The Little Mermaid JR

The Little Mermaid is a well known film so I was eager to see how The Stage and Screen Academy were going to put their stamp on it. The musical was performed in a school hall , we entered to a closed stage with two large free standing colourful, animation style under the sea picture banners and The Stage and Screen Academy logo projected onto the curtains behind them.

I attended on the Saturday and so saw the "Saturday Cast" perform. Backdrop projections were  used to depict the different scenes with minimal extra moveable pieces of scenery added for example the ships wheel - this worked well and gave some clarity and depth to the performing  action  happening further front of he stage.The projections were bright and very fitting to the show, they too (like the banners) were  animation style. Props when used by the cast were handled confidently and were all fitting to the scenes. Lighting was good throughout and married very well with the projections. Sound was ok with a few gremlins throughout, controlled projection is still needed even with a body mic. Backing tracks were used for all the musical numbers, all the soloists kept up well - there were no flubbed starts. The costumes were excellent and clearly depicted who each individual character was , they were bright and sparkly, used lots of different textures and fabrics to depict scales or feathers, colours were well thought out, all the little extras were there - Well Done Costume Team! My favourites were the seagulls costumes and the jellyfish costume, very effective.

There were definitely a few nerves in the cast to begin with and all the Principals needed to take a breath and slow their dialogue down but as they settled and put their characters on they calmed it down.Emily (Ariel) gave a pleasant performance, her vocals were in tune and she was reasonably confident on stage, I didn`t feel or see any connection with either the audience or her character though so it did feel like something was missing. Georgia B as Ursula gave a great performance, she oozed evil as she sashayed across the stage . Her vocals were good and strong , diction was good, she made a great connection with the audience and wasnt afraid to stare us out, her chemistry on stage with Mia B (Flotsam) and Georgia A  (Jetsam)  was comfortable , she definitely owned her role. Fynn as King Triton used his stage space well, his interactions with Jake (Sebastian) were very clear , the fight scene with Ursula was well choreographed and executed. Jake (Sebastian) owned the stage as soon as he appeared, he completely stole the show, his full on , larger than life characterisation really brought Sebastiasn to life . He used his stage space well , he interacted well with his fellow actors on stage, his accent was good and his comedic timing was spot on. Molly as Flounder was lovely , her characterisation was just right with all her obvious hesitations when she/Flounder was torn between doing what King Triton had said or what Ariel wanted to do, she delivered her lines clearly. Isaac ( Prince Eric) gave a confident yet humble performance, I would definitely like to see more connection with the audience .He interacted well on stage with the rest of  the cast and delivered his dialogue clearly. Jess as Chef Louis was good and strong in her characterisation, she really made me laugh, her use of her stage space was good and her use of her props was good. The ensemble created some lovely backdrop movement behind the action going on at the front of the stage, vocals were good and in time,choreography took account of the varying levels of ability and was fitting to both the music and the scenes. I particularly enjoyed the "Under The Sea" number.

Thank you for inviting me, I look forward to seeing you  all again very soon. 

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