The Little Mermaid: Swims Above the Rest

By Trevor Durham on July 24, 2016

The vibrant mermaid colors and jubilant Disney orchestrations may not be something Naomi Rose-Mock’s audiences have come to expect from her past Tallahassee summers, but as she rounds out her fifth summer with The Little Mermaid at Leon High School, all she delivers is smiles.

It’s the closing show of Rose-Mock’s Mermaid, and the show was over capacity. The audience, an amalgam of young toddlers, parents, local residents, and envious students, burst at the seams with energy for the finale of a successful run. Summer theatre may be hard, but Disney certainly sells. Skeptics should be well-aware that Rose-Mock can fill a fluffy show like The Little Mermaid with substantive performances regardless of her target audience.

Alan Menken’s Disney classic needs little plot reminder- mermaid falls for human, sacrifices her voice to gain humanity, and she suffers for love. Menken’s stage musical adaptation adds more characterization to supporting cast, more musical numbers, and was considered by many to be a flop in its 2008 Broadway debut run.

The students put on a grand performance, but the technical aspects of Rose-Mock’s The Little Mermaid are what sets it far apart from an average student production. Machelle Thompson’s incredible costume designs and schemes, which she worked with a team of hard-working helpers, created a visually stunning production. She walked me through her detail-work, such as Ursula’s flexible tentacles, the sea-weed wigs, and walking me through her make-up plans for the more complex characters. It’s Thompson’s designs that give a firm foundation for the cartoon-look of the production, one that is as gorgeous and balanced as it is subtle.

Alex Furlong and Emma Kerr

Rose-Mock’s Little Mermaid brings back community regulars, from her successful West Side Story and Phantom of the Opera, amongst others. Alex Furlong, as Prince Eric, tenor soars spectacularly over his numbers and gives rise to newer, if slower, numbers in the musical. His chemistry with Ariel, played by Emma Kerr in this instance, is believable for their acting choices in regards to the classic characters. Kerr was a younger, more impulsive Ariel, while Furlong set his Eric as one less dreamy, but more in love and focused on connecting with the red-haired beauty.

Most children’s musicals include a large ensemble cast, and there was no expectation for Mermaid to be any different. Most refreshing was how almost each ensemble member brings life and energy to the endless array of characters, from the Mermaid Sisters, to the Sailors, the Chefs, to the Animals. Each supporting character gave enough soul in their performance to distinguish the many varied roles.

Marcus Donaldson as Sebastian, leading the cast

Stand-outs included Marcus Donaldson, as fan-favorite Sebastian. Perhaps the most difficult role to tackle, based upon both the movie version and Titus Burgess Broadway cast, he deviated from both paths to create a stricter, more musical crab that leaped hurdles with flair, and made his numbers the most energetic in the show. To be master of ceremonies in the only instances where the stage is flooded with the entire cast of over fifty is no small feat, especially for a student, but Donaldson felt natural as he back flipped and serenaded Under the Sea to the height of the production.

Alongside him was Max Brey’s imposing Triton, Grace Lengacher’s devious Ursula, the ferocious tapping of Noah Fuentes, Mason Whiting’s adorable Flounder, and more. Ariel’s sisters provided a quaint harmony and humor in their sadly brief interactions, as did the chefs and gulls. Perhaps a fatal flaw for the production lay in the written script, which feels bloated in variety at points, and lacks Menken’s smooth flow viewers came to expect from Little Shop of Horrors.

(From right to left) Emma Finnigan, Kaylie Williams, Carolyn Hall, Mia Pesta, Morgan Savatgy, and Colleen Towey

If nothing else, The Little Mermaid gave Tallahassee’s theatre community a breath of laughter, comradery and joy. Carolyn Hall, one of the mermaid sisters last seen as Maria in Theatre Tallahassee’s West Side Story, said that this production was a great experience. “Being in the ensemble was a much more rewarding experience here, making connections with everybody,” as opposed to her previous leads with Rose-Mock. Marcus Donaldson agreed: “Everybody here just had fun. It was a great time, otherwise it wouldn’t have worked.”

The Little Mermaid may be closing, but it marks many beginnings. Carolyn Hall is leaving for UNF to pursue vocal training, Donaldson is going to a theatrical college, and Naomi Rose-Mock had already begun a rehearsal for her upcoming Producers production before the kids could finish meeting the cast. The Little Mermaid ends another season of Tallahassee’s theatre scene, but it leaves me thrilled for what Rose-Mock will bring this fall, and where I will see the cast and crew in next month’s playbills.

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