The Little Mermaid premiered on Friday, November 16th with a cast and crew that have been preparing to blow us out of the water since September.
Since auditions in September, the cast and crew have worked tirelessly to bring the story of The Little Mermaid to life at Logan. They had a total of 3 performances: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Tickets were sold at the door at $10 for students and $12 for adults.
Eliza Andrade, who played Ariel, had such a powerful voice that demanded and earned the full attention of the audience. Whenever I looked over to see how other people were reacting, everyone seemed mesmerized by how well she sang. She did a great job at capturing Ariel’s curious and childlike personality that it made me believe that was how she acted in real life.
All of the singers were really amazing and the notes that some of them could hit surprised me because they all sang so well. The costumes were also very impressive and so colorful that they perfectly matched the bright, under the sea vibe.
The band wasn’t there to accompany the singers, but the music that was played in the background never overpowered their voices – something some professional theatre performances can’t even get right.
I also liked how the lighting for the scenes when they were supposed to be underwater made it seem like waves were moving across the stage. It helped me know that where they were in the ocean versus being on land. It was a nice added detail that took me further into what was happening on stage.
Flounder’s (Kaili Kwong) little side comments about being in love with Ariel, Scuttle’s (Salvador Suarez) seagull accent that reminded me of a New Yorker, and Sebastian’s (Matthew Huang) sidestepping like a crab caused the audience to laugh every time they appeared. They also were the main characters I looked forward to seeing each time they were on stage because they gave a nice break from the singing and romantic drama.
The only thing that was unfortunate was the fact that the girls who played Ariel’s sisters had amazing voices, but couldn’t be heard very well since they didn’t have any microphones. For those sitting closer to the stage, I’m sure it was easier to hear, but I sat towards the back so it was really hard to hear not only their singing but anytime any of them had said anything.
This musical really worked well because the cast and crew were so passionate about bringing it to life early on and most people are familiar with some of the songs thanks to the movie.
The Little Mermaid was a fun musical filled with comedy and romance that had everyone in the audience laughing and some even dancing along to the catchy music.
