‘Disney’s The Little Mermaid’ an undersea treasure at Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace

“Disney’s The Little Mermaid” playing at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace has artistry throughout – holding audience members under a spell on both land and sea with beautiful performances and extraordinary puppetry.

The versatile cast helps tell Disney’s reimagined tale of Hans Christian Andersen with wit and modernity, yet adheres to the classic elements of the story. What we see onstage at Drury Lane is a studied explosion of design and color, paired with scene transition efficiency that never lets the action slow down between the many numbers.

The scenic design and projections by Tijana Bjelajac and Anthony Churchill, respectively, are breathtaking and innovative. Superimposing a projection of the ship’s rigging onto the sail and sky with the clever movement of the sail and hull of the ship gives the audience a feel of the romance of a large sailing vessel right at the top of the show. It’s as if you can feel the salt spray as Pilot (Matt Edmonds) and Prince Eric (Patrick Johnson) kick off the musical with great vocals and character.

Everyone knows the original tale and is familiar with how Disney has told it enchantingly through film and many productions. What the Drury Lane cast has done is to bring a new creative take on many of the show’s elements. First and foremost, the ensemble members are highly versatile and take on many duties and roles by swinging into a plethora of characters. Reading the program, it was surprising to see that the cast was not twice the size. And they all do it seamlessly.

Secondly, Ariel, played by Sarah Kay, has a sparkling presence and vocals that are performed as if her life depends on it. And it does because of the diabolical sea witch, Ursula. Sawyer Smith plays Ursula with just the correct amount of playful evil, along with several almost conspiratorial winks and nods at the audience. And what would Ursula be without her gyrating tentacles played by two athletic actors in a stroke of design brilliance. The crowd loved their evil-genius prowess.

Third, the costume design by Ryan Park and Zhang Yu was a mash-up of courtesans, saloon girls and a dash of Bob Mackie-style design and bling that resulted in an innovative look in creating mermaids and princesses.

Last, and certainly not least, the breathtaking puppetry, with so many characters and an absolute explosion of fishes, was one of the main stars of the show and reason alone to see this stunner. Certainly, a whole team from Chicago Puppet Studio under the leadership of Caitlin McLeod and Zachary Sun deserved their own curtain call. It is hard to pick a favorite from the sea turtle to the electric eels Flotsam and Jetsam (Leah Morrow and Michael Hamman), and it was a great idea to save the main unleashing of the puppets until midway through Act I in the show-stopping number “Under the Sea.”

The children in the audience certainly savored each of the scenes as they unfolded, but almost everyone in the theater turned into a child and enjoyed the wonder of Scott Weinstein’s direction. This is a perfect holiday show for any age in which to watch good prevail over evil and to witness how artistry can conjure a delightfully fresh reimagining of a well-known tale.

• Mary Beth Euker is a co-founder and director of Cricket Theatre Company in Lake Zurich, Illinois, and also directs throughout District 95 schools.

IF YOU GO

• WHAT: “Disney’s The Little Mermaid”

• WHERE: Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace

• WHEN: Through Jan. 12

• COST: $74-$125 ($65 for ages 12 and younger)

• INFORMATION: DruryLaneTheatre.com, 630-530-0111