OK, here I go!

is there a lot of puppetry

No. There is very little puppetry, mainly during "Les Poissons"

I would REALLY love to know how exactly some things were pulled off - the different tails and swimming, etc. How are fish and things done

OK. The first thing you need to know is all undersea creatures* are wearing Heelies, and use them to simulate swimming thru the ocean. They can walk too, and tend to walk for short distances and glide on their heels for long distances.

The merfolk (except for Triton, who seems to still be a work in progress) are all human from the waist up (and not wearing much; the shells for the girls (including Ariel) are relatively small when compared to the padded thing Ariel wears in the Disney parks) and have a mermaid tail protruding back from their butts. Legs (for boys and girls) are hidden in a big green skirt -- so they aren't hidden at all; you can't see them move but you know they are there, and the mermaids look like they are dolls sitting on a pillar.

That's sounds bad, but you quickly get used to it. It helps when the actor remembers to make the tail move when they move, to simulate swimming. Sierra Bogges was very good at this, moving her tail in a gentle sway. Some of her sisters overdid it, moving the tail in too much of a wiggle. Also, the illusion may be better if you are in the orchestra seats, because the 3-4 ft. "waves" that are sometimes on the stage may hide the legs. But from the balcony, the didn't help.

As for other fish, they were mostly represented by dancers in body suits with fishy accessories stuck on. Sometimes an elaborate headpeice shaped like a fish's head helped sell it (like with the seahorses early in the play), and sometimes a less elaborate headpiece meant to look like a fin just made the dancer look more like a Las Vegas showgirl than a fish (like during "Under the Sea").

My verdict: The mermaid costumes are good, but the actors need more practice. The fish costumes are kinda blah.

(If you want to know more about specific characters like Flounder, Sebastian or Ursula, just ask)

OK, I need to go to bed. I will tell you all about "Kiss the Girl" tomorrow...

*except for Sebastian and Ursula, who have legs...

I'd rather answer specific questions. Got any?

Ask me something! (I'm not good at organizing long writings, but answering individual questions as they come is something I'm can do. Which is why my long writings seem to turn into bulleted lists or Q&A format...)

There are signs posted everywhere about cameras and video recorders. I assume the ushers are keeping their eyes peeled.

P.S. A very long review with more set and costume details has been posted here: http://littlemermaidbroadway.blogspot.com/2007/07/tlm-denver-review-1.html but I'm sure you've seen it already! :-)