FARMINGTON -- Disney is returning to the stage this weekend at Farmington High's Performing Arts Center with a production of the popular Broadway musical "The Little Mermaid."
The school's theater department will present the show 7 p.m., Friday, April 5; 5 p.m., Saturday, April 6; and 2 p.m., Sunday, April 7. Tickets will be available at the door and will be $10 for adults and $5 for students. Doors will open one hour before each performance.
High school drama teacher Zac Perry said he chose "The Little Mermaid" for families and children in the community.
"We haven't done anything for kids in a while," Perry said last week after rehearsal.
Perry's first production at Farmington High was Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" in April 2018. Other productions since then have been more for his students, such as "The Little Shop of Horrors" and "Grease," but this one will be a fun, family event, he said.
"Disney brings in quite a bit of a crowd," Perry said. "This is a fun show with a lot of special effects."
It also is a show that involves many students. In all, about 50 students are participating in the musical, either with the cast or behind the scenes as a member of the crew.
Like all other productions directed by Perry, the show is student-driven, in that students made the set during class, are a part of the cast or are running the show behind the scenes.
Students for some of the major roles include senior Emily Draper as Ariel, the mermaid princess; junior Miles Batson as Sebastian the crab; junior Blake Jones as Eric the prince; senior Deanna Lanutti as Ursula the sea witch; and sophomore Calloway Burnett as Scuttle the sea gull.
Draper, who has been a part of four other productions at Farmington High, said she's been in leading roles before but this is the first time she has the lead for a show. She has dyed her hair red for the musical and said musical theater is her "favorite thing ever." Draper auditioned specifically for the role of Ariel and said the part is the right one to end her theater career at Farmington.
She likes "The Little Mermaid" because it has more dancing and is more eccentric, she said.
Draper has auditioned for musical theater at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) and said being a part of Farmington's theater department has prepared her for the next step at college.
She hopes to perform on Broadway or be a part of traveling shows one day. Draper also writes her own music, "and if that turns into anything, that would be great," she said.
Jones is a member of the high school honor choir but this is his first time to be in a high school theater production. He was encouraged to audition and said he thought it would be fun. Also, "The Little Mermaid" is his mom's favorite movie.
It's been fun rehearsing but Jones admits, "It's been a lot more than I thought, to be honest." However, he has enjoyed the experience and said he probably will audition for a show next year.
Lanutti, who also is a member of the school's Honor Choir, auditioned for the part of Ursula because the character is so expressive.
"You need to be able to own her," Lanutti said. "I'm a villain, an evil person. I have to let the audience know I'm evil but not Ariel. I love Ursula. It's such a fun character."
Looking back over her theater career at Farmington High, Lanutti said the years have been amazing because of the community, the friends and the productions.
The musical is based on the 1989 Disney film and the 1837 fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. The original Broadway production opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Jan. 10, 2008, and played 685 performances before closing Aug. 30. 2009, according to the website, IBDB.com, the Internet Broadway Database.
Lynn Kutter/Enterprise-Leader Senior Emily Draper as Ariel and junior Miles Batson as Sebastian the crab rehearse one of the scenes from "The Little Mermaid," being presented April 5-7 at Farmington High School's Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10/adults and $5/students and will be sold at the door the night of the performance.
Lynn Kutter/Enterprise-Leader Emily Draper, a senior at Farmington High School, will be in the leading role of Ariel for "The Little Mermaid," being presented April 5-7 at the school's Performing Arts Center. Draper plans to study musical theater on the college level and hopes one day to perform on Broadway or in traveling shows.
Lynn Kutter/Enterprise-Leader Senior Deanna Lanutti with Farmington High rehearses the part of Ursula last week in preparation for "The Little Mermaid." Lanutti auditioned for Ursula because she is such an expressive character, she said.
Lynn Kutter/Enterprise-Leader Sebastian, played by Miles Batson; Ariel, played by Emily Draper; and Scuttle, played by sophomore Calloway Burnett, practice a scene from Disney's "The Little Mermaid." About 50 Farmington High students are involved in the production, either as a cast member or a crew member.