Was Fun to be a "Part of that World"

Last night I went to "Sing-along Little Mermaid" at the Castro Theatre. What a hoot! I went with Andy, Boom, Fonzi, and Ziah. Upon entry, we were greeted by Aerial and the French Chef from the film. They handed us a bag filled with goodies. At first, I thought it was a party favor bag to take home.

What I soon realized that it was our "Interactive Movie Kit" It was filled with:

1.Gold King Triton crown

2. Plastic pearl necklace

3. Bubbles

4. Glow stick

5. Plastic "clackers"

6. Plastic fork

7. Poppers (i.e. the kind that shoot confetti on New Year's Eve ;-)

The theater was filled to the brim. To my surprise, there were some families with little kids. I guess I had thought this was a "gay" thing but it was definitely a nice, mixed crowd. Before they started the film, they paraded the children on stage to show off their costumes. Surprise, surprise...it was Aerial after Aerial after Aerial... but was totally cute, nonetheless. Then they had adults in costumes come up for a quick costume contest. Then the two character hosts that greeted us (Chef and Aerial) explained some of the "rules" for the evening. It was feeling more and more like a Disney-version of Rocky Horror Picture Show - and I was liking it!

Here were the rules:

1. Boo and Hiss every time Ursula and her evil sidekicks, Flotsum and Jetsum, appeared

2. Ooh and Ahh every time Aerial dons a new outfit

3. Smooch sounds every time Aerial and the Prince are close to each other

4. Clack the clackers every time Sebastian the crab is moving around

5. Blow bubbles at will but specifically when Aerial is taking a bubble bath

6. Get up and dance and sing around the theatre at any time...just stay off the stage

7. Yell "Look out" when the shark approaches

8. Shoot the poppers when they get married

9. And...of course...SING ALONG to every song!!

Upon conclusion of the film... I had realized that I had, in fact, never actually seen Little Mermaid before. I knew none of the songs and I knew none of the story. But that didn't make it any less fun. It was great energy. Everyone was wearing their crowns and glow sticks. Everyone sang, cheered, and clapped constantly throughout.

Out front, we hung out a bit amongst the crowd. I was particulary amused by this guy... fresh from childood flashback, crown still on, jonesing for a smoke.

And Fonzi was so funny - he couldn't stop playing with the pearl necklace so I decided a photo shoot was in order. Fierce, Fonzi! Fierce!

And what would Sing-Along Little Mermaid in the Castro be without the requisite tranny Ursula who thought that just wearing a black dress with big hooters was all the costume she needed to be Ursula. I mean, like she'd pad the dress to look fat ...puh-leaze!

In the group shot, from left to right: me, Fonzi, Ziah, Boom, and Andy. Fun time guys! Can't wait until Sing-Along "West Side Story" I'm SOOOOOO all over that.

Oh - quick side note: Andy shared that as a child, whenever swimming in a pool, he would often recreate that "money" shot of Aerial on the rocks with crashing waves by protruding from the end of the diving board and then have his friends make a big splash behind him. I'd call that "Little Mexmaid" LOL