RANDOLPH — Take a journey under the sea as Randolph Central School presents “The Little Mermaid” musical next weekend. The production will be performed at 7 p.m. March 21-23 in the high school auditorium.
The high school theater production, based on Disney’s beloved 1989 animated classic film, is a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s story of a mermaid princess who falls fatefully in love with a human. The production is filled with comedy, sarcasm, fun, lively music and romance.
Advisor and director Tara Smith, who is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant for the school district, and assistant director Tracy Woodfield, who is a third-grade teacher at the elementary school, have been leading the huge group of talented students in preparation for their big, three nights onstage.
“We are a huge team that works really well together. We all feel confident when we bring our ideas to each other,” Smith said. “We problem solve together and help each other through the dilemmas that we come up against.”
Produced by the high school drama club, approximately 60 students, 15 parents and the directors have been working together as a team to ensure the show’s success. Smith said not all the participants are in the drama club. About 20 fifth and sixth graders, as well as a group of seven dancers, have also been incorporated into the show.
Major actors in the cast include Stella Smith as Ariel; Nicholas Ashdown, Prince Eric; Alison Burdick, Ursula; Kailey Durow, Grimsby; Ryder Smith, Sebastian; Zachary Lindquist, King Triton; Andi Frame, Scuttle; Aubrey Marquez, Chef Louis; Alyia Oliverio, Flotsam; and Lilly Beaver, Jetsam.
The show requires many people working together in all areas of the production. Smith said Cory Derrenbacher, high school band director, leads the pit band that includes local musicians and educators. Colleen Stoffel is the music director and Johnah Archer is the choreographer.
Smith said the set construction and set design have been a huge undertaking. She said the teams are led by Jaclyn Doyle, high school art teacher, and Pete Dauphin, elementary band director. Others who are assisting include Kim Weber, elementary school art teacher, as well as the art guild; Harper Smith; Brigit Giambrone; Jessie Pearson; Jade Fleichmann and Ashton Johnson.
Costuming is an expensive factor, especially in a big production. Smith said it’s been a huge game changer this year because they didn’t have to rent all the costumes. She said a lead came through Derrenbacher that enabled them to get costumes from Albion Central School.
“Albion Central was going to produce ‘The Little Mermaid’ in 2020 and, of course, the production got shut down and they had all these costumes they hadn’t been able to use,” she said. “They’re beautiful costumes. None are store-bought; they are all handmade. They charged us just a nominal fee and we got probably 60-plus costumes that we were able to borrow or rent.”
Smith said Rochelle Fleischmann is their main seamstress. She designed and created costumes for Ursula, Scuttles, King Triton and Sebastian’s claws.
The students have the opportunity to be exposed to the professional world of acting. Smith said the students have been working with Shea’s Performing Arts Center since September and Shea’s hosts the “Jimmy Awards.” She said Randolph was submitted as a nomination for the award and they are up for four categories.
“Shea’s will be coming to record our production on Monday. Adjudicators will attend our show each night and judge our performance,” she said. “It’s exciting because we get to go to Shea’s in April to network with other drama clubs that have been nominated and participate at workshops as well.”
According to Smith, the drama students also have the opportunity to interact with professional actors from the Buffalo area who are on Broadway through a webinar. She said two of Randolph’s dancers went to Shea’s and received free Master Tap classes from a Broadway actor and dancer.
A special performance with free admission will be presented for senior citizens at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Admission for regular performances will be $10 for adults and $8 for students and senior citizens. Children 5 and younger are free.
Prior to the Thursday night performance, a Pasta Bar fundraiser to benefit the Drama Club will be held in the high school cafeteria from 3:30-6:30 p.m. Cost is $10 for adults, $5 for students and $25 for a family of four.
