The month of February ended with a splash for Central York High School’s Performing Arts Department as they wrapped up the month by performing “The Little Mermaid.”
Based on Disney’s rendition of the story, “The Little Mermaid” is a musical journey alongside young mermaid Ariel (Anneliese Reichart) as she risks everything to become part of Prince Eric’s (Kellen Beck) world. This musical included all of the popular Disney songs featured in the movie, plus a few exclusive to the show. Sebastian (Lance Mitchell) conducts the sea creatures in a colorful rendition of “Under the Sea,” Ursula (Allison Rambler) lures the innocent mermaid with her song “Poor Unfortunate Souls” and Flounder (Trevor Blood) joins the mersisters in “She’s in Love,” an upbeat dance number.
Along with memorizing all of their songs and lines, the cast and crew had to go through the long process of rehearsing, creating sets and costumes, perfecting their cues and getting the light and audio just right.
“We only have a short amount of time; we started in the beginning of January. You have two months to make the show perfect,” said Blood in a recent interview.
“It’s so weird because you have tech working in their area, cast working in theirs and then the pit. The week you finally put it all together is a lot because you don’t expect everything to be [together],” said Reichart.
One of the biggest obstacles the cast and crew faced this year was rehersal cancellations due to several occurrences of snow.
“I wish we could change the snow, I wish the snow could have went away and given us our week back that we lost,” said Reichart. “We never got to ‘Under the Sea’ or ‘Kiss the Girl’ until almost a week before the show.”
Despite the problems the cast and crew faced with the uncooperative weather, both Reichart and Blood consider the show to have been a success.
“There were so many good reviews and reactions for [the show],” said Blood. “We would expect around 800 people [to attend] every day, but I think we had more than that every day.”
“The audiences were really great every single night, they were really responsive,” said Reichart.
“The kids would come up to you and ask for a hug or a picture,” said Blood. “I would have like a single tear running down my face,” he added with a laugh. “They were so cute.”
“I would sign my name as Ariel on the kids programs,” added Reichart.
One of the most memorable moments for the cast was experiencing the flying for the first time. Every time a character entered or exited the sea (or cast an evil spell,) they would be lifted into the air by a flying harness.
“Flying is such a cool thing to see, especially when [the cast] isn’t in costume yet,” said Blood.
“When Allison first flew up to cast her spell… she looked so cool. It was one of my favorite moments,” said Reichart.
“I feel like the cast was perfect. Everyone fit their roles so well,” said Blood.
As the school year comes closer to ending, Reichart and Blood look forward to the musicals that lie ahead of them in their high school careers.
“We’re excited to step up, but we will also miss the seniors,” said Blood.
“I’m excited to see the freshman that come up because I was in their spot once,” said Reichart. “We have so much respect for [the upperclassmen] and when we are in their place we have to live up to their legacy.”
It’s out of the water and onto new land for these young actors as they fill the shoes of the peers they once looked up to. But both Reichart and Blood agree, they will never forget their experience under the sea.