A PLACENTIA CATHOLIC SCHOOL pulled out all the stops — singing, dancing and acting — from nearly a quarter of its student body to bring the story of love, transformation and the struggle for independence to the stage.
St. Joseph Catholic School presented its spring musical, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid Jr.” on May 14 and 15 at Servite High School in Anaheim. The production featured 60 students in grades first through eighth who auditioned and have been working for months to bring the production to life.
“I think it went fantastic; I was really impressed with the kids,” said director Laurie Cantrell, who is also the assistant principal. “They brought the energy and really stepped into their characters tonight.”
URSULA, PLAYED BY ISABELLA GARCIA, RISES ABOVE THE STAGE FLANKED BY HER EELS DURING “THE LITTLE MERMAID JR.” PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
“The Little Mermaid Jr.”, based on the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, follows mermaid Ariel (Brooklyn Tyler), the youngest daughter of King Triton (Sam Walswich), as she falls in love with the human Prince Eric (TJ Cantrell and Dylan Gallegos). Ariel then wants to become a human. Despite objections by her fish friend Flounder (Dominic Duran) and her father’s advisor, Sebastian (Kaile Graham), Ariel makes a bargain with the witch Ursula (Isabella Garcia) to become human for three days so she can get Prince Eric to fall in love with her.
Eighth-grader Tyler, who played Ariel, started performing with the St. Joseph Performing Arts program in first grade. Tyler dreamed she would one day get the lead role.
“I was stunned,” she recalled. “I was so happy, like, it was the happiest I’ve been in a while.”
ST. JOSEPH SCHOOL PERFORMING ARTS STUDENTS PERFORM ON THE TRINITAS STAGE DURING “THE LITTLE MERMAID JR.”
Tyler noted that her years on stage prepared her to take on a demanding role.
“I think I was more excited than nervous, because I was ready to step into a lead role, especially being in eighth grade,” she added.
Both Tyler and fifth-grader Lulu Cantrell — who played Scuttle, a friendly bird — said they loved watching “The Little Mermaid” animated movie growing up. Both said they rewatched the Disney movie to prepare, but Lulu Cantrell also studied something else: birds and how they move.
CAST MEMBERS OF “THE LITTLE MERMAID JR.” POSE FOR A PHOTO BACKSTAGE.
“It’s fun because you get to express funny and you just really have high energy all the time,” Lulu Cantrell said, “and it’s just like you’re with your friends all the time and it’s just wonderful.”
While Tyler’s performance was the culmination of her time in the performing arts program, for fellow eighth-grader Scarlett Zaragoza, this was her first theater performance. Since it’s her last year at St. Joseph’s, Zaragoza said she wanted to try something new — and maybe overcome her stage fright.
“At first, I was very nervous,” she said, “but with the people around me, they made me feel very comfortable and it was just a very good environment. I am super happy and excited that I got to experience this. I’ve had stage fright for a while now, and I feel like doing this really helped me to overcome that.”
Seeing her students go from auditions to rehearsals, then finally taking to the stage, made principal Amanda Hawley’s “heart swell,” she said.
“It’s so beautiful to see even the shyest ones from school get up there,” she added. “And even if it’s just waving reeds in the back of the stage, they’re just joyful and they’re happy to be up there. So, it’s beautiful to see them blossom and feel comfortable being out in front of people, building their confidence and using their God-given gifts.”