The final crunch for The Little Mermaid started before winter break even ended, with a 9 hour long marathon rehearsal on Saturday February 25th. For the first time, everything from sound to lights to the smoke machine to music to acting came together, kicking off a long week of dress rehearsals every night. Students were tired by the end of the week, but they also felt like something had been accomplished. 

Students from the high school filtered into the auditorium sixth and seventh periods on March 1st for an exciting preview of the musical, which included the songs “The World Above,” “Fathoms Below,” “Positoovity,” “She’s In Love,” “Daddy’s Little Angel,” and ended with the big dance number, “Under the Sea.” The audience for both runs of the preview were enthusiastic in their applause and whoops of joy as performers sang and danced on stage. 

On Wednesday of the following week, for the first time, elementary school students came to the high school to watch most of Act 1 in their own preview. Precisely, the show started at “#2: The World Above” and ended with “#12A: After Under The Sea.” As in the first preview, at the end, Collin Meyer, who played Sebastian, was the only one left on stage with his head hung low when he realized Ariel had already run off.

Opening night was an absolute hit this year. Families with ages ranging from young toddlers in mermaid costumes to the senior community were excited to see the show. Ticket sales blew up after the successful performance of opening night, more than 4300 tickets were sold after the opening performances. The Saturday matinee sold out, the first in 9 years since Shrek in 2014.

While the first weekend of shows was somewhat populated, the last two shows had few available seats left. This was probably due to effective advertising, both by word of mouth and a second spirit week. Highlights of both spirit weeks included Dinglehopper Day (anything but backpack), Pit and Tech Appreciation Day, and Tropical Day. 

Closing night was an emotional one, especially for some of the amazing seniors. Colin Meyer gave a speech at the end of bows, acknowledging his years in high school and how he would miss the loving musical environment. Speeches were also given in dressing rooms from seniors who have been part of the musical community since Les Miserables, highlighting how their time went by so fast and to cherish each moment of highschool in our hearts. Flowers and cards were given to the adults involved, including Mr. Hebert, Mr. Mendez, Ms. Nickson, Ms. Bizup, Ms. Calarco, and Ms. Guzman. The adult leadership then gave heartwarming speeches that especially stuck with some of the students in the production. Ms. Nickson brought happy tears to the students’ eyes when she said, “At a single moment in a musical, everyone’s heart beats in sync with one another, all beating in time to the music that we hear but the music that is also in our hearts.” 

The closing show ended with a party for the students and teachers in the production as they ate, sang, and danced along to songs, together as one.