"Under the Sea" in the Big Apple

Having only see four Broadway plays before last weekend — and two of them were the same show — I'd never watched one from anywhere other than the balcony or mezzanine.

Well, that all changed a week ago Saturday, when we went to see "The Little Mermaid" from the second row of the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre!

That's right: My GF and I were able to score a pair of second-row seats for the Walt Disney Theatrical Productions musical I'd been waiting to see since it opened in January.

A little context here: I've always thought Ariel was the hottest of all the Disney princesses. Maybe it's the red hair; perhaps it's the seashells ... I don't know. But, with that said...

Every time we've been to the city since last summer, I'd look at this sign outside the theater (you might remember it as the former home of "Beauty and the Beast") and wait for the show to open. Then I saw the ticket prices — yikes! I'd return to Poughkeepsie content to watch my "Little Mermaid" DVD at home for free.

Well, as luck would have it, the gods of the sea smiled on us Saturday, and we were able to snag the coveted seats on the day of the show for much less than we'd ever dreamed about paying. And we got our money's worth, and then some!

Without giving away too much, the Broadway adaptation was awesome! There's only a few slight deviations from the 1989 movie, and even those don't detract from the story in the least.

All the great songs we love from the movie are in the show — tunes like "Part of Your World," "Kiss the Girl," "Poor Unfortunate Souls" and, of course, "Under the Sea" — but they're brought to life right in front of you, as only Disney can do. (Yeah, the Disney geek in me shined through this day!) Additional songs like "I Want the Good Times Back," "She's In Love" and "Positoovity" only add to the fun.

Again, without divulging too much, they do a great job of creating the illusion of swimming on stage, too. I'm not going to say exactly how they do it ... let's just say you can replicate it at home if you have these like me. Overall, it was just an amazing experience watching the whole spectacle and — did I mention?! — we were in the second row!

Plus, it was cool to see how kid-friendly the theater was to the littlest mer-people in the crowd, as it was fully equipped with booster-seat cushions for Moms and Dads to plop down on their kids' seats so Junior and Suzy-Q could see everything, too.

Just in case the actual show, itself, wasn't cool enough, fans got to get up close and personal with many of the cast members following the show. (A Broadway veteran for many years, my GF knows all about hanging out outside the stage door!)

Seriously, where else can you get this this close to the stars? Can you imagine bumping into Scarlett Johansson just after watching one of her flicks on the big screen?!

Seen here, "Sebastian," Flounder" and "King Triton" came out to meet fans and sign autographs in between the conclusion of our matinee and the start of their 8 p.m. performance.

Other actors (who were less recognizable to me without their make-up on) likewise met with fans in between shows; but I missed the one I was waiting to see, Sierra Boggess, who plays "Ariel." Someday, my little mermaid. Someday...

Still, we had no complaints here 'cause we had a great time going "Under the Sea" in NYC!