Coshocton Footlight Players present “The Little Mermaid Jr.”
Journey “Under the Sea” with Disney’s “The Little Mermaid Jr.” which will be presented at the Triple Locks Theatre on July 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, and 27. Pictured here is Ariel (Annie Bosson) and Flounder (Gracie Miller) as they discuss the possible uses for a new “human object”, a fork, they have just discovered under the sea.
COSHOCTON – Journey “Under the Sea” with Disney’s “The Little Mermaid Jr.” which will be presented at the Triple Locks Theatre on July 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, and 27. All performances are at 7 p.m. except those on July 20 and 27. On those dates, the performance will begin at 2 p.m. with a princess matinee where all young girls are invited to dress up in their favorite princess dress. On July 26, there will be two performances, one at 2 p.m. with a princess matinee and one at 7 p.m.
The cast of 38 young kids, ages eight through 16, have been rehearsing since late May for two hours Monday through Thursday and are excited to bring this production to Coshocton County.
“One of the biggest challenges is there’s so many kids,” said Director Lynn Jacobs. “We’re anxious to see what they do on opening night because they’re never really ready for that big crowd.”
Not only are all the cast members youth, but the stage and lighting managers are both graduates from the youth program. The sound manager is 13 years old and started working with soundboards when he was nine.
“There are so many great scenes in this play,” said Jacobs. “They’ll swoon over ‘Part of Your World’. Annie Bosson (Ariel) has such a beautiful voice. It’s going to knock them down.”
Bosson is excited to be portraying Ariel.
“Last year, I played a mean role, but this year, I’m nice,” she said. “And I got to meet so many nice people here.”
Jacobs said that the audience will really enjoy “Under the Sea”.
“The choreography is awesome in ‘Under the Sea’,” said Jacobs. “The choreography is done by a youth graduate too. I think they’ll also enjoy, ‘She’s in Love’, which is not in the movie, but it’s in the Broadway version.”
The main set consists of Ariel’s home and Ursula’s home with more set pieces making their way on and off stage.
“The one that’s made it magic is Nathan Mayse,” said Jacobs. “We wouldn’t know what to do without him.”
Chloe Torrence is excited to portray the evil villain, Ursula.
“I’ve never played an evil villain before,” she said. “I’ve played villains, but they were always kind of funny. Ursula is just so mean and doesn’t think about anyone but herself. She’s definitely a lot different than I am.”
Other notable characters include Flounder, played by Gracie Miller, and Sebastian, played by Josiah Treat.
“It’s really fun,” said Treat. “I love Sebastian’s accent.”
Tickets for “The Little Mermaid Jr.” are available at footlightplayers.com or by calling the Box Office at 622-2959 from 7 – 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students.
“It’s been a joy to work with these kids,” said Jacobs. “You can’t have 40 kids around you and not love them.”
beth@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: Arts & Entertainment
