Foothills students are bringing a classic to the stage.
Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School students are staging The Little Mermaid, running Nov. 29-30, Dec. 1-2 at 7 p.m., and Dec. 2 at 1 p.m. at the STS theatre.
Based on Disney’s Broadway production, the musical is set to be a family-friendly delight. Grade 11 students Gabriela Cherniak and Ava Furlong are splitting the lead role of Ariel, but their stage cred – and collaboration – goes back years.
“It's really an amazing experience. The cast and the crew, they’re so much fun to work with and when we're running lines, everything feels so enjoyable,” Cherniak said.
“It's really an amazing role. I love the character. She was like one of my favourite Disney princesses as a kid – and I'm a swimmer.”
She previously worked on Matilda and the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee with co-star Furlong, who is excited to be at the forefront.
“This was my first time having a main role, and I feel like just being able to interact with the whole cast and crew allowed me to develop my skills, technically,” Furlong said.
With a 40-odd student cast and crew, Cherniak said the cast is double that of Putnam County.
“It is a much larger group this year,” she said. “Sometimes it can be overwhelming, but for the most part, we're community, we are a team.
“I feel like it just brings more enjoyment, more love and more passion to musical theatre.”
As for sharing Ariel, Furlong said it was a blessing to work with someone so closely on getting to know the character.
“Having two people doing the same role honestly made it much easier to understand each other's issues, things that we were struggling with and to learn it faster,” Furlong said. "Overall, it made it a much more enjoyable experience, especially considering that this is both of our first times having a big lead role.”
Director of fine arts Brianna Dawe said the massive effort has let the students shine.
“All the music is played live by students; our band is on stage, you can see them when you come in,” Dawe said. “We’ll have cast meet-and-greets, so there’s opportunities to take pictures with the cast, there’s a concession, and we’re asking people to come back out to the theatre and enjoy a great show with their kids.”
Tickets are available at the door or online at www.strathconatweedsmuir.com.
