The Little Mermaid JR

There are few things that I enjoy more than watching a well produced Disney musical on the stage. Over the years I have been very fortunate to witness and be part of a number of these shows, so I was excited to see what HC Vocal Academy would bring to The Little Mermaid Jr. To begin this review I would like to say that I felt that the show was a knock out success, and I was privileged to attend this performance. 

Having never seen the theatre version or even listened to the cast recording of this musical, I was quite simply blown away by the opening number. The ensemble provided an exceptional level of energy, enthusiasm and passion. The stage was flung to life with every cast member demonstrating good characterisation, delivering good choreography and maintaining a strong vocal performance. It was evident that meticulous effort had been invested not only in rehearsals, but also in the creation of a visually stunning set and props, which set the perfect atmosphere for a remarkable show.

I was particularly impressed with the Mersisters and their performance of Daughters of Triton. It is always challenging to follow a strong opening number, but I feel that it was the very strong characterisations and unique portrayals of these characters which led Matilda Best, Tianna Kolodziej, Gabrella Boddy, Isadora Davis, and Ellen Dickson to deliver a truly great performance in this early number. Each character had different physicalities, traits and relationships with each other on stage. Admittedly,  performers who are young in years can often find the intricacies of character building and maintaining characterisation challenging, but this troupe did this with flair and passion. I was very impressed, well done.

Every good story requires a number of strong supporting leading characters, and in this production Freya Warren who played Sebastian, Lacey Simpson who played Scuttle, and Holly Neale who played Flounder delivered this in spades. Holly delivered an assured performance, she maintained good characterisation and held a great clean vocal performance throughout the night. Holly did a great job in her role as Ariel's companion and was able to balance her performance amidst some technical challenges; not an easy feat, and you handled this very well, well done. Lacey Simpson brought infectious humour to the stage as the flighty Scuttle. She embodied the character very well as she provided a frivious, giddy performance. Lacey was able to maintain energy and bring significant amounts of humour to her role. I particularly enjoyed her performance of Human Stuff. She led the ensemble very well. I feel that I must also mention the great costumes in this number - the lights on the wings were a very nice touch! Freya Warrens performance of Sebastian was very strong! Not only was Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl truly magical numbers to watch, but she did a great job at recreating the iconic character from the 1989 original film. A particular highlight for me was how Freya and Freddie Dale (who played an extremely funny caricature of a stereotypical French cook in his interpretation of Chef Louis) danced around the kitchen in the Act 2 opening number Les Poissons. Both performers here deserve a credit for their contribution to the production, well done!

In traditional Disney style, most lead characters look for their true love, and I feel that Will Coulter portrayed the love interest of Prince Eric with great style, charm and charisma. I enjoyed his interactions with the loyal majordomo Grimsby, who was played by Esme Giles. The couple had a great relationship on stage and played off each other very well. The performance of One Step Closer was very well received by the audience. This was a strong performance and should be celebrated. 

Of course, for every protagonist there is always an antagonist, and I feel that there is none in the world of musical theatre quite like the formidable Ursula, the Sea Witch. Ursula is an iconic role, and I don’t believe that it just because of the brilliant opportunity for costume (which this show did very well with), or the opportunity for an exceptional song (which Poor Unfortunate Souls most definitely is), or the ability for Ursula to be truly wicked (which she most definitely is), but rather the ability for the performer to embody the very theatrical and somehow debonair qualities of the character. I want to congratulate Lexi Thompson on doing just that. Her embodiment of the character's theatricality and malevolence was excellent and was a genuine highlight in this production - well done!

I hope that so far I have been able to build up and describe what a brilliant show this was; and it really was something fabulous! However, I must say that the stand out performance must go to Amber Evans for playing the protagonist Arial. She embodied the Disney princess with ease and pastiche. The way in which she utilised the stage was great - her physicality was great and her characterisation including accent was nothing short of excellent. However, it was her absolute powerhouse of a voice that stole the show. Part of Your World is an iconic song, and one that would overpower most competent adult performers, never mind a younger performer, but Amber did this with elegance and grace. The highlight for me was actually in the Part of Your World Reprise when she belted the final line that left me with my mouth wide and goosebumps everywhere - it was absolutely extraordinary. Your characterisation, articulations, phrasing and quintessential Disney Princess vibes were exceptional - bravo!

This was a truly great show and I would be privileged to be able to see it again. I feel that this a great testimony to the leadership and direction from Holly Clifford and musical direction from Robert Baker. I hope that you are both proud of your team, you all did a brilliant job! Congratulations! 

Gordon Richardson's Report: 

It is about 12 years since I saw Little Mermaid but I still recognised, and enjoyed, the musical numbers. Seeing a different cast from my colleague gave me an opportunity to report on the alternative cast I’d seen.

Playing a ‘baddie’ is difficult when you probably are not in that mind set but Playing Flotsam was Freya Thompson alongside fellow Flotsam Lyla Appleby,  counterpart of Jetsam was Seth Cohen and Lily Riley in the last performance. Each actor was outstanding in their stylised movement and demeanour – well done each.

Playing Chef Louis who was intent on getting crab patties for tea was Avea Calvert with suitable phenetic use of their chopping board who opened the second act to aplomb.

My two favourite characters in the production are Scuttle and Flounder – who doesn’t like a seagull and lovable fish. With great mannerisms and expert comedic timing both Zoe Hardy and Jacob Robinson played the respective roles  - I particularly enjoyed the confused naming of objects in ‘Human Stuff’ by Scuttle and ‘Shes in Love’ by Flounder. Also well done to Zoe for ‘flying’.

Playing the villain of the piece, Ursula, is a fine character actress’ role, and Leanna Honeyman made it a memorable one as she stormed through ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ with menace and an amoral demeanour.

The part of the crusty crustacean with the West Indian dialect fell to Amelia Hopper who showed her versatility compared with her previous role of Mdme Thenardier – Amelia never once faltered on her accent and delivered perhaps the most iconic of the shows many memorable tunes, ‘Under the Sea’ with great spirit and had the audience bopping along in their seats.

Every show needs a lead role, and the part of Ariel was played with fine acting and superb vocals by Daisy Bousfield as she struggled through teenage angst to find her voice again and win her man – Daisy has a fine future ahead of her.

Well done to all the various young performers that came together to entertain the people of Darlington alongside one rather older reviewer. Little Mermaid is and underrated production and needs to be performed more often – I’d certainly go back!

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