Saxon Drama Makes a Splash: The Little Mermaid

South’s production of the Little Mermaid closed on Dec. 9 after six showings. Over 100 Saxons participated in the musical as members of the cast, pit, tech crew and ushers. The main cast performed five times, as understudies were given a chance to perform on Dec. 7.
Conner Towery ‘19 portrayed Flounder in the main cast, a character he described as “the ultimate friendzone.” The role was Towery’s first attempt at acting, although he has been involved with South’s choir program since he was a freshman.
“I thought opening night went really well,” Towery said. ‘it was a lot better than I thought it was going to go, there was a lot of room for errors and stuff that didn’t actually end up happening that had happened in the past, so I thought it was good.”
Set both on land and under the sea the show’s crew had to tackle transitions between the settings, and special effects for Ursula’s magic.
“The most difficult part about running this show was being able to manage such a large cast,” Ethan Nguyen ‘19, a member of tech crew, said. “Using good communication we were able to work together and get ready for show.”
As well as the cast and tech crew, Saxons filled the pit in what Debbie Davis ‘19 called a “mini-symphony.” A violinist, Davis and her fellow musicians performed the musical’s score for each performance and rehearsed four times a week in the “dead week” before the show’s opening.
“My favorite part of the show was the scene with the Chef. I loved hearing the audience laughing at what was happening on stage. It’s a great scene and I’m a little sad that I can’t watch it all since I am playing the music.” Davis said. “I’ve had one heck of an Eel-lectric time performing with a group of talented people.”
Maddie O’Donnell ‘19 saw the show on Dec. 2 and praised its special effects, vocals and comedy.
“It was a very unique stylization of The Little Mermaid on stage,” O’Donnell said. “It wasn’t what I had pictured in my mind but how they did it worked very well. It was very different from every other adaptation of The Little Mermaid I’ve seen, so I will remember this forever.”
The Little Mermaid was South’s first full-length musical since Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2015. With the completion of the Little Mermaid, South’s drama program will now begin preparations for their adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, “Romeo and Juliet.”