The Oakmont Drama club performed The Little Mermaid on April 11th & 12th (and a special performance on April 9th). It contained a lost-at-sea prince, an anxious crustacean, a guppy flounder, a know-it-all seagull, an evil sea witch and her eels, and of course, a little mermaid.
Ariel was played by the FANTASTIC Audrey Lavenski, a junior at Oakmont, who simply blew the minds away of her fellow castmates and audience members. Her princess-esc acting style, witty quips, and splendid singing were some of her stand-out features.
Ariel was rivaled by the frightening Ursula, played by the INCREDIBLE Persephone Panageotes, a senior at Oakmont. Panageotes stage presence, powerful singing voice, and terrifying acting, which had many young children in the audience frightened, made her the perfect Ursula.
Some of the other performers consisted of Prince Eric, played by Blake Ross, who brought a very charming stage presence. Sebastian, played by Keilana Carbonneau, gave sassy one-liners throughout the show. Flounder, played by Chloe Kruse, who embodied the adorable guppy, who surprisingly had a crush on Ariel in the musical version. King Triton, played by Tegan Fratecelli, who had a powerful voice (singing and yelling), made his debut on the Oakmont stage! Grimsby, played by Ash Nolan, had humorous quips and immense glitter! Scuttle, played by the writer of this article, Ryan Rollo, brought some crazy energy and left many feathers scattered throughout the stage. All of these supporting roles made the show truly incredible.
Some of the outstanding dances, choreographed by the choreographer Dawn Ross, who has been with us for four years now, were “Kiss The Girl”, “Under The Sea”, “Positoovity”, and “She’s In Love”. These dances were highly noted throughout the show, which was heard by many audience members when they walked out into the lobby after the show.
The acting and singing in this show were also incredibly impressive, thanks to the director Tanya Leblanc and music director Kris Demoura. They both are teachers at Oakmont and have been with the drama program for quite some time now.
Behind the scenes, teacher and stage manager Isabel Pitney made sure the transitions from scene to scene ran as smoothly as possible. This is her first year teaching at Oakmont, and her prior theatre experience inspired her to help out, and boy, did she make a difference.
To get an outside experience of the show, my mother, Dianne Rollo, who went to all three performances of The Little Mermaid, said, “This is the best Oakmont production I have seen.” This is my mom’s fourth year in a row attending the Oakmont Spring Musical, and she has loved all of them. Every little detail, down to the costumes, set pieces, lighting, and amazing orchestra, made this show what it turned out to be.
To make matters even better, this is the first show in six years that has sold out at Oakmont, not to mention all three shows sold out! All of the cast and crew had put in such hard work and dedication, so to see everybody showing up to support and view this amazing production meant so much. All of the children in the audience who had smiles on their faces and filled the auditorium with laughter added to the journey.
Everything said about this performance was highly positive, and genuinely one to remember. Thank you to everyone who supported the drama club and sent out positive energy!
