“Disney's The Little Mermaid Jr." at the Ohnward Fine Arts Center -- August 2 and 3.
Saturday, August 2, and Sunday, August 3
Ohnward Fine Arts Center, 1215 East Platt Street, Maquoketa IA
A student-performed version of the Tony Award nominee adapted from one of the most beloved animated musicals of all time, Disney's The Little Mermaid Jr. enjoys an August 2 and 3 run at Maquoketa's Ohnward Fine Arts Center, the theatrical rendition of 1989's Oscar-winning film lauded by Broadway World as "a family-friendly stage musical with great visual punch."
In The Little Mermaid Jr., heroine Ariel should be a happy girl – she lives in an enchanted undersea country, her father is a King, and she has the most beautiful singing voice. But she is a passionate, headstrong teenager, and wants what she cannot have: to live on land. When she falls in love with a handsome human prince, Ariel is more determined than ever to gain a pair of legs. But her only option is to defy her furious father, and bargain with Ursula the Sea Witch, giving her voice as the price of entry onto dry land. With the help of Flounder the fish, Scuttle the seagull, and officious court composer Sebastian the crab, Ariel must wordlessly gain Prince Eric's love within three days -- or lose her soul to the ambitious witch.
Based on the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale and the wildly popular Disney film, this musical staging of Disney's The Little Mermaid features a funny and fanciful book by Doug Wright, with the beloved score by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, and Glenn Slater in an expanded but completely faithful form, featuring the rambunctious and persuasive “Under the Sea,” the romantic expectation of “Kiss the Girl,” and that anthem to longing and belonging, “Part of Your World.”
Maquoketa's production of Disney's The Little Mermaid Jr. is directed by the Ohnward Fine Arts Center's executive director Richard Hall, with music direction by Linda Polk, Julie Weirup, and choreographer Shannon Soenksen, and accompaniment provided by Jenna Williams. Ariel is portrayed by Aria Soenksen, with other memorable characters played by Daniel Hagen (Prince Eric), Jaelyn Roth (Sebastian), Cohen Kirchhoff (Flounder), Kohen Widel (King Triton), and JoAnna Ochoa (Ursula).
Completing the cast for Disney's The Little Mermaid Jr. are more than three dozen gifted area youths: Annabelle Hagen; Kenlynn Leroy; Ariana Edwards; Erin Leon; Lily Soenksen; Abigail Moubry; Aspen Rushford; Dex Stamp; Jay Henshaw; Brad Ruley; Oliver Schweitzer; Mia Shearer; Kelcee Jones; Micah Hess; Meyer Soenksen; Penny Pape; Kaelyn Magill; Averie Hoffman; Paisley Westercamp; Trinity Nikkel; Natalie Kintzle; Lillian Miracle; Gwendolyn Hagen; Paityn Dingbaum; Kyrsten Perez; MJ Tenney; Samuel Hess; Lilly Ochoa; Anna Ochoa; Porter Miracle; Bradyn Notz; Rosie Pape; Poppy Hoffman; Evelynn Hoffman; Jolene Schwager; Emma Schmidt; Ella Smith; Violet Stamp; Eleanor Schweitzer; Emma Stroyan; Mansyn Kirchhoff; Jilaina Sieverding; Francis McLaughlin; Aubrielle Haan; Evan Shearer; Anna Hess; and Madilynn Hoffman.
Disney's The Little Mermaid Jr. runs in Maquoketa on August 2 and 3, with performances on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Admission is $8-15, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)652-9815 and visiting OhnwardFineArtsCenter.com.
