CHOREOGRAPHY NOTES FOR FATHOMS BELOW/PRINCE ERIC’S SHIP/THE STORM
FATHOMS BELOW
G
S6
PE
PILOT
I’ll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue
SAILORS
And it’s hey to the starboard, heave ho
PILOT
Brave sailor beware, for a big 'un's a-brewin'
SAILORS
Mysterious fathoms below
Heave-ho, heave-ho
PILOT
I'll sing you a song of the king of the sea
SAILORS
An’ it's hey to the starboard, heave-ho
PILOT
The ruler of all of the ocean is he
SAILORS
In mysterious fathoms below
ALL
Fathoms below, below!
From whence wayward westerlies blow
Where Triton is king
and his merpeople sing
In mysterious fathoms below
Eric: Isn't this perfection, Grimsby? Out on the open sea,
surrounded by nothing but water and imagination Grimsby: Oh, yes, it’s simply . . . . delightful.
ERIC
The salt on your skin and the wind in your hair
and the waves as they ebb and they flow!
We’re miles from the shore, and guess what I don’t care
GRIMSBY
As for me, I’m about to heave ho!
ARIEL (offstage)
Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah
Eric: What is that? Do you hear something?
ARIEL
Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah . . .
Grimsby: Milord, please . . . enough sea-faring! This talk of
merpeople and the king of the sea is nautical nonsense.
ARIEL (offstage)
Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah
Prince Eric: There it is again! Straight ahead!
ARIEL
Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah . . .
Grimsby: Your majesty, you’ve got to return to court and
take up your father’s crown!
Eric: That’s not the life for me, Grimsby (to Pilot) Now,
S5 S4
S1 S2 S3
P
S4, S5 and S6 each holding two mops; right hand mop out sweep from
left to right; S1, S2 and S3 pull buckets up from over ship railing
S4, S5 and S6 move down next to others; S1, S2, S3 heave “water” back
behind sailor to their right on “heave ho”. S6 S1 S5 S2 S4 S3
S4, S5, S6 hand left hand mop to sailor to their left; all mops “head” up
and to the right
then all sweep mops down left into sea.
All turn to left and mop to back side of ship (upstage)
All S face forward mops in hand head down held straight up and out
Mop forward to front of ship again
Mop, handle out, swept from right to left across ocean
Continue sweep to point straight down into the ocean.
Mop two steps left and then back two steps to right
Point mop end out to audience and sweep up to right
Pull mop end up to form beard on face
Continue sweep to make mop end be like wig
Point mop end back down into ocean
Sailors continue to swab the deck as conversation continues.
Eric is surveying the ocean with telescope
Obviously in gastric distress and partially leaned over railing
All ad-lib respective movements
S6 sees G is about to blow – grabs bucket and passes to him just in time
PE hears and looks out with scope; G still in distress with bucket
S stop mopping and gather together talking about the mysterious voice
and the tales of the sea!
Finishes with bucket
Looking out with scope again
PE crosses to middle of boat to give orders to the Pilot; S start to
follow that voice – to the ends of the earth if we have to!
PILOT
Aye-aye, Captain!
ALL
There’s mermaids out there in the bottomless blue
an’ it’s hey to the starboard heave ho!
Watch out for ‘em, lad, or you’ll go to your ruin
mysterious fathoms below
surround him in order to admonish him
½ S on each side of PE; mops in outside hand (in relation to PE) handle
out to audience
Switch mop to inside hand (in relation to PE)
Point directly at PE with mop handle and lead him to edge of ship
Point directly down into ocean as PE and G look over edge and down
PRINCE ERIC’S SHIP
SAILORS
Heave-Ho, Heave-Ho, Heave-Ho
PRINCE ERIC: Now, suppose I don’t want to be King –
GRIMSBY: I swore an oath to your dear father on his death
bed that I’d turn you from a roustabout into a royal and
have you married to a princess –
PRINCE ERIC: Ugh!
GRIMSBY: - by your next birthday, which is now just three
days away!
PRINCE ERIC: Did you ever try to take a princess sailing?
It’s a joke! Their dresses get caught in the rigging. And
most of ‘em can’t even swim –
GRIMSBY: You know, there’s more to a woman than her
flutter kick. Our kingdom needs a queen!
PRINCE ERIC: Where am I gonna find her, Grimsby? A girl
who’s as carefree and alive as the sea itself. Where?
S in line DSL on ship platform to USR passing heavy rope in time to
music
G & PE in same positions at bow
Continue pantomime conversation appropriate to continue through
remaining lines until the Storm hits
THE STORM
All start to thrash about on the ship
PILOT: Hurricane a’coming, Captain! King Triton must be
angry indeed!
S scramble to gather rope and secure things behind front façade
PRINCE ERIC: Batten the hatches, then everyone below
deck! And quickly!
Pushing forward as if struggling to stay put in wind
SCUTTLE: Whoa! The wind’s on the move here!
Doing same
ARIEL: Careful, Scuttle!
Loses battle and flies backward off SR
SCUTTLE: Ariel!
Struggling to hold on to the wheel
PILOT: The ship’s listin’ badly
Gastric distress hits again
GRIMSBY: Oh, good heavens!
Directed to any S
PILOT: Secure the rigging! Eric, take the wheel!
Starts to move to helm but loses balance and tumbles over edge (ie.,
PRINCE ERIC: Help!
PILOT: Man overboard!
GRIMSBY: Prince Eric!
ARIEL
Ah ah ah Ah ah ah Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah
down the stairs at back edge of platform
Sees Eric go over – all rush to front where Eric went over
All exit down the stairs as ship façade flies up and out
ARIEL struggles in the ocean and moves more SC in the struggle
PE circles around off SR and into main stage playing area – grabs
skateboard and one right knee on board kicks himself out to ocean in
dead man’s float – Ariel comes to his rescue and grabs him letting
skateboard carry his weight to other side of stage where she heaves him
onto the “beach”
Scuttle flutters across the stage to join Ariel at PEs feet; Flounder and
Sebastian swim across but stay out from shore a little; Flotsam and
Jetsam enter and stay DSR unseen by others.
ARIEL: Was I too late?
SCUTTLE: It’s hard to say.
Oh, I can’t make out a heartbeat!
ARIEL: No, look!
Picks up PEs foot and puts it to its ear to listen
Eric stirs without waking up.