Convention centre goes under the sea for Little Mermaid
When it came time to pick his annual December musical, producer Linus Hand wasn’t entirely sure about The Little Mermaid.
He knew it was a Disney classic, but wasn’t sure it had the brand name of past productions like Peter Pan and Mary Poppins.
He got his answer shortly after auditions were announced.
“It was crazy, the response for kids wanting to audition,” he says.
“For a lot of moms, that was their show when they were kids. They were watching the movie, so it makes it an easier sell.
“My daughter, who’s getting married this year, this was her favourite movie on VHS. We’d watch it over and over again.”
As Hand soon realized, The Little Mermaid wasn’t just big, it was beloved by a generation which was craving the next animated Disney gem when it was released in 1989. At the time the company had gone through a prolonged dry spell which hadn’t seen a huge animated
hit since The Rescuers in 1977.
The Little Mermaid wasn’t just a hit ($211 million worldwide box office), it was credited with kickstarting Disney’s next great renaissance of traditional animation — a period which included Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King.
On stage, the undersea kingdom of Atlantica will be brought to life for Linus Hand Productions’ 11th production. The annual show matches the young students of Hand’s drama academy with professional actors. It opens at Scotiabank Convention Centre on Friday.
In addition to three separate casts of 55 kids, the show stars Niagara Falls-born Samantha Hart as Princess Arial, Tenja Hagenberg as Ursula, Ryan Burda as Prince Eric, Preston Vendramin as Sebastian, Mark Hand as Grimsby and Nester Lozano Jr. as King Triton.
For director Roxanne Rees, who directed the company’s production of Mary Poppins in 2015, the biggest challenge is putting on a professional production with children who are often getting their first taste of theatre.
“You’re trying to mix that with professionals who’ve done this their whole lives,” she says. “You’re dealing with jitters, the stress, nerves and uncertainty. Even with the parents, too. I think a lot of them underestimate the amount of time and work involved.”
Rees, who also grew up with the movie, was surprised it still has such a hold on today’s kids.
“I didn’t know that interest was still there,” she says. “It’s not like it’s a new film. It’s not Moana, it’s not Frozen. But when Linus announced we were doing The Little Mermaid, the kids were so excited. They were already starting to sing Part of Your World and Under the Sea. They couldn’t wait to get into costume.”