Taller than the tide, calmer than the storm. A Mermaid’s Hygge in Hawaii.

About the Show: 188 Mermaid The Musical

What happens after The Little Mermaid ends?

After trading her voice and tail for a prince—who marries someone else—our mermaid doesn’t get true love. She gets 300 years of watery probation. Now, 188 years into her sentence, jaded and shrimp-obsessed, she’s relocated to Hawaii in search of warmth, freedom, and a bit of hygge. And shrimp cocktails. So many shrimp cocktails.

188 Mermaid is a post-fairytale musical that flips the classic tale inside out. Across six high-energy songs in just 17 minutes, we meet a mermaid who’s done being silent and submissive. She sings back—literally—to Hans Christian Andersen (after encountering a Hawaiian judge also named “Andersen”), calling out the absurdity of her fate and reclaiming her voice. Not for a man, but for herself.

Along the way, she meets a cowardly lion—also caught in a story not of his choosing. He didn’t ask to be king. He doesn’t know when, or if, he’ll ever be free. She’s bound by time; he’s bound by expectation.

Between sea shanties, courtroom raps, buffet betrayals, and shrimp-fueled existential crises, this musical asks:

Why do fairytales have to be so unfair?

What happens when life’s choices were never really yours?

And what if reclaiming your story means dancing through the absurdity—one crabby groove at a time?