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Disney's The Little Mermaid
by San Diego Junior Theatre   THE
SHOW:Lyrics by Howard
Ashman and Glenn Slater, Music by Alan Menken, Book by Doug Wright, based on the
fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. The Disney Renaissance found its legs with the 1989 hit
animated film The Little Mermaid. This
adaptation of the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale was an instant hit and
finally translated to the Broadway stage in 2008. In it, the little mermaid
Ariel, youngest teenage daughter of King Triton and his late wife, is more
obsessed with dinglehoppers and other human stuff than with remembering to sing
in crabby composer Sebastian’s concerts. When she saves and falls in love with
human Prince Eric, a merfolk taboo is broken. If she wants a chance to become
human and marry her prince, she’ll have to make a deal with Ursula the Sea
Witch, forfeit her voice, and get the prince to kiss her before three sunsets
have passed or she’ll be Ursula’s slave for all time. Howard Ashman and Alan
Menken (Little Shop of Horrors) would
become Disney superstars beginning with this musical featuring Part
of Your World, Kiss the Girl, and Under the
Sea. THE PRODUCTION: San Diego Junior Theatre turns those mysterious fathoms
below into an eye-popping seascape for Disney’s
The Little Mermaid. Rayme Sciaroni,
the new artistic director of Junior Theatre, directed and choreographed this
huge production. Scenic wizard Tony
Cucuzzella’s set is fantastic, with the sides lined with cool pink coral
formations and bubbles, and the front of the stage turned into a cresting ocean
wave. There’s also a giant sea witch for the show’s climactic scene. Matthew
Novotny’s lighting creates several beautiful effects for the underwater
scenes. While costume enchantress Mallory
Devlin designed a countless number of creative, beautiful, and exotic
creations to help transform the cast members into their marine incarnations,
topped off by some great wigs and hair stylings by Francia
Cohen. Animating those costumes is a talented group led by Evelyn
Sparks as Ariel who sings a heartfelt Part
of Your World as she longs to experience life with the humans, and the
reprise as she clutches Prince Eric’s hand-held telescope. She also excels
nonverbally, just about as captivated by her human clothes and her long-sought
human legs as she is with her prince Shane
Jost who lends his strong vocals to One
Step Closer and the finale. Connor
Marsh is a likeable Flounder and Ariel’s mersisters excel in an entertaining
and dynamic She’s in Love. Chef Jake Goldfarb and his co-chefs serve up an amusing song-and-dance
number. Scuttle and his entourage of gulls deliver a charming Human
Stuff nicely choreographed, including having the other gulls playfully
scaring the littlest gull. And the entire cast sets the mood in Kiss
the Girl, as well as the big, splashy Under
the Sea party that overflows into their human audience. Performed October 25 - November 17, 2013 Photos by Ken Jacques Rob Hopper ~ Cast ~
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and
charismatic Sebastian, playing his part seated on a rolling chair that allows
him to walk crab-like quickly across the stage. Pierre
Cozic is Ariel’s fun and devoted friend Flounder. Colette
Huber is a hoot as a nerdy seagull Scuttle who uses her voice to great
effect and accidentally jumpstarts Prince Eric’s heart when she drops his foot
after not hearing a heartbeat. While Sophia
Oberg is an evil hoot as the sea witch Ursula, oozing with personality and
rich vocals as she relishes her quest for more Poor
Unfortunate Souls. 
King Triton: Hunter Katz