St. Viator to stage 'The Little Mermaid'
The correct date of the Lunch Under the Sea is Saturday, Feb. 3.
Exactly 10 years after Disney's "The Little Mermaid" debuted on Broadway, the blockbuster show hits the stage at St. Viator High School, complete with its dazzling costumes, sets and special effects and loaded with students who grew up with the movie.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 2, 3, 9 and 10, and 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4 and 11, at the school, 1213 E. Oakton St., Arlington Heights. Tickets are $12, available online, at the door, by calling (847) 392-4050, ext. 243, or emailing boxoffice@saintviator.com.
Veteran theater director Kate Costello directs the show, which includes 160 actors in two different casts and more than 500 costumes in all. And that's not including the talented student orchestra and technical crew, who bring the undersea and human worlds to life.
"It was daunting to take this show on," Costello said, "but every couple of years, I ask the students for their choice from my short list. The winner was 'The Little Mermaid.' It was the girls' overwhelming favorite, but more than 50 guys auditioned."
Math teacher Julie Reedy, teaches algebra and pre-calculus by day, but she moonlights as the costume director for the show, which she concedes has been a challenge.
Not only are there the undersea creatures to create, think crab, flounder, electric eels, seagulls and lots of mermaids, but there are the multiple costume changes per character.
"We've been putting things together, repurposing things and creatively trying to embellish everything," Reedy says.
She points to the electric eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, for starters. In order to add a special effect to their costumes, Reedy has sewn in lights, which she will turn on and off with a remote control.
For Ursula, the villainous octopus, Reedy had her standout costume, with its eight tentacles, custom made by professional costumer Kathy Johnson.
"I'm really looking forward to our first dress rehearsal," Reedy says, "and seeing everyone in costume and full makeup at once."
Senior Laura Kuper of Prospect Heights shares the role of Ariel with Maggie Van Valkenburg of Roselle. Both get to sing the songs they grew up with, all while donning costumes that range from their mermaid outfit to ballgown and even a wedding dress.
Still, it was learning to skate across the stage in Heelys that took some doing. Ariel and her "mersisters" all wear them, taking a nod from the original Broadway production, which turned to the roller shoes to create the effect of swimming, all behind a semi-translucent sheet of fabric that crosses the length of the stage.
"This is my last musical at Viator and I wouldn't want to go out any other way," Kuper says. "I grew up loving Disney princesses, so to be able to play one is mind-boggling."
Seniors Peter Beiswenger of Fox River Grove and Matt Wear of Palatine share the role of Pilot, one of the sailors who directs the giant ship that carries Prince Eric when he first spots Ariel. But they also play a chef, a bat and a fish during the show.
"The chef scene is my favorite," says Beiswenger, who admits he had never seen the 1989 Disney movie before. "With the choreography and all the guys running around on stage, it's a blast."
Senior Kevin Goss of Arlington Heights and sophomore Chris Sevilla of Mount Prospect share the role of King Triton, Ariel's father, who gives the story its emotional depth.
"It's been a challenge to find the right tone, from all out anger to despair," says Goss, who last year played Conrad Birdie in "Bye Bye Birdie." "He's a father, who wants to protect his daughter, but can't see any other world but their own under the sea."
Costello says that, in the end, that's what makes "The Little Mermaid" still relevant today, nearly 30 years after Disney first created the movie based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen.
"Ariel longs to be part of a different world, a world her father distrusts and hates," Costello says. "It is not until the end of the story that he realizes his prejudice is based on assumptions and lies.
"Ariel's victory is overcoming fear of the unknown and finding love and a home in an unexpected place," she adds. "This love brings two very different worlds together."
If you go
What: St. Viator High School's production of Disney's "The Little Mermaid"
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 2, 3, 9 and 10, and 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb 4 and 11
Where: St. Viator High School, 1213 E. Oakton St., Arlington Heights
Tickets: $12, available <a href="https://www.saintviator.com/">online</a>, at the door, by calling (847) 392-4050, ext. 243, or emailing boxoffice@saintviator.com
Extra special: "Lunch Under the Sea" with stars of the show, noon Saturday, Feb. 3, for $10