Theatre Club presents Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ this weekend at Lake Orion High School.
Go “under the sea” with Notre Dame’s theatre club and relive your childhood in the school’s fall musical, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” presented Nov. 1-3 at Lake Orion High School. The production marks Notre Dame’s 20th musical.
“The Little Mermaid” follows the life of Ariel, King Triton’s youngest daughter, who is fascinated with the human world. Ariel wants nothing more than to live her life on land with her love, Prince Eric. Ariel faces trouble when she bargains with her Aunt Ursula, the sea witch, who gives Ariel legs in exchange for her tail and angelic voice. With original music by Academy Award winner Alan Menken and a captivating book by Doug Wright, this story will capture your heart with its irresistible and upbeat songs, including "Under the Sea," "Kiss the Girl" and "Part of Your World."
To bring this massive production to life, more than 120 Notre Dame students from Pre-K through 12th grade were cast. It is the first all-school musical for Notre Dame.
The show is guided by the creative direction of David Fazzini with support from Donna Pieper (choreographer), Joseph Martin (orchestra pit director), Jennifer Beaudoin (set designer), Julie Bonema (sales), Elizabeth Housey (student director), Michael Campion (set builder) and Meredith Scott (producer).
“We haven’t done Disney for quite a while,” said Fazzini, who is the choir director for NDP. “The students really wanted to do this show and we decided that with it being the 25th anniversary of the school, it made perfect sense to involve as many students as we could.”
Twenty-three students from NDP’s Class of 2020 are involved in every aspect of the show, from set building to acting.
“I enjoy absolutely everything about playing Ariel,” senior Julia Ruggirello said. “I love having the ability to sing the iconic Disney songs everybody grew up with. It’s also a unique experience to work on my facial expressions in the second act when I can’t talk to tell a story.”
Senior Clare Hampel said she wanted to play Ariel because the mermaid demonstrates that life is about making decisions, good and bad.
“By living out my dream as my favorite princess, I know I have the power to make someone’s night magical, and that responsibility makes this character my own,” she said.
Other members of the senior class in the production include Margaret Allard, David Balanon, Brooke Bandy, Matthew DeAngelis, Stephen Dzialo, Melinda Fadool, Luis Gaytan, Thomas Greene, Sierra Gulli, Clare Hampel, Claudia Kaiser, Courtney Kautz, Lauren Koenig, Dante Michelotto, Sophie Quirk, Abigail Smith, Julia Ruggirello, Olivia Urban and Evan Wells.
Showtimes are 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1; 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2; and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 at Lake Orion High School Performing Arts Center, 495 E. Scripps Road, Lake Orion.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors, $10 for children ages 7 and under and can be purchased at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/35191.
More photos here.
Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.
Follow Notre Dame on Twitter at @NDPMA.
About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three school are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org