The Little Mermaid

Based on the 1836 tale by Hans Christian Anderson, The Little Mermaid is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, and a book by Doug Wright. It was of course made into a legendary Disney animated picture, this well-known tale describes how a mermaid named Ariel wishes to leave the water for dry land in order to meet her Prince. In defiance of her father's desires, Ariel gives up her voice so she can have legs instead of fins and searches for the Prince's affection.

This bright and colourful musical features a variety of songs, dances, jokes, trickery, and talking marine creatures like starfish and seagulls and leads to some beautiful tender moments, high-energy sequences and some great traditional storytelling.

The set was stunning and masterfully executed, portraying everything from a ship to the wide landscape beneath the waves. High-quality projections were used to accentuate everything and maintain a lively, colourful atmosphere. It would have been difficult for a professionals to perform with more grace as everything moved with such slickness. There were many props including King Triton's beautifully illuminated trident and the fork that Ariel amusingly uses as a comb. The crew must have had a difficult time handling the large number of props needed, but they were more than up to the task.

The costumes, including makeup, were exquisite and beautiful to look at. Ariel's transformation from mermaid to human was expertly planned and seamless. Sebastian looked fantastic in his crab costume. With so many costume changes required, this musical brings high expectations from its audience. The performers switched between maids, seagulls, sailors, cooks, and lost souls flawlessly. The mermaid Princesses' outfits were really attractive, and the overall impact of every costume was a striking burst of colour.

The overall quality and management of the lighting and sound was first rate. All of the lighting for the various songs enhanced and added to Scott Kitchen's great musical direction. He made it possible for the vocalists to perform their songs with assurance and vigour, which the audience just loved.

This was contemporary musical theatre at its finest. Directed by Chris Brearley and choreography by Pam Strickland and Zoe Cook. Huge kudos must be given to the entire production team because of the way they approached bringing a widely known narrative to life on stage and ensuring that every actor in the cast gave nothing less than a stellar performance, not an easy task. With outstanding presentation, this was a visual feast from beginning to end and confirms that high quality live theatre can be appreciated by individuals of all ages and is more readily available than one might imagine.

Nimi Owoyemi, who played Sebastian the Crab was outstanding. He brought so much humour and energy to the role but also one of the show's highlights with his rendition of the calypso-inspired "Under the Sea" with the ensemble. Colin Harris, who played Scuttle the gull, did the same thing. Alongside his tap-dancing gull ensemble in the song of "Positoovity" Colin was a hoot and brought the house down. With a delightfully evil smile and a commanding presence on stage, all while dressed as the sea witch Ursula, complete with tentacles, Sharon Whitehead was fabulous and evidently enjoying herself. King Triton, played by Ben Maffin, had a dominant presence in every scene as Ariel's overbearing yet loving father.

Toby Kershaw, who played Ariel's friend Flounder, Grahame Whitehead, who played the Prince's guardian Grimsby, Gemma Armitage and Tom Waltham, as Ursula's electric eel sidekicks Flotsam and Jetsam, Amy Blackburn, who played the hilarious French Chef Louis, and not forgetting  Leah Stansfield (Aquatica), Ellie Klemm (Andrina), Holly Mia Meech (Arista), Hannah Whitworth (Atina), Isabella Barker (Adella) and Victoria Taylor (Allana) who played Ariel's Mersisters, all provided some very strong support. The ensemble numbers featured some superb dancing and singing from a highly talented company.

Eric, The Prince (Dom Moccia), and Jessica Faye as Ariel made for a wonderful duo. The prince is so often there to simply serve as a means of advancing the plot, but Dom was able to add pathos to the young man facing some difficult life choices of his own.

Ariel is a strong-minded young mermaid who has always been fascinated by things beyond her reach, particularly humans and their artefacts. HLOC has found its Ariel in the lovely and talented Jessica Faye, whose beautiful voice and matching persona brought some relatable humanity to her fictional undersea alter ego. Jessica's tender performance of "Part of Your World" brilliantly captured a young person’s sorrow and longing.

This truly was a first class production from a first class company. My wife and I we would like to thank the entire society for the very warm welcome and hospitality we received and we look forward to seeing you soon.

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