Little Mermaid Jnr

It was lovely to return to the Princess Royal Theatre , Port Talbot for Musicality’s production of Disney’s Little Mermaid Jnr.

The musical based on the animated film included all of the musical numbers and characters made famous in the movie.

I was delighted to see a live band set up on entering the auditorium, this is unusual for a youth production, but I liked the way the pit had been set up with a nautical theme.

I was slightly concerned about how the company would use such a vast space as the Princess Royal for a youth production, but Emily made very clever use of the stage and main tabs to reduce the overall width, and working area.

Even though much of the full show had been cut in this hour long adaptation all the characters were present even if some in a reduced capacity.

I only saw the Thursday night cast for this production which was a shame as I am sure the other cast were equally as strong , however the camaraderie and friendship of all involved was plain to see.

There is a very large cast in this musical so it would be impossible to mention every role in detail but I thought all the supporting cast of Mersisters, Flotsam, Jetsan, Scuttle, Grimsby, Chefs, Carlotta, Seahorse and Pilot played their roles really well.

Flounder, the shy fish and Ariel's best friend was taken by Olivia Merchant and she played the role really well, I liked her She’s in Love solo, the roles of Prince Eric and King Triton were played by Jake Coleman and Caitlin Kenny both of these brought plenty to their characters well done.

Sebastian the Crab was played by Lucy Dawson, I liked her movement, and her reaction to  when things went wrong having been told to look after Ariel by King Triton.

The two performances which impressed me most on the evening I attended were Tara Wells as Ursula and Amelia John as Ariel.

Both girls gave really strong performances, I was really impressed with Poor Unfortunate Souls, and thought that Emily’s choreography of this number was very clever.

Amelia was a very good Ariel with lovely vocals and movement. She really powered through Part of Your World and the response of the audience to her performance was plain to see.

In a junior production obviously the Junior ensemble predominantly steal the show. I loved how the company used the sides of the orchestra pit for their changes and entrances, and they all seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Congratulations to Musicality for a lovely performance and I look forward to joining you for your next production.

 

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