For a story about a fanciful sea creature, "The Little Mermaid" is ripe for puns that are a little, well, on the fin.

A widely popular franchise that began with a 1989 animated feature, the stage version that opened on Broadway in 2008 flopped like a beached whale, frustrating plans by Disney for a huge national tour.

But then a new director, Glenn Casale, revisited it in regional productions and "Mermaid" has been swimming its way back into audiences' imaginations ever since.

The latest regional production, which began in La Mirada, Calif., and stopped at Kansas City's Starlight Theatre, opens its last (sea) leg Tuesday at St. Paul's Ordway Center.

Casale describes it as one of the grandest venues in the country.

"I don't want to toot my own horn but if it looks like a million bucks, it's because it is," he said. "I think Minnesota audiences are in for a treat."

Submarine dreams

Casale reimagined the set, changed out songs and introduced the concept of flying to "Mermaid." The characters may be underwater, but they are not earthbound, save for the eels that scuttle along the floor.

The director also markedly reinterpreted the plot of the show. While title mermaid Ariel still trades her voice for legs so she can win the heart of a human prince, the focus goes beyond intraspecies royal romance.

Ariel is an odd duck in a family led by single dad King Triton who is at a loss about his daughter's transformation.

"He doesn't understand why she feels uncomfortable in her body and wants to be in a world with legs," Casale said, adding that the themes in the show were there long before transgender people became a political punching bag. "I wanted to make a story that the adults could relate to, and to show how her father is frustrated because he's a single parent with six daughters."

Casale is a 40-year stage veteran who has worked across the globe. In fact, he was directing "Beauty and the Beast" in Germany in 2011 when he suggested to Disney executives that he had some ideas about how to improve the stage version. The execs told him, "Have at it." So he went to the drawing board, and reimagined the musical from top to bottom.

In Casale's 2013 production at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse, he methodically addressed the things in "Mermaid" that he thought sunk the version in Times Square, staged by first-time Broadway director Francesca Zambello. That production used Heelys for the characters — roller skate-like shoes that made the wiggly, swimming sea creatures seem particularly grounded, he said.

Casale had worked with Cathy Rigby, the former gymnast and actor best known for playing Peter Pan, and the light bulb went off about how Ariel should move.

"Putting people in the air is harder to do theatrically, but the effect is beautiful," Casale said.

Different worlds

He also wanted to have the imaginative amplitude that flying provides, and to give a sense of the worlds above and below the waves.

Casale also suggested changes in the book, written by Pulitzer winner Doug Wright. Sea witch Ursula and King Triton are now rival siblings. And Ursula has a new song, "Daddy's Little Angel," which plays up the sibling rivalry and the daddy issues, Casale said.

He also has deepened the characters, making the prince and his guardian parallels of Ariel and her dad.

"I didn't want to have any throwaway comic characters," Casale said. "We have a fabulous cast, and I wanted to take advantage of what they bring."

That ensemble is headlined by classically trained newcomer Leianna Weaver as Ariel, baritone-tenor Trent Mills, also a regular on HBO Max's "Tower of God" as King Triton and Liz McCartney, who has been with Casale since the Paper Mill days, as Ursula.

The cast includes youthful Minneapolitan Bailey Renee Miller, who plays a Mersister and ensemble member. An Iowa native, Miller studied performance at Oklahoma City University. She has half a dozen costume changes in her biggest break yet, and gets to sing backup for "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl."

"This is a really a huge moment in my career," Miller said, adding that she gets an adrenaline rush from the production's "super high energy."

All of that verve and froth makes the show a pleasure that he keeps swimming in, Casale said. He wants his "Mermaid" to make waves.

'The Little Mermaid'

When: 7:30 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Dec. 29.

Where: Ordway Center, 345 Washington St., St. Paul.

Tickets: $46.50-$161.50. 651-224-4222 or ordway.org.