September Song Musical Theatre will be presenting the Broadway Musical version of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” with Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater and Book by Doug Wright at the Carroll Arts Center in Westminster, Maryland. This musical is based on a tale by Hans Christian Andersen and is directed by Debbie Mobley and produced by Allen Cross and Joan Eichhorn.
This is September Song Musical Theatre’s 45th Anniversary. Once a year in September (surprise!), they produce a Broadway Musical for the whole family in Carroll County, Maryland. These productions usually last only one long weekend but are always high quality.
“The Little Mermaid” is no exception to the excellent standards that are expected from their productions. The plot is pure Disney-magic. If you have never seen the animated movie or the musical and are more familiar with the fairy tale, don’t look for the darker story told by Andersen. There is some meaning to the story, but it reflects modern values of family, friendship and self-fulfillment.
Ariel (Rachel Jancarek) is the youngest daughter of Triton (John “Gary” Pullen). She is attracted to humans whom Triton does not trust. Despite her father’s warnings, she falls in love with Prince Eric (Nicholas Cloutier) when she saves him from drowning. To become a human Ariel makes a deal with Ursula (Amy Haynes Rapnicki), the evil sister of Triton. The sea princess gives up her fins and voice for legs. Of course, it is her voice that the prince is using to find his rescuer. Ariel and Prince Eric do meet, and he begins to fall in love with her when Ursula and her aides, Flotsam (Danielle Rizzo) and Jetsam (Justin Patterson), disrupt the events. This is, again, Disney and family-fare. I am not giving away too much to say everyone lives happily ever after.
The characters are the ones we have grown to love from the film. There is Sebastian (Matthew Lamb, Jr.), a crab, with a Calypso-accent, who is Ariel’s appointed caretaker. There is Flounder (Jacinta McKinnon), who is Ariel’s friend and smitten with the young mermaid. There is Scuttle (Will Brown), the seagull, who is part scrounger and part clown. The slightly crazy Chef Louis (David Kaiser II) is also part of the cast of characters.
September Song’s “The Little Mermaid” makes a big splash. Time is short. So, try not to let this one slither away.
Jancarek’s portrayal of Ariel is comparable to any you might see on a professional stage. She has poise, charm and a wonderful voice. She got a standing ovation, and rightly so, for her rendition of the popular song, “Part of Your World.” (Note that the role of Ariel will be played on alternate performances by Lilian Stoneberger.)
Cloutier’s Prince Eric is also played perfectly, and again. his vocals are professional level. He has wonderful chemistry with Jancarek most notably in “One Step Closer” and “If Only Quartet” where the two are would be lovers are joined by King Triton and Sebastian.
Rapnicki’s Ursula is another highlight. The actress has a marvelous voice, but it is accompanied by a characterization that portrays the villainess with just enough evil to hate her, but not too scary for the real small children in the audience. After her chilling, but very funny, version of “Daddy’s Little Angel” along with her eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, we look forward to their next scene. Rizzo and Patterson give standout supporting performances as the two eels, also perfectly balancing the evil and humor.
Lamb Jr.’s Sebastian is delightful. The crab has two of the best songs in the show, “Under the Sea” and “Kiss the Girl.” Lamb does not let the audience down.
Brown is outstanding as Scuttle. He manages to capture the gull’s movements, project the witty lines and in his spotlighted song, “Positoovity” leads the ensemble in one of the truly unexpected high point of the show.
Kaiser as Chef Louis also creates a peak moment with the manic kitchen master’s “Les Poissons.” In that scene, the Chef prepares tasty fish cuisine for Prince Eric and the horrified Ariel.
McKinnon’s Flounder is cute and endearing. Along with the Mersisters, she sweetly sings, “She’s in Love.” It is important to note that Flounder was written to be a male, but McKinnon is not. However, the actress pulls off this cross-gender casting.
Triton, as portrayed by Pullen, is noble and fatherly to his daughters. He conveys this in “If Only (Triton’s Lament)” along with Sebastian.
The rest of the supporting cast includes a fine performance by Dennis Skinner as the worried but surrogate father for Prince Eric, Grimsby. The six Mersisters, Ariel’s siblings, are also artfully played by Alexa Fanning, Alexandra Overby, Alyson Kaiser, Daena Cox, Valeri Schneider and in the Thursday night’s performance, Lilian Stoneberger (on alternate nights, Janacek is that Mersister). Other members of the wonderful cast include Kayla Marks, Greyson Fleetwood and Jack Dillon. The Ensemble is made of very talented performers, many of them are kids, and they are: Abigail Paschal, Brooke Murphy, Carolyne Paschal, Claire Rylend, Debbie Brengle, Heather Skinner, Jessica Johnson, Jordan Blackburn, Julia Vesotsky, Kaitlyn Cooper, Katherin Reeser, Madison Sadler, Olivia Walsh, Peyton Kern, Sara Colletti and Payton Stoneberger.
Mobley’s direction keeps her super-talented key actors in focus. There is plenty of memorable scenes, for example the one where the Chef chases Sebastian around the royal dining room. Mobley makes her points about family and self-fulfillment without hammering them at the audience.
Amy Appleby’s choreography is noteworthy. She moves this large cast around the stage smoothly and has interesting dance numbers. My favorite is “Positoovity,” with those wonderful gulls hopping about the boards.
Barb Szaro is the costume designer. She creates several interesting sea creatures, and I particular enjoyed the costumes for the gulls. The creative Make-up Design is credited to Parker Bailey Stevens.
Kelly Stoneberger deserves a hand for her excellent musical directions for the vocalizations.
Jim Stoneberger’s set is interesting and adaptable. He uses large stones that open up and/or turn to move us from the seafloor, to a ship, a palace, a kitchen and Ursula’s lair, to name just a few.
September Song’s “The Little Mermaid” makes a big splash. Time is short. So, try not to let this one slither away.
Running Time: Two hours and 25 minutes with an Intermission.
September Song will be performing “The Little Mermaid” until September 8, 2019 at the Carroll Arts Center, 91 W. Main Street, Westminster, MD. For tickets go online.
Note: Susan Brall has a long theatrical connection with the director of this show, Debbie Mobley. This did not influence her review.
