By Joe Bachman
Editor

STEVENS POINT — Students from SPASH welcome you to join them “Under the Sea” as they will perform the classic Disney tale The Little Mermaid.

Based on the movie, the 2007 musical follows the story of 16-year-old mermaid Ariel and her fascination with life on land. Originally written by Hans Christian Andersen, the musical is penned by Doug Wright. Ariel will be played by Senior Allison Kreman, while Prince Eric will be played by Senior Riley Andrews.

According to Student Director Senior Rayna Bushey, keeping up with expectations of the show’s overall presentation has presented its own set of pressures, including costumes.

Students practice musical numbers for the SPASH upcoming production of The Little Mermaid. (Photo: Joe Bachman)

“Costumes are hard because this is such a big show, and everyone’s expectations are very high.” said Bushey. “The music is a lot harder than I expected it to be, but the pit is doing an amazing job.”

Bushey started her run in theater in 8th grade, but fell in love with doing costumes after doing multiple shows.

“We haven’t done a Disney show for a couple of years, so I’m very excited to be behind the scenes and getting into everything and being in charge of what things look like and how the costumes are.”

By chance, Kleman and Andrews started out in theater in third grade; in the same show — Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Both would fall in love with theater moving forward.

Even though Kleman has 20 shows under her belt and loads of experience at her young age, this is one of her biggest roles yet that brings its own set of challenges.

Students practice musical numbers for the SPASH upcoming production of The Little Mermaid. (Photo: Joe Bachman)

“Definitely learning new songs that are not in the original movie,” said Kleman addressing such challenges. “Also developing the character and learning how to play and be Ariel.”

Kleman will be attending Winona State after she finishes her final year at SPASH, and seeks to stay involved in the theater scene in Winona.

For Andrews, who will be attending DePaul University next year, learning the intricacies of Prince Eric presented its own set of struggles.

“It’s really different to play a Prince, but also to have to portray this really royal person who doesn’t want to be royal; it’s a weird mindset to get into.” said Andrews.

You have four chances to catch this Disney classic at SPASH starting Jan. 31 through Feb. 2 at 7PM with a Saturday matinee at 2PM. Stevens Point Area Senior High is located at 1201 Northpoint Dr.