‘The Little Mermaid’ opens Tuesday
ST. FRANCIS JUNIOR HIGH PRODUCTION HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
The steel drum chorus rises slowly and gently during the dress rehearsal performance of The Little Mermaid on Sunday afternoon as lastminute changes to the lighting are being made on the St. Francis Junior High stage.
About half a dozen student drummers, supplemented by students on hand-shakers, snare drum and bass guitar, come together organically, gradually merging into the melody of one of the romantic ballads from Walt Disney’s classic fish-out-ofwater cartoon,“Kiss the Girl.”
As the lights dim low in the gymnasium, a voice comes over the speaker system inviting any of the students sitting in the wings to join in if they wish. The sound of about four dozen voices lift gently and effortlessly into the air joining with the steel drums like a the wind sighing through the reeds: “Sing with me now. Sha la la la la la. My oh my. Look like the boy too shy. Ain’t gonna kiss the girl.”
A few moments later the house lights rise and actress Claire Talbot, dressed in her full Ariel mermaid costume, including bright red wig, takes the stage to the sound of applause from her castmates in the audience. A few tweaks with the lights and the sound system and she begins belting out the hauntingly beautiful song “Part of Your World,” where Ariel gives voice to her desire to rise from her place in the ocean as one of King Trident’s innumerable daughters to take her place in the sun, free to walk and dance in the human world.
Talbot is one of three actresses playing Ariel through a gruelling 15-show schedule this coming week, including seven public performances starting Tuesday evening. She admits to being a little nervous as opening night approaches.
“You have to carry a lot of the show, and it’s actually my first time doing a St. Francis Junior High production,” she says.
“Nerves are a bit of a problem, but I feel like I have overcome them by now.”
Talbot is thrilled “The Little Mermaid” will show off the many artistic talents of those in her school for everyone in the public to see.
“It’s exciting because all these kids with these amazing talents just get to come together and put on something this big, and everybody can see their amazing talents” she says, before adding: “It’s just super fun!”
“The kids run everything,” agrees the production’s director Dino Caputo. “The buy in from our whole school community is immense. We couldn’t do this if it wasn’t that way.”
Since music is a big part of the show, the cast and crew of The Little Mermaid have spent the last five months preparing nine separate dance and singing numbers.
“It’s pretty challenging; especially because of the number of students we have in the cast,” says the production’s choreographer Kristen Mazzuca.
“We have a cast of almost 90 students from our school and we rehearsed from October all the way through here until March. It feels really good to be heading into opening night. When we have all the set put up, and we have all the students in costumes, things begin to come together.”
The play’s director, Caputo, also feels his students are ready to shine when they take to the stage this week.
“People need to come and see it for themselves,” he says. “And what they are going to see is a professional-quality production put on by junior high performers.”
Some tickets for the public performances of The Little Mermaid are still available. Visit the St. Francis Junior High website for more details.
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