When the show resumed, the orchestra welcomed the audience back to Ariel’s world with violinist Sandy Cameron, who wore a seaweed inspired ensemble as she performed a very moving arrangement of the songs from the film.
The film resumed and Ariel finally meets Prince Eric face-to-face, only now she can’t talk. Darren Criss returned to the stage, having changed his costume to a Prince Eric inspired piece. With a guitar in hand, he performed “Her Voice” from the Broadway show, but with a new arrangement. His version was the way I would expect the song to be performed if John Mayer had written it.
Without a doubt, the most widely known star on the evening’s lineup was John Stamos, who delighted as Chef Louis for “Les Poissons.” The diehard Disney fan wore an oversized mustache for the part and during the chase music, took over for the conductor, leading the orchestra with a wooden spoon.
If there’s one thing his animated performance taught me, it’s that John Stamos needs to be cast in a future Disney animated film.
Tituss Burgess returned to the stage shortly after to set the mood for Ariel and Eric’s date. The chorus joined him for backup on “Kiss the Girl,” another winning performance.
While “Kiss the Girl” is the last original song in the film, my favorite song written for the Broadway version followed it in the concert. While Ariel watches Eric from her window as he thinks about the voice he heard, a quartet was performed called “If Only.” Sara Bareilles starts the song as Ariel, expressing her wants and desires, and Darren Criss picks it up from her. Tituss Burgess as Sebastian lends Ariel his support while Norm Lewis as King Triton searches for his missing daughter. It’s a chilling song and I was thrilled to see it included.
The orchestra played through the film’s exciting climax. The “Poor Unfortunate Souls” reprise that Vanessa sings into the mirror used the film audio rather than having Bareillis or Wilson return to the stage. As King Triton paints his rainbow over his daughter’s wedding, a few fireworks were sent into the air as the stage mirrored the rainbow effect.
Up until the finale, all of the fireworks had been minimal. But as the credits began, the orchestra played an extended version of the Broadway show’s overture and the audience was treated to a “symphony in the sky.” Giant fans on the sides of the audience were used to push the smoke and any possible fallout away from the theater. If only Fantasyland could do something similar to remain open during Wishes.
Following the fireworks, the cast returned to the stage for their bow. During the fireworks, some members of the audience left their seats in an effort to be first to their cars (parking at The Hollywood Bowl is a very serious problem). However, Sara Bareilles revealed that there was one additional surprise as she welcomed Jodi Benson, voice of Ariel in the film, to the stage.
Jodi Benson thanked all of the Ariel fans for being such a treasured part of her life. “I feel like singing,” she said and the audience went wild as she performed “Part of Your World.” During her performance, many audience members who had already left frantically returned to their seats. And at the end, she was given a standing ovation from every member of the audience.
After her amazing performance, Jodi Benson invited Alan Menken and the rest of the cast back to the stage for another bow with the orchestra. As a Disney fan, one of the highlights of the entire night wasn’t any single performance, but a sweet moment that most attendees likely missed. In the beginning, Alan Menken mentioned that some members of the orchestra are featured on the film’s soundtrack. During the bow, Jodi Benson recognized two particular members and walked up to them to share a hug, a sweet reunion thirty years in the making. Sara Barellis was only booked to play Ariel for the first two performances and Jodi Benson filled in for the added performance on June 6th.
