The cast of The Little Mermaid had their last shows this past week, and every attendee could tell you that it was nothing less than magnificent. From the sets to the costumes to the performance itself; the audience was left astounded by the immense talents given by God to every cast member in this show.
The scenery was colorful and extravagant, each set piece was meticulously crafted, and it all showed while each part glimmered with the very well-coordinated stage lights. Every individual piece made a huge impact on how the actors presented themselves on the stage and furthered their characters.
To look at just one costume would be to miss the bigger picture because when one takes note, it will show how every piece had very much to do with the next. A great example of this lies within the musical number “Under the Sea”, where the dancers are evenly split between the colors of the character Flounder. Further coordination can be seen towards the end of the song where their conga line is organized in a pattern having to do with the color of each dancer’s costume.
With every song that was turned into a dance number, the lyrics themselves were accentuated. The talented dancers added a flair that would have been missed if they were not included. Whether it was to make the audience laugh or to make them feel more, the dance cast did their job perfectly. To make the number “Kiss the Girl” into a contemporary dance number was a stroke of genius. It was a move that made the viewers really feel the intensity and grace that rightfully belonged to the scene, grace being something that is looked for in dance numbers as eloquent as that one. Not to mention the comedic relief added by the dancers as well, “Positoovity” being a prime example. The dance cast played seagulls that squawked and tap danced aside the character Scuttle and his comedic one-liners. Every move put a smile on the faces of the audience as the number was a way to forget for a bit what the main character was going through.
A standing ovation is deserved by the wonderful and skilled orchestra that provided a beautiful instrumental for every musical number and every scene in between. To put it simply, every singing voice in this musical was mesmerizing for absolutely everyone. Whether it was the crew backstage silently singing along, or the little girls that went to the matinees in full Ariel costumes singing along to Olivia Bass during “Part of Your World”; the songs touched everyone. Every mother that went to any of the eight shows will immediately tell you how impressed they were at the talent coming from seventh grader Dayton Billing that led the mersisters in “She’s in Love” as Flounder. Every child was having the time of their life singing along with Bree Taylor during “Under the Sea” waving around their flashing lights and living their dreams as if life was the bubbles. Maddie Begin’s performance as Ursula was also a hit since many little girls really loved her charisma on stage. The audience and everyone backstage watched in awe as Michael Mehalko sang “Her Voice” and were moved during the partial reprise he got during “If Only” along with Olivia Bass, Bree Taylor, and Zebulun Kovach.
That entire number of “If Only” encompasses the entire reason why the musical was chosen in the first place. Everyone always wonders if only things had been different or if only I was more like them, but as Mr. Schnack said every night right before each show, God made everyone the way they were meant to be with a rightful purpose. Wondering if only does not get anyone anywhere and will only result in heartbreak or tragedy; but with God, you get to see the only, you get to see the breakthrough and the good sides of life that wouldn’t have been visible before.
This cast was something to be incredibly proud of, and Mr. Schnack really was proud. Backstage he would repeatedly tell them how amazed he was, but to quote him directly, “This is an outstanding cast with outstanding talent, but the best part of the show, is that the foundation is on Christ.”
