Review: Ruth Eckerd Hall's Marcia P. Hoffman School of the Arts Presents THE LITTLE MERMAID

Theatre saves lives. Getting involved in it as a kid or a teenager isn't just for an appreciation of the arts; it's so much more than that. The performing arts help students work in groups, conquer their fears, learn critical thinking, form work ethics, and yes, save lives. How many of you reading this right now happened to be saved by theatre when you were young? How many of you found a reason for living, belonging, empathizing, and ultimately finding yourself because you were a part of a theatre program or played a part in a show?

This leads me to Ruth Eckerd Hall's Marcia P. Hoffman School of the Arts summer program where teenagers get to express themselves in a full-scale musical, performed at the Capitol Theatre in Clearwater. The students, ages 14-18, practice for three weeks and then put on a "wow" of a musical. Past shows include Shrek, Beauty and the Beast and The Wizard of Oz. This year should experience large audiences because they are performing the Disney favorite, THE LITTLE MERMAID, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater.

Ably guided by director Jack Holloway, this is one fun production with incredible vocals and one performance that is transformative (you will be shocked that she is a mere teenager; more about her later).

Playing the title character is lovely sophomore Katie Davis, who displays a beautiful singing voice. She does a nice job of acting and carrying much of the show on her shoulders. Her "Part of Your World," the show's most famous song, sounds gorgeous.

As her love, Prince Eric, Daniel Lennox is wonderful. I saw Lennox as Javert in a student version of Les Miserables recently, and Javert is a difficult part for anyone to tackle, let alone a teen. His Prince Eric, however, is spot on. Lennox boasts a sensational singing voice, and he fits the part of Eric. In songs like "Her Voice" and "One Step Closer," he really gets to showcase his Grade-A performance abilities.

As Ariel's dad, King Triton, Casey Gloeckl is a powerful revelation. His voice in the solo "If Only" and the latter quartet of the same song induces goose bumps. His costume makes him look like one the tree people in a Paul Delvaux painting, but with lighted trident in hand, he stands (quite tall) as one of the best in the talented cast. Jacob Ramiriz makes for a lively Sebastian, the troubled crab ordered to watch over Ariel. Ramiriz has a fine singing voice, but oftentimes I couldn't understand what he said throughout the show due to enunciation issues (as well as microphone issues in his early appearance).

Jaime Kay plays Scuttle and looks like a character straight out of Sesame Street. She does a cute job, but she has an unfortunate habit of looking at the audience instead of the other cast members whenever she has a line of dialogue. Dylan Odom is enjoyable to watch as Flounder, Ariel's best friend, but sometimes we miss that hopeless innocence and knee-shaking fear needed for the part. Shaun Memmel has an amazingly authoritative speaking voice as Grimsby, Prince Eric's caretaker, and towers over the rest of the cast (save for Gloeckl's Triton). In the first scene, where he gets nauseous on Eric's ship during "Fathoms Below," he can get even more cheek-puffing vomitus in his seasickness.

As Ariel's jealous Mersisters, Taylor Willis, Alliya Chaffin, Dior Dollmont, Sarah Duren, and especially Piper Allen and Marissa Milam do fine work. Their first song, "Daughters of Triton," sounded marvelous, and their other big number, "She's in Love," is messy but fun. I only wish Ariel could have been "swimming" by throughout the "She's in Love" number, so it makes more sense.

Kyle Thomas Hardin steals the show as the maniacal Chef Louis. His elongated chase of Sebastian (he wants to serve the crab for dinner) goes on way too long for my tastes, but the little kids sitting around me were laughing out loud throughout it. Alyssa Streicher, Elizabeth Torres, Christian Torres, the sturdy Zachary Schumacher, the actors playing the tap-dancing seagulls (Torrie Wilkinson, Brendan Boniol, Reilly Wolf, and Shelby Lennox) and the entire ensemble do very strong work.

As the evil eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, Julia LaPierre and Christopher Cavazza are spectacularly vile. LePierre looks like an aquatic Bad Seed, and Cavazza, appearing like he's donning tattooes from head to foot (at least seeing him from the back of the audience), resembles an underwater Li'l Wayne. Both of them are always in character, creepily slithering around in joyous villainy.

But one performance overshadows all others. I have had the pleasure of seeing Courteney McClutchy in various shows at the Marcia P. Hoffman School of the Arts and also at East Lake High. She always played the heroine--Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie--and it's a testament to her versatility that her Ursula is the best I have yet seen (and I've seen several productions of THE LITTLE MERMAID). It's a lip-licking gloriously nasty turn, flailing her tentacles about, and McClutchy unblinkingly tackles the character's gleeful viciousness. If you could combine Patti LuPone with the late comedian Phyllis Diller, then you can get an idea of what McClutchy does with the part. It's a true star turn, and at one point I wondered if they should change the title of the show to The Scary Seawitch.

I'm sure I'm not alone in lamenting that the original Ursula classic, "I Want the Good Times Back," has been replaced by the less-stellar "Daddy's Little Angel." But in McClutchy's hands, it doesn't matter; her "Daddy's Little Angel" is a home run. Even better (better than a home run?) is her rendition of "Poor Unfortunate Souls," which makes you want to stand and cheer sheer evil. McClutchy seems to understand that villains don't always think of themselves as "villains"; they see themselves as the heroes of their story. And this teenage actress had us cheering for the villain. My only issue is that she, along with Flotsam and Jetsam, appear at Ariel's wedding after their (way too fast) "demise." This makes no sense to me, and after their comeuppance, they should have only come on at the curtain call, not at a wedding that the murderous sister of Triton would never have been allowed to attend.

No show is perfect, and there are always issues to contend with. One thing the students need to learn is that there is no talking backstage. More than once the audience could hear muttering from the backstage microphones. And some of the onstage microphones were way too loud, blowing out our eardrums as if we were at a Who concert in the 1970's.

Chris Liddell's choreography is lively but you want it to be tighter in songs such as Sebastian's ode to life in the water, "Under the Sea."

Myndee Washington's costumes are clever and cute, and they mostly serve the show well. (I question why Scuttle didn't have a bird hat along with the other seagulls, however.) But a show like THE LITTLE MERMAID really needs a full set. (This one has some great set pieces, but is otherwise quite minimal.) Yes, they have the bright costumes and the obvious talent of the kids, but the show misses the magic that a bright undersea backdrop can add. Something is missing when the entire show seems to be set in a darkened netherworld. Niko Lyons' lighting makes up for a lot, but in a show like THE LITTLE MERMAID, we miss the Disney brightness that backdrops or full set (including a ship of some kind) can bring.

Music director Judith Hurst does a great job in bringing out the incredible voices of these young people. The orchestra sounded great, and I just wish each one of them could have been acknowledge in the program.

But the show is all about the kids, and they do an admirable job, especially in such a short time. And you know that a life (or two, or thirty) has been changed due to being in this show. And for many of the children in the audience, this may be their very first show. And maybe they will catch the "theatre bug" and be saved by it just like these wonderfully talented kids have been. And just like I was when I was their age.

Ruth Eckerd Hall's Marcia P. Hoffman School of the Arts' production of THE LITTLE MERMAID continues Friday, July 29th at 7:00 PM and Saturday, July 30th at 2:00 PM and at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $15 adults, $10 students/military for the 7pm shows, and $10 adults, $5 students/military for the 2pm show. Performance is at the Capitol Theatre, 405 Cleveland St, Downtown Clearwater.

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