Disney's "The Little Mermaid" Makes a Splash in Herndon!

Students representing elementary, middle, and high schools from throughout Fairfax County joined forces to present Disney's The Little Mermaid at Herndon Middle School, and their hard work and dedication earned them three full houses and rousing standing ovations. Colorful sea creatures and land folk sang and danced their way into guests' hearts, all the while a beautiful orchestra played crowd favorites, such as "Part of Your World" and "Under the Sea", and the tech/crew students did everything from changing the set to handling the lighting and sound. There was even a special "Behind the Seas" pre-show program for young children.

Putting on a full-length summer musical for the community in less than four weeks is a huge undertaking to which students look forward every year as part of their Summer Grand experience. Now a Herndon High School Drama Booster tradition, the Summer Grand is a theatre arts education and performance camp where everyone gets to be part of a magical musical. Supporting the students is a core staff composed of adults and students, who teach cast and tech/crew their various roles. For cast members, this means learning lines, music, choreography, and blocking, and for tech/crew members, it involves becoming adept with lighting instruments, sound equipment, set timing, and more.

Also key to the production's success is the volunteer spirit of the students' parents, community volunteers, and sponsors. The Summer Grand thanks the following businesses and organizations which made donations of money, products, and/or time: Escape Room Herndon, NextStop Theatre, Weird Brothers Coffee, Sew Magarbo, Reston Shirt and Graphic Company, Fierro & Kori Attorneys at Law, Great Harvest Bread Company, Helen Cluff Music Instruction, Moss Building & Design, Crest Cleaners, Kwik Kopy Printing, Friday Night Live!, Dulles Moms, Bubbles Salon, Luther Jackson Middle School, Sterling Playmakers, and Friends of Runnymede Park, with whom students partnered to raise awareness about protecting the environment.

PHOTO CREDIT: Robert Maxwell

DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI, 423 West 55th Street, New York, NY 10019. Tel: (212) 541-4684 Fax: (212) 397-4684 www.MTIShows.com