On Nov 9-11,“The Little Mermaid” in the Performing Arts Center had a very successful show as they sold out and had to add another day of performances. The main cast of this production consisted of Ariel (Senior Megan Rieger), Prince Eric (Senior Joansel Rodriguez), Ursula (Senior Grace Fisher), Skuttle (Junior Bennett Chapman), Sebastian (Senior Andrew Hand), Flounder (Senior Madaline Belcher) and many others and the audience follows them as mermaid Ariel becomes a human and becomes involved in a dangerous journey to regain her voice in the human world. Whilst doing this she navigates falling in love with Prince Eric and his world. 

    The cast provided a new take on the beloved Disney classic through things such as costume differences, character choices, and new performances of the original songs. They changed the genders of certain characters from the movie such as Flounder, and Ursula’s henchmen. The costume choices were even more lively and they added many other ensemble characters that never made an appearance in the movie. 

         To be in the audience and watch this show felt like you were immersed in their world throughout the lights and actors coming into the audience at different parts of the performance.  The musical had a very strong opening scene with amazing light work and a great job setting the stage for what was to come. They did a spectacular job of bringing the characters to life through the casting choices and utilizing different actors’ voices. 

The crew made the set fun yet conveyed the importance of different pieces which tied the musical together. Different stage sets made the transitions between set pieces very smooth and tie into each scene. My favorite was when Eric fell off the ship during the storm and had an eventful sequence where he was floating through the water and the lights started changing colors. 

   The bright color choices in costumes also helped signify the underwater theme and how lively life was “under the sea”. My favorite costume that I saw was Ariel and all her sisters. I loved the choice of having the skirt that flows to the floor with the triangle in the middle to represent the tail. It was very unique and I haven’t seen that choice done before. 

   Some of the best parts of the performance that I saw was Ariel singing “Part of Your World” and Ursula singing “Poor Unfortunate Souls”. Both actors had very strong voices and it led to an interesting and strong performance on their end. 

    While this musical may not have been everyone’s first choice this year due to thinking there were more interesting options, once seeing the production everybody appreciated the talented performance that these hard working actors provided. 

    All cast and crew members put their all into this show with practicing months ahead of time and all it showed throughout all the scenes. The Theatre Department is already preparing for their next production “The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong” and will be performed May 4-5 in the Performing Art Center. @LPSfinearts is the username on all Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and find updates on all their productions.