Kennard Dale High School’s drama club put on a production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid for their spring musical in early March.

The show follows the plot of the 1989 movie, following Ariel (played by Paije Carbonell), a mermaid who wishes to join the human world.

She falls in love with a human prince, Eric (Noah Tart), after rescuing him when he falls overboard. Eric, destined to take over the crown, is unhappy with his perspective future; he wishes to instead become a sailor.

Disobeying the wishes of her father, King Triton (Dan Riale); her best friend, Flounder (Abby Shaw); and her guardian, Sebastian the crab (Kasey Karoll), Ariel visits the sea witch, Ursula (Julia Wecker), who agrees to transform her into a human in exchange for her lovely voice.

Her task is to make Eric kiss her in three days – if she succeeds, she can become a human permanently, but if she fails, her soul will belong to Ursula.

The show featured an all-star cast of student actors.

Carbonell demonstrated a perfect portrait of the ideal princess with her fair frame and lovely voice. Her vision paired well with Tart, who played Eric with a boy-like bliss.

Riale’s Triton embodied a man struggling to maintain his tough facade while parenting seven daughters. Similarly, Wecker played the storyline well, artfully revealing Ursula’s backstory through powerful vocals.

Karol, Shaw, Sam Greaves (Scuttle), and Curtis Druck (Chef Louis) offered comic relief through witty one-liners and hilarious accents.

All in all, the script, though weak in some areas, did an effective job at balancing the musical’s serious and funnier moments. The sets and overall atmosphere of the setting, however, allowed for an immersion not often felt at high school musical productions.

An impressive rigging system allowed for Scuttle the Seagull and other characters to fly across the stage, and the entire show was performed on Wheelies to mimic the motion of swimming.

Kennard Dale’s production of The Little Mermaid was a fun show of talent fit for the whole family.

Gallery • 5 Photos

Dan Riale portrayed Triton, King of the sea. photo via dan.riale on Instagram