Theater Review: "The Little Mermaid, Jr." by Holy Disciples Drama Club

by Nancy Sasso Janis

“The Little Mermaid, Jr.” was presented by the students in grades one through eight at St. Mary Magdalen School in Oakville, part of the Unified School of St. Mary Magdalen and St. John’s this weekend. Three performances were presented in the gymnasium at the St. Mary Magdalen campus. First grade teacher Shannon-Courtney Denihan directed the large cast and she invited me to attend for a quick review.

Bryce Erwin was able to shine in the title role of Ariel the mermaid, impressively singing her “I Want” songs. Kai Sevilla also sang well in his role as Ariel’s beloved human, Prince Eric.

Charley Stankus was cute in the role of Flounder in a great sparkly blue and yellow costume and fun hair design and Cassie Hodgkins was delightfully befuddled as the seagull Scuttle.

Grace Denihan embodied her role of the Sea Witch Ursula, in a tentacle enhanced black gown and a great white wig. Miss Grace sang “Poor Unfortunate Souls” to the hilt and maintained her evil presence whenever she was on the stage.

Emma Maleri gave a delightfully slithery performance as Ursula’s evil eel henchperson Jetsam, as did Amelida Sears as Flotsam. The evil duo wore great costumes that matched the slipperiness of their characters.

Connor Hodgkins wore a great red suit and crab-like top hat in the role of Ariel’s overworked guardian Sebastian.

The students in the ensemble sang together well as sailors, gulls, undersea creatures, mersisters and princesses. All of them got to wear some charming costumes.

There were some great moveable set pieces that were brought in and out by some high school students who volunteered on the backstage crew. WAMS student John Rush seemed to be their leader. The recorded musical tracks worked well, as did the microphones worn by the actors. The stage was illuminated nicely for the daytime performance. Tickets were sold at the door for general admission. Parents sold concessions, raffle tickets for two amazing baskets and even light up shell wands.

Kudos to the students who worked hard during the rehearsal process to perform this fun musical and to the dedicated adults who made it happen.