Jodi Benson - Part of My World: What Ive Learned from the Little Mermaid about Love, Faith, and Finding My Voice

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Part of My World: What Ive Learned from The Little Mermaid about Love, Faith, and Finding My Voice

Copyright 2022 by Jodi Benson. All rights reserved.

Cover illustration of mermaid tail copyright SongSpeckels/Getty Images. All rights reserved.

Cover and author photographs by Mackenzie Benson (mackenziebenson.com); all rights reserved. Cover-photograph hair and makeup by Sofia Beskasnova (facebysofia.com).

Interior photographs from the personal collection of author and used with permission.

Designed by Dean H. Renninger

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN 978-1-4964-5327-3

Build: 2022-10-25 09:51:11 EPUB 3.0

Dear God,

thank You for my blessed life

thank You for my forever love, my husband, Ray

thank You for our incredible children, McKinley & Delaney

thank You for my loving family & my compassionate friends

but most of all... thank You for Your everlasting love!

BY PAIGE OHARA

Musical theatre can be a tough business. Its mostly rejection, and the successes are few and far between. If you dont have really good friends to lean on and help you get through the rough patches, it can be a real struggle. But sometimes God brings just the right person into your life, and when that happens, it feels almost magical.

Back in 1981, I was playing Ado Annie in a national touring production of Oklahoma! alongside a talented young performer named Ray Benson. Ray was a triple threat. He could sing, he could dance, and he could act. He was also funny, charming, and very good-looking, so naturally, every unattached girl in the cast was making a play for him. I was married, so I wasnt looking. As it turns out, neither was Ray. He was head over heels in love with a girl hed just met doing summer stock in Nashville. It was a tale as old as timeboy meets girl, boy gets part in touring production of Oklahoma!, boy leaves girl behind but cant stop thinking about her. All throughout rehearsals, he kept going on and on about Jodi.

Wait till you meet her, Paige, he kept telling me. Just wait till you meet her.

A few weeks later, when we were performing in Toronto, I finally got my chance. Jodi had come up for the weekend to see Ray on her way out to Los Angeles to start rehearsals for a Broadway revue. She was very pretty, very sweet, and initially very shy. But as soon as we started talking about singing and musical theatre, the floodgates opened, and we talked for hours.

We had a lot in common. We were both big belters by nature (think singing in a 2,500-seat auditorium without a mic). We were both working on developing our lyric soprano voices because the more vocal ranges and styles we could master, the more opportunities came our way. I had just started working with a voice coach, but Jodi could sing any styleoperatic, jazz, folk, gospel, popand she could belt a C like nobodys business. She was incredibly talented and eager to learn everything she could about the business and about honing her craft. Where we really connected, though, was our faith.

I remember telling her, Look, there are going to be long stretches of times when youre not working, and that can be really, really hard. Youve got to be ready for that.

Jodi just smiled and said, Well... I have a strong faith, so I think Ill be okay. As we continued to talk, it was clear that Jodis faith meant everything to her, and that spoke volumes to me about her character. She had a quiet confidence about her, but she was also very humble. She didnt see her vocal ability as a talent but rather as a gift she had been given, and she felt responsible for developing it and using it well. She just had an amazing attitude.

By the time Jodi left that weekend, I was every bit as taken with her as Ray was. Forty years later, Im still one of her biggest fans, and I consider myself blessed to count her as one of my dearest friends.

Needless to say, when Jodi was cast as Ariel, I was beyond excited for her. When I called to congratulate her, I told her, This is going to change your whole life. Of course, Jodi being Jodi, she just kind of laughed it off like I was being silly. Between Howard Ashman, Alan Menken, Disney Animation, and Jodi, though, there was far too much talent involved in The Little Mermaid for it to be anything other than a phenomenal success.

The thing is, Jodi didnt just play Ariel; Jodi is Ariel. She has that same adorable innocence about herwide-eyed, optimistic, bubbling with enthusiasm, always believing the best about everyone, and seeing everything in a positive light. She really does believe that if she works and dreams and fights hard enough, she can achieve whatever she wants. And her career bears that out. Shes also one of the most loving, giving, and supportive people Ive ever met.

When I was working with Howard Ashman during my audition process for Beauty and the Beast, he kept referencing Jodis work on Mermaid, so I kept trying to make my voice go up higher, like Ariel. But Howard told me, I dont want it higher. Youve got Belle inside you. Just let her come through.

I was so frustrated. I wanted to get it rightnot only to make Howard happy but also because I loved Bellewe were like kindred spirits. I was always the oddball growing up. I was a total bookworm, and I quit cheerleading in high school to do theatre. While all the cool kids were listening to Led Zeppelin and Three Dog Night, I was listening to George Gershwin and Judy Garland.

I just could not figure out what Howard wanted. So... I called Jodi. After all, who knew Howard Ashman better than she did?

I dont know what to do, I told her. When I listen to the playbacks, I just feel like I sound too mature or... too old.

Jodi didnt even hesitate. She just jumped right in with words of encouragement.

Youve got to trust yourself, Paige. They want an old-soul quality, and youve got that. Stop trying to be someone else. Just be you, and youll be fine. She also gave me a few helpful tips about working with Howard, which was incredibly gracious. Thats the kind of person Jodi is.

And you know what? She was right. When I went back in and sang with my natural voice, Howard loved it.