Fleekin Floygn

Holy crap, you guys. I totally met Ariel. As in, the Little Mermaid. And not some cokehead in a mermaid costume in the Disney 'Holiday Fantasy' parade, no no. I met the actual, honest to God, voice of Ariel, Jodi Benson.

She was doing a show this weekend with the symphony entitled Bravo To Hollywood, along with two other semi-known Broadway actors. All in all, the show was a very typical pops concert, with lots of cheese and cotton-ball hair in the audience. There were some really great moments (Little Shop of Horrors medley) and some really not so hot ones (My Heart Will Go On goes to the Branson county fair). Now, the thing with voice actors is that what they do on screen is not the same thing as when they appear on a stage. So when she didn't sound like Ariel (read: the titanc travesty), I started to get very frightened. Every one has their Disney movie, and mine is The Little Mermaid. It was almost a weekly ritual in my youth and even though I haven't seen it in years, I am still very capable of knowing what is and what isn't the motherfuckin' little mermaid. So come intermission I was in quite a state. I pounded back my caramel latte (tepid) in the hopes of refocusing for what I knew was essentially the finale of the evening: Part Of Your World.

The second half is a lot of fun and yadda yadda yadda, but everyone knows what's coming so it was kind of like, "Um, yeah, that was really great, now GET THE FUCK ON WITH IT!" followed by heavy panting. One of the men finishes the second last number (couldn't even tell you) and she reemerges in a sea foam green dress. Holy Hanna, this was it. But before she was it, she decided to talk to us about what this twenty year journey had meant for her, which you would think would drive us crazy, but actually, hearing the little mermaid talking about being the little mermaid, um, pretty effing cool. And then it began. A huge swell in orchestra that lead to a ten second prelude which lead to those immortal ascending triads that everyone knows so well. And suddenly..."Look at this stuff, isn't it neat?...." And it was her. It really was that little mermaid. The scene in the cavern playing in my head, I listened to those colours that I'd heard so many times as a child and it was just unreal. I swooned.

Seriously though, kids, I was gayer that night then I have been in the last two years combined. Like, when the orchestra started with the opening strains of Part of Your World, I nearly leaned over and gave the guy beside me a hummer. Cut to the show being finished and me quite literally vibrating and we're walking out through the foyer when we see the former dean of the school of music and current executive director of the WSO, with whom we chatted briefly before the show. After some debate between my companion and I, we went up to him and said, "So, like, can we meet the little mermaid?" and he laughed and took us backstage. And...CHECK IT OUT!

Ok, not my best photo, but check her out! Gorgeous, no? The woman is 46! Dayimn. Anyhow, she was lovely. Clearly on Perkisets and crazier than all get up, but whatever! So nice and gracious and...oh who the fuck cares? I MET THE LITTLE MERMAID!!!!!!!!!!

*gets paper bag?*