‘Sea Jewel’ Offers a Darker ‘Mermaid’

For those whose only exposure to Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” is through the Disney film, Dalene Young’s adaptation “The Sea Jewel” at the Open Fist Theatre will be a revelation.

Young has captured the grimness and unrequited longing of Andersen’s original while effectively updating the work to a more contemporary, Americanized setting.

Ula (Arizona Brooks), the daughter of Neptune (Steve Rosenbaum) and a human female (Martha Demson), magically revives evangelical minister Kristen (Tom Blanton), who has thrown himself off a cliff in the hope that should he survive he will be heralded as a miracle-maker. Ula and Kristen fall in love. After Kristen jilts his worldly fiancee (Sherri Stone Butler), the enchanted pair marry, but disenchantment and tragedy are in store for these starfish-crossed lovers.

Young’s thematically rich play, which mingles myth with a healthy dollop of feminist rage, should be a treat for those who like dark and uncensored fairy tales. Unfortunately, Young occasionally crosses the line into parody, a failing exacerbated by bargain basement production values and director Royston Thomas’ sometimes melodramatic staging. With a little more refinement, however, this mermaid play could have legs.

* “The Sea Jewel,” Open Fist Theatre, 1625 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. $15. Ends March 11. (213) 882-6912. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.