The troupe was notified on May 4 that the B Ocean Resort, which owns the Wreck Bar and finances the show, had abruptly severed ties with the Aquaticats after 18 years of performances, show manager Janelle Smiley confirms.
"It's like a punch in the stomach," Smiley, who has been performing as a mermaid at the Wreck Bar for the past seven years, tells New Times. "It's awful. There are a lot of us who count on this as our livelihood."
To make matters worse, the hotel hasn't paid them for more than two months’ worth of past shows, the performers say.
Smiley estimates that she remains uncompensated for more than 30 shows and is owed roughly $4,000. Another performer, merman Rosseroni Parris, says the hotel owes him for two months, too.
"When I heard [the B Ocean Resort] was severing ties with us, I went straight to the ground," Parris says. "What am I going to do now? I'm trying not to be bitter because bitterness attracts more bitterness."
At the time of publication, a message requesting comment left with the B Ocean Resort had not been returned.
Formerly known as the Yankee Clipper, the B Ocean Resort is famed for its pirate ship-themed Wreck Bar. The watering hole is outfitted with a wall of large windows — portholes through which patrons are able to watch the mermaid troupe perform synchronized swim maneuvers underwater. The bar and a previous incarnation of the mermaid show were prominently featured in the 1999 film Analyze This, starring Robert De Niro.
More recently, the Aquaticats played a starring role in a 2022 lawsuit involving two mermaid performers, one of whom alleged that she was stalked and harassed by her fellow performer and the woman's husband, a Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) lieutenant. (See "Aquaticat Fight," "Aquaticat Update," and "Aquaticats 3." The BSO and the Broward State Attorney investigated the matter; the lieutenant was suspended from duty, but no criminal charges were filed.)
From Burlesque to "Family-Friendly" Mermaids?
The troupe has been replaced with a group known as the Coral Reef Mermaids, which has been performing "family-friendly" daytime shows at the hotel for the past three years. Coral Reef Mermaids owner Leydis Castillo says the B Ocean approached her two weeks ago about expanding her role, and she accepted. "They said, 'Do you want to do something like this? How many girls can you have on a consistent basis?'" Castillo recounts. "Then they gave me a big schedule of show dates."
Castillo says the new show will diverge from the racy burlesque style of outgoing Aquaticats owner Marina Anderson, who performs as MeduSirena and whose show was billed as the only burlesque underwater act in the United States.
"The hostess is a singer who will interact with the guests," Castillo says. "It will be nice, elegant, and casual. It's not burlesque — no pasties."
She says she has no idea why Anderson's troupe was ousted and was unaware of the performers' contention that they were owed more than two months' back pay.
"Why did they fire her now? That's a mystery in itself," Castillo says. "I wouldn't know anything about that."
Anderson is out of town and couldn't be reached for comment.
Smiley says B Ocean management initially required Anderson to purchase insurance for the show, to which Anderson responded that she'd comply when the hotel settled up for past shows.
"They asked Marina to buy insurance, and she wanted to comply," Smiley explains. "She said, 'Sure, I'd love to.' She just needed the money owed and we can have this done. They closed the show instead."
The troupe intends to protest the hotel's actions at a date still to be determined, Smiley adds."I don't know how, I don't know when, but I really believe we'll swim together again."
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"Some of the girls were just devastated, including Marina," she says. "She's very stoic in her ways and very professional. This hit her very hard. She told me she is no longer the captain of this ship and that we can do what we feel like we need to do."
Smiley and Parris say the B Ocean has continued to use the Aquaticats' advertising images to promote the new show.
"We're using social media to get the word out," Smiley says. "We want people to let the B know what you think about it. If you have tickets to see our show, don't have those plans anymore."
Despite having lost their home at the Wreck Bar, the troupe intends to stick together.
"We're a pod, like we're an actual pod, we're mammals who swim together," Smiley asserts. "We work together, we swim together, we figure things out together. This is a mom-and-pop show. We provide the costumes, we rhinestone all the costumes, we buy all the wigs, we do the lighting, we do the advertising, we do the pictures for the advertising, the backdrop — everything. Our lives worked around this show."
Parris says he, too, will stick with the team.
"I made my own mermaid tail, and I'm definitely going to use it again," he says. "I refuse to believe I'll never wear it again. I don't know how, I don't know when, but I really believe we'll swim together again."
