“The Little Mermaid Jr." at Augustana College -- January 21 through 30.
Friday, January 21, through Sunday, January 30
Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center, 3750 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL
From January 21 through 30, the Center for Living Arts, the Penguin Project of the Quad Cities, and Augustana College's theatre department will team up to help turn kids into stage stars for the eagerly awaited family-musical presentation The Little Mermaid Jr. – a production based on Disney's Oscar-winning animated adventure, and a show that boasts a cast composed of talented youths with special needs.
In this one-act version of the Tony-nominated Broadway musical, the beautiful mermaid Ariel should be a happy girl, as 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 Ariel falls in love with a handsome human prince, she becomes 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. With its beloved score by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, and Glenn Slater, The Little Mermaid is adored not just for its story, but for its songs, which include 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.”
In directors Dino and Tina Hayz's staging of The Little Mermaid Jr., with Dino also music directing and Tina also serving as choreographer, all of the Disney musical's beloved characters are portrayed by young artists with developmental disabilities. They are joined on-stage by peer mentors who have volunteered to work side by side with the youths through rehearsals and the final performances, resulting in an inspiring, magical theatrical experience for students and audiences alike.
Designed to provide children with special needs with creative skills related to theatre arts, the Penguin Project has evolved into a national program, with replication sites throughout the United States. The program provides a supporting environment for children with disabilities to explore their creative talents, and has demonstrated that participation in the performing arts has therapeutic value by enhancing social interacting, communication skills, self-confidence, and self-esteem. Founded by Dr. Andrew Morgan in Peoria, Illinois, in 2003, and with Augustana College's theatre professor Jeff Coussens serving as Executive Director of the Quad Cities Penguin Project chapter, the Penguin Project is a national non-profit organization with the vision of creating unrestricted access for children with special needs to the performing arts. This is accomplished with the assistance of multiple replications across the U.S. that produce modified versions of well-known Broadway musicals.
The Little Mermaid Jr. will be staged at Augustana's Brunner Theatre Center January 21 through 30, with performances at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 1:30 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $12, and Augustana requires that all audience members over the age of 12 be fully vaccinated; proof of a negative COVID test will not be accepted. For more information and tickets, call (309)794-7306 and visit Augustana.edu/tickets and CenterForLivingArts.org.
