After weeks of rehearsal, the cast and crew of Free-Rain's production of The Little Mermaid are just about ready to go "under the sea". The Canberra premiere of the Disney musical, directed by David Atfield, opens at the Canberra Theatre on Friday.
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Producer Anne Somes said, " I've always loved Hans Christian Andersen and it's a beautiful story ... that everyone can relate to from nine to 90."
And, she said, the score added another dimension to the tale – the songs included Kiss the Girl, Part of Your World and Under the Sea.
In the Disney version, adapted from the 1989 movie of the same name, the mermaid Ariel (played by Mikayla Williams) is the youngest daughter of King Triton (Steve Galinec). She wants to pursue the love of the human Prince Eric (Tim Dal Cortivo) but the bargain she makes with the sea witch Ursula (Louiza Blomfield) to trade her tail for legs isn't all it seems and she needs the help of her friends including Sebastian the crab (Fraser Findlay) to make things right again.
But, Dal Cortivo said, Ariel was no helpless damsel in distress,
"In this version of the musical, Ariel's the hero."
Not that he minded. Prince Eric in the stage musical was given more songs than in the film and was a more fleshed-out character.
"He doesn't like to follow the rules – I can relate to that, for example when I was growing up. My parents would probably say the same."
At least Dal Cortivo was playing a human being. The actors playing sea creatures and mermaids in the costumes designed by Cate Clelland had more adjustments to make. Not only did Findlay have to adopt a Jamaican accent for his character, he had to wear a stylised crab outfit and worked with choreographer Michelle Heine to adopt the physicalisation of the crustacean,
"For me it's a stance – I stand with my legs wide apart," he said.
"There's a lot of sideways movement."
Williams had to hide her legs under a mermaid tail and make sure she didn't move them too much. And, like the other undersea denizens, she had to constantly move her arms and other body parts to suggest the force of the water.
Both Dal Cortivo and Williams are professional performers who will be going on to other engagements when they have finished the run of The Little Mermaid. Williams will be playing Glinda in a Sydney production of Wicked and Dal Cortivo, who grew up in Canberra, will be working in education for Camp Quality and also touring internationally with a Smurfs musical.
The Little Mermaid is on at the Canberra Theatre from April 8 to 17. Bookings: 62752700 or canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
