Our Buena Park theatre team performed its winter musical, The Little Mermaid, this February. I went on the Saturday afternoon show on the 1st and was blown away by how much love and effort went into the event. Even before you entered the theater, the
lobby was filled with undersea-themed decorations and tons of friendly ushers. 20 minutes before the show began, the theater was already packed with an excited audience, with people of all ages anticipating the show. When the curtains opened, we were greeted with beautiful set pieces put together by our theatre tech team. This team also managed the show wonderfully, with flashy lighting and incredible sound mixing. Our first scene was of Prince Eric (Joseph Williams) and his crew sailing the seas, singing beautifully on an impressive boat. This first scene set a great expectation for the rest of the show, and it was definitely met throughout every set.
One thing that blew me away about this performance was the costuming. The dresses of the mermaids were beautifully colored and decorated in gorgeous sequins, and I also really liked how each costume was different. Sebastian wore a fancy red tuxedo, while Flounder wore a cute yellow and blue jumpsuit. In the musical numbers, the performers blended dance and song seamlessly, which was very enjoyable. You could tell that there was a lot of time, love, and effort put into this performance, and it showed wonderfully.
A fan favorite scene was the kitchen scene, where Chef Louis (Rebekah Snyder) prepared to cook Sebastian (David Guzman) for the prince. The scene was very funny and a lot of the people in the audience were laughing, including myself. Both Rebekah and David put in their all to really make these characters and this scene feel alive. My personal favorite was the Poor Unfortunate 
Souls scene. I may be biased, but I love Ursula. This song was always my favorite from the original movie and Alyssa Michel, the Ursula on my night, definitely did it justice. The eels Flotsam and Jetsam, played by Yesenia Gaytan Vasquez and Michael Meija, also did a wonderful job on stage, encapsulating the mischievous and slithery creatures.
Another scene I loved was the iconic number where Ariel (played by Mia Medellin) sings as the waves crash on a rock. She was a perfect pick for Ariel, and I really felt like I was seeing a performance that could be on a professional stage.
After the show, I got the chance to interview Courtesy Ramirez, who played Flounder. Her favorite scene in the show was the transition from King Triton yelling at Ariel for sneaking up to the surface to swimming to Ariel’s secret cavern. 
She thought that performing these scenes was really fun, explaining, “Cause I get to be silly, as silly as I want to.” I also asked her what she liked the most about working on the show. She responded, “The part I loved working on the most was learning the choreography, and although I struggled a lot with singing, that was also my favorite part, ‘cause I felt more confident in my singing and I learned a lot.”
Our theatre program’s last play of the year will be “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” opening later this year. Hope to see you there!
