR ME! PRINCE. A SAILORS LIFES THE LIFE FOR 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. Theres 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. Youre not much to look at. MARINA. Im almost fifteen. PERIWINKLE. Youre just a guppy. OPAL. And afraid of the air. CORAL. And the wind. NAIA. And the sunlight. MERMAIDS. (except Marina)

WHEN YOURE 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 Dreamcome 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 itand 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) Ill show them! Im not afraid of the sunlight! Im going to swim up to the surface world. Where I belong! IM TINY ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT I CAN HANDLE WHATS IN STORE FORGET NOW WHAT I ONCE WAS, NOW I CAN BE MUCH MORE I FEEL IM GETTING WISER, NOW EVERY DAY I SEE SOMETHING WONDERFUL IS COMING, SOMEWHERE THERES 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? Ive 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. Ill do anything CRUSTACIA. Not so fast, little princess. If you want all this, you must be willing to suffer for it. MARINA. I dont 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. Whats 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 Marinas neck) MARINA. You mustnt--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 youve 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-FROGS FEET, MAKE ME NOW A POTION SWEET SPIDERS TEETH AND SLIME OF SNAIL CLEAVE IN TWO THE MERMAIDS TAIL SHIPWORMS BILE AND TRITONS HAIR, BOIL SO SHE MAY BREATHE THE AIR STINGRAYS BONES AND WHITE WHALES 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 Marinas 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, (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 hes going to choose his queen from the girls that attend a special ball at the castle. CRUSTACIA. His queen! Thats it! I could be a queen! EEL. And give up your current status as number one underwater wench? CRUSTACIA. Think of all the years Ive 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. Ill show him and his little mermaid a party theyll never forget! THE POOR LITTLE MERMAID WHOD 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 SHELL PAY FOR HER SECRETS BY LOSING HIM TOO! (Spoken) CRUSTACIA. Ive taken her voice, and Ive got nothing since, so Ill make myself 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!

human and Ill have her Prince! (Sung) ILL . . . BE . . . RICH! ILL BE SEEN! BE THE BEAUTIFUL POWERFUL QUEEN! ILL 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 ILL SHINE ILL SHINE FOR YOU I ASKED THE STARS, WHAT WILL YOU DO? WELL 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 Naias 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 Princes heart. Destroy him now and his blood will bring back your fishtail. NAIA. Do what she says, Marina, or youll change to foam on the ocean! MARINA. [Kill him? No, I couldnt.] CRUSTACIA. To be with him, you gave up the most beautiful voice in the world. Now look what hes done. Either he dies or you do. MARINA. [I cant hurt him.] NAIA. Why do you care what she does to the Prince? CRUSTACIA. Dont 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, Ill crown myself queen! NAIA. Thats silly. Youre green and mean, yeah, but youre no queen. CRUSTACIA. Silence! (Putting the comb to Naias throat) Or Ill 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! Shell turn into foam! PRINCE. What? NAIA. Shes 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--dont go! MARINA. Il 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 YOULL LOVE FOREVER FAR, FAR . . . TOBY. Marina! (Marina cant 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--Ive 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 wont 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 Princes hands and they sing together) NOW IM DIFFERENT ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT BETTER THAN BEFORE I REMEMBER WHAT I ONCE WAS AND NOW IM SO MUCH MORE WELL NEVER BE APART NOW CAUSE THERES 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 WELL WALK DIFFERENT PATHWAYS ALONE ILL NEVER BE I KNOW THAT IN YOUR HEART NOW THAT THERES A PLACE MARINA. FOREVER BE A PLACE MARINA & PRINCE. SOMEWHERE THERES 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 THERES A PLACE PRINCE. A BEAUTIFUL PLACE MARINA & PRINCE. SOMEWHERE THERES 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