Two matinees and a pair of evening shows coming up this weekend

By Robert Williams

Editor

The cast and crew of the Frazee-Vergas fall musical “Little Mermaid” are putting the final touches on their performances and a tricky set depicting both land and sea in preparation for showtimes this week Friday through Sunday at the high school commons.  ¶  “I can’t say enough what these kids do on a two-and-a-half-month basis out of the year,” Musical Director Brian Selander said. “Six o’clock to 9 o’clock, three times a week, they are here. We do that schedule because they’re also involved in sports. They pour their heart and soul into this and you’ll see it on stage.”  ¶  The musical’s plot revolves around rebellious 16-year-old mermaid Ariel (Onalea Maijala) who is fascinated with life on land. On one of her visits to the surface, which are forbidden by her controlling father, King Triton (Gracie Fales), she falls for a human prince (Joseph Bachleitner). Determined to be with her new love, Ariel makes a dangerous deal with the sea witch Ursula (Reilynn Tracy) to become human for three days. But when plans go awry for the star-crossed lovers, the king must make the ultimate sacrifice for his daughter.

The stage is one of the bigger challenges for this year’s musical finding a way to depict both scenes on land and underwater.

“We kind of wanted to blend it like we did last year,” said Reilynn Tracy, who is part of the production team and plays Ursula the Sea Witch. “We decided to have the land portion on stage right and the sea portion on stage left. You can see in the back we have a big wave that was  Analea Kerekes’ idea. The wave transforms it from sea to land.”

Kerekes is one of five crew members in charge of painting the elaborate set’s background, along with Emma Ketter, Tracy, Aubrie Aho and Natalie Wegscheid.

This year’s choice also provides challenges for the actors, as well as designers, especially in comparison to last fall’s “High School Musical.”

“Costumes are very different; there’s a lot going on,” said Gracie Fales, who plays King Triton. “If you are a fish or a mermaid you constantly have to keep moving.”

The contrast of elements on stage created a need for more props and the number of species in the cast list made for much more elaborate costumes.

“It’s a little different because we’re not in a classroom with desks,” said Tracy. “One of the things that we’re doing is we have these sheets of water that we’re using. There are a lot more props and bigger props like a huge ship.”

Not all demands will be happening on stage. Backstage presents its own set of perils for performers.

“Another challenging thing is we have to separate the land and the sea, so you’re coming out on stage left if you’re land animals and stage right for ocean animals,” said SiAnna Brakefield, who plays Ariel’s best friend Flounder.

“You have to know where you are on stage,” Emersyn Wake said.

For lead speaking roles, some of the actors get to try their hand at speaking in accents from Jamaican to French, along with some gender flips.

“A man; I have to play a man,” laughed Fales (King Triton). 

“Which she has in nearly every musical I’ve ever been in,” laughed Elston Yost, who plays Sebastian.

For her role as Scuttle, Wake is using a Boston, kind of New York, accent.

“It’s a lot of fun getting into the characters,” said Tracy.

The players are very excited for showtime where they are utilizing so many different aspects of acting from their voices, performing in the different locales and especially what they are wearing.

“Like I’m wearing a tutu; I never wear a tutu,” said Brakefield.

The group was quick to give credit to the returning directing team of Selander, Lacie Lepisto, Alma Slevin and Mary Zink. Slevin, a 2022 alum, is doing double duty in creating the elaborate costumes for the players.

“We love Alma,” they said. 

“We have people we can go to when we need specific things and we have a choreographer, and tech,” said Wake.

While last year’s play had a target demographic of older students and adults, this year’s pick is certain to attract younger kids. 

“There are definitely going to be more children than last year,” said Yost.

The cast made a trip to the elementary school to give the younger grades a preview.

“They were all, ‘Can we come tomorrow?’” said Yost.

“I feel like this one is more entertaining than last year’s,” said Wake. “It’s more colorful, funny; you can relate to the characters more.”

“Families know the main parts of it,” said Yost.

“The music is catchy; it’ll stick with you,” said Fales.

The core group has a familiarity from past performances and have used that to get ahead this year and are going into performance week with a lot of confidence.

“We’re way closer than last year’s,” said Yost. “We were struggling with a lot of stuff.”

“Right now, it’s the nitpicky things like we really don’t like this scene, or how we say that line, or the harmonies in some songs,” said Tracy.

“This year I feel more content; everybody knows what they’re doing and where they need to be,” said Fales.

“Now we’re just adding the seasoning,” said Wake. “We get to add little ad libs and fill in the awkward pauses.”

“Theater is like a stress relief, but it’s also stressful,” Brakefield said.

“When you get all of your part down it’s so nice,” said Yost.

There are four performances of “Little Mermaid,” two evening shows on Friday and Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. There are two matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets (Adults $8, Students $6) can be purchased at the door. Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime.

Frazee-Vergas 2024 

Fall Musical  LITTLE 

MERMAID, Jr. Cast List

Ariel – Onalea Maijala                            

Chef Louis – Simon LaSart

Prince Eric – Joseph Bachleitner         

Pilot – Wyatt Espe

Sebastian – Elston Yost                           

Seahorse – Aria Halverson

Flounder – SiAnna Brakefield

King Triton – Gracie Fales                     

Mersisters:

Ursula – Reilynn Tracy                              

Aquata – Eryn Schwendeman

Flotsam – Willow Noel                              

Andrina – Lillian Eskelson

Jetsam – Selene Tieden                            

Arista – Aubrie Aho

Scuttle – Emersyn Wake                         

Atina – Olivia Stockstrom

Grimsby – Annikah Blauert                  

Adella – Shaion Henrickson

Carlotta – Ace Sweeney                            

Allana – Sophie Wiseman

Ensemble:

Gulls – Rilynn Ruiz, Klaira Carrier, Sophie Wiseman

Sea Chorus – Jaclynn Davis

Sailors – Ace Sweeney, Willow Noel, Selene Tieden, Klaira Carrier, Simon LaSart

Sea Creatures – Aria Halverson, Olivia Stockstrom, Aubrie Aho, Rilynn Ruiz, Klaira Carrier, Lillian Eskelson, Willow Noel, Selene Tieden, Ace Sweeney, Eryn Schwendeman, Wyatt Espe

Chefs – Eryn Schwendeman, Lillian Eskelson, Aubrie Aho, Wyatt Espe

Poor Unfortunate Souls – Klaira Carrier, Rilynn Ruiz, Simon LaSart, Aria Halverson

Lagoon Animals – Klaira Carrier, Rilynn Ruiz, Aria Halverson, Sophie Wiseman

Frazee-Vergas 2024 Fall 

Musical  LITTLE 

MERMAID, Jr. 

Production Team

Co-Directors – Lacie Lepisto, Brian Selander, Alma Slevin, Mary Zink

Music Director – Brian Selander

Choreographer – Mary Zink

Producer/Tech Director – Brian Selander

Set Design – Emma Ketter, Reilynn Tracy

Costume Design – Alma Slevin

Stage Managers – Luna Gillette

Painting – Emma Ketter, Reilynn Tracy, Analea Kerekes, Aubrie Aho, Natalie Wegscheid 

Lights – Aiden King

Spotlight – Emily Slevin

Microphones – Ashton Stockstrom

Music – Madison Boyer

Backstage – Luna Gillette, Natalie Wegscheid, Ollie Ulmer, Faith Johnson, Helen Hoard.

Showtimes

Friday, Nov. 22 – 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 23 – 2 and 7 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 24 – 2 p.m.

Tickets: Adults $8, Students $6

Tickets can be purchased at the door. Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime.