It is set to be a nostalgic trip under the sea in more ways than one when Princess Margaret Secondary students debut their production of the The Little Mermaid on Feb. 11.
The young actors are very familiar with one of the most popular of the famed Disney animated classics.
“When I was little my dad had a long commute to work every weekend. So when I would go see him I had a little TV in the back of the car, and it was Little Mermaid every single Friday,” said Paige Prosser, delighted to take on the role of Ursula the sea witch.
“It’s really fun to be an evil character, to embody someone who is so flamboyant,” Prosser said. “Having tentacles isn’t so bad.”
In a perhaps more potent form of nostalgia, Prosser is joined by other members of the 2016 graduating class, who have been putting on Horseshoe Theatre productions together throughout high school, heading into their final musical with the troupe.
“We’ve been doing this for four years and I’m glad I get to do it with all my grad mates,” said Belle Grant, who is excited to be taking on the starring role of Ariel, one of the most beloved Disney princesses.
“It’s super cool to be able to be one of the favourite Disney princesses, to be one of the princesses little girls just want to be and I get to act her in real life,” Grant said, adding that memorizing musical numbers is a bit easier when you’ve been singing them since you were a kid.
The production sticks to the same songs as the original, with a few “bonus features” thrown in as well.
“It uses all the same musical numbers so that’s really cool for people who have seen the music and kids as well will really like it,” said Harlen Kruger, another Horseshoe Theatre veteran and soon-to-be Maggie grad playing Prince Eric.
Kruger and the rest of the cast are now rehearsing every day of the week after starting work on the production in the fall.
The cast was eager to note all the extra hours put in by Princess Margaret staff.
“They come and spend some of their free time working with us and it really transforms the whole show,” Grant said.
The set work, which includes a multi-story ship built around two-storey scaffolding, is eye-popping and financially savvy according to Maggie art teacher Brad Gibson, who has been putting in work since the fall along with his own children and other Maggie staff.
“The whole nice thing about theatre is the creative process that goes into it and all the different ideas,” Gibson said.
Much of the set is made out of recycled props and materials, coming in at an impressively low budget.
“I’ve tried to reuse and re-paint things. We haven’t spent much, I would say we’ve spent less than $100 on the whole thing,” Gibson said.
The extra work put in by staff and volunteers is not lost on the students.
“The production wouldn’t have happened without all the wonderful staff at our school,” Kruger said.
Performances begin from Feb. 11 to 13 at Princess Margaret Secondary School at 7 p.m. Tickets for those performances are $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.
The Little Mermaid will also play at the Cleland Theatre from Feb. 18 to 20 at 7 p.m. each night. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. A matinee performance takes place on Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. with general seating. Matinee tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students. For ticket information contact 250-770-7620.
